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Over 1,000 years ago, ancestral Polynesians set off in a boat in search of a place they thought existed. Historians believe that migrating birds guided them. During the day they could track a long-legged wading bird by sight, and by night they could follow their loud calls.

Our plans might be paused, but birds are not. During May, celebrate birds from home with webinars, online courses, giveaways and online resources.

All hummingbirds are metabolic marvels, but Rufous Hummingbirds take it to an extreme. The species has the longest migration of any hummingbird in the world. Relative to its body length, this bird- equal in weight to just a nickel– migrates farther than any bird species.

David I. King, US Forest Service Northern Research Station, Amherst, MA 01002 Like many North Americans, I spend a lot of time in mid-spring scanning the still bare maples for the first migrant songbirds to return. These days this otherwise casual pursuit is tinged with a little anxiety because I am aware of the challenges […]

Deb Hahn, International Relations Director, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Migratory birds bring us great joy. They make spectacular migrations; bring beautiful songs and colors into our yards, parks, and wild places; and play important roles in the health of our world. In these unprecedented and uncertain times, the return of birds during spring […]

Stu Mackenzie, Director of Migration Ecology, Birds Canada The protection of birds and the places they need requires a complete understanding of how they use and move through landscapes throughout the year. The science of avian migration is key to gaining this understanding.  Migration research can tell us where to invest our limited time, resources […]

Christine Bishop, Environment and Climate Change Canada le français suit In 2000, the western yellow-breasted chat (Icteria virens auricollis) population in British Columbia (BC) was listed, under the Canadian Species At Risk Act, as Endangered.  Its already restricted population had drastically declined due to the loss of over 85% of its key nesting habitat—wild rose […]

by Eliot Berz, Tennessee River Gorge Trust It all started with avian technicians at the Tennessee River Gorge Trust (TRGT) attaching 16 geolocators to a particular neotropical migratory songbird, the Louisiana Waterthrush. After wearing the tracking devices for a full year, five of these birds returned to the Tennessee River Gorge equipped with geolocators full […]

Ken Rosenberg, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, American Bird Conservancy; and Bob Ford, Partners in Flight US National Coordinator Thirty years ago, Partners in Flight emerged as a significant catalyst to the changing landscape of wildlife management and conservation.  Our simple mission of proactive, voluntary, science-based conservation for common birds before they require costly Endangered Species […]

Bob Ford, Partners in Flight US National Coordinator In the 1980’s, Chan Robbins and John Sauer led an analysis of Breeding Bird Survey data and found a disproportionate population decline in long distance migrant birds when compared to resident bird species.  A coinciding series of science symposia and popular literature focused attention and support on […]