51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú Magazine Magazine Issues

Summer 2022 Issue

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Clockwise in a grid from top left: a Greater Prairie-Chicken portrait; two White-tailed Kites exchange a vole; a White-tailed Ptarmigan in a mountain landscape; a group of Northern Shovelers; two Common Ravens grooming; a Black­-bellied Whistling-­Duck looking inside a hollowed ­out palm.
The 2022 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú Photography Awards: Winners and Honorable Mentions
July 07, 2022 — A fledgling raptor learning to hunt. Grouse aiming to impress. Two grebes vying for a meal. This year’s winners caught amazing moments.
51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú Photography Awards
A seemingly endless flock of Royal Terns, mostly white and gray birds with spiky black crests and bright orange beaks, nest in a closely-packed crowd. A single bird in the center and its tiny, fuzzy, light-colored chick look towards the camera.
The Big Tern Cheat Sheet: How to ID Four Common Species
July 01, 2022 — In summer, North America’s four largest terns are near look-alikes. With a keen eye for detail you can tell them apart.
Birding
A photographer sits on a sandy beach, her lens balanced on one knee, photographing birds in the distance.
How to Sandproof Your Gear for Beachfront Photography
July 08, 2022 — The beach can be a photographer’s dream—or worst nightmare. Tame unruly sand and salt spray with these pro tips and key tools.
Photography
Shelby Casas and three shorebird field technicians walk towards the beach carrying a roll of wire fencing and other tools.
Hit the Beach With A Shorebird Biologist
July 11, 2022 — Shelby Casas braves sun, bugs, and storms to protect endangered birds.
Seas & Shores
A sign affixed to a metal post on a beach reads "Piping Plover nesting area." The posts, connected by string, designate a restricted area.
Should I Talk to a Stranger Walking a Dog Off Leash Near Nesting Birds?
July 01, 2022 — Experts say it depends on the situation—and your comfort level.
News
A display of natural materials, including leaves, bark, and seed pods.
No Time Like the Present
July 08, 2022 — However quickly life seems to move, it’s worth slowing down and paying attention.
Letter From the Editor
Bright red coals burn inside a charred redwood tree.
Rebuilding an Iconic California State Park With Birds and Wildfire In Mind
July 08, 2022 — In 2020, a blaze consumed Big Basin Redwoods State Park, incinerating cabins, blackening ancient trees, and imperiling endangered murrelets. Staff now want to reimagine the park to better ensure the seabird’s future.
News
Double-crested Cormorants take flight from a green bridge over a wide river. In the background are buildings on the river’s forested shore.
A Photographer Considers the Northwest’s Cormorant Quandary
July 07, 2022 — In Morgan Heim’s images, the Columbia River’s colonies of trouble-making waterbirds become as fascinating as they can be frustrating.
News
Black smoke billows from a fire that burns trees and grasses. At the bottom left, a person on an all-terrain vehicle monitors the scene.
In Nebraska’s Loess Canyons, Setting Trees Ablaze Gives Prairie Birds a Boost
July 07, 2022 — For generations Great Plains ranchers saw fire as a foe. Now they’re banding together and embracing it as a tool to restore grassland habitat.
News
Illustration of a brick building with endless air conditioning units on the wall.
How Air-Conditioning Creates a Climate Conundrum
July 07, 2022 — ACs will increasingly be needed for people to survive summer heat waves, but they also accelerate warming. Here's how we can break the cycle.
Climate
The Buried Treasure in Panama’s Mangrove Forests: the Carbon They Store
July 07, 2022 — These ecosystems feed and shelter migrating birds and surrounding communities—and help fight climate change. By tapping into that value, conservationists seek to ensure they’ll continue doing so.
Field Notes
An illustration of a bright, flying Wilson's Warbler emerging from a vintage John James 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú illustration. The name "Wilson's Warbler" is hand-drawn and crossed out in the lower corner.
What’s In a Bird Name?
July 08, 2022 — More than 100 North American birds carry the names of people, some of whom were enslavers, supremacists, or grave robbers. A growing movement aims to do away with honorifics all together and bestow monikers that reflect each species' unique qualities
News
An Indigo Bunting sings on top of a sunflower.
Listen to the Birds Today
July 08, 2022 — Some days, they sing messages of peril. But some days, they sing songs of beauty and hope.
51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú View
Miles of drying mudflats are shown as waterbirds fly over head in the far distance.
The Great Salt Lake Is Too Big—and Too Important—to Fail
June 21, 2022 — Utah’s leaders and advocates are mobilizing to save the largest saline lake ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere, a haven for people and migrating birds. Time and water are running out.
Field Notes
A researcher uses a wooden tool in one hand to collect a fecal sample to put in a plastic tube the other hand is holding. A fuzzy Common Tern chick sits between the two hands.
Bird Poop: The Next Frontier of Avian Conservation
July 07, 2022 — Far from waste, a splotch of feces contains valuable information about a bird’s diet.
From 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú Magazine
Left: A peacock spreads its brightly colored feathers. Right: One peacock walks on the roof of a home with a blue door. Another struts along the brick entryway beside a large plant.
California Has a Peacock Problem
July 08, 2022 — Feral peafowl have turned neighbor against neighbor in Los Angeles, where they claw up gardens, peck at car fenders, and belt out their songs at all hours. Is a more harmonious coexistence possible?
News
An artistic rendition of a Wood Thrush lays flat against tea-soaked paper. Made entirely out of foraged materials found in nature.
The Foraged Wood Thrush
July 07, 2022 — Jessica Maffia merges her artistic talents with her enthusiasm for nature in a plant-based representation of the Wood Thrush.
The Aviary
Other Issues
Fall 2026
The 2026 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú Photography Awards: Winners
Summer 2026
Ospreys in the Chesapeake Bay Are Starving to Death at Disastrous Rates. What Will It Take to Save Them?
Spring 2026
Inside the Movement to Grow More Native Seeds—and Why It Matters More Than Ever
Winter 2025
Tufted Puffins Are Vanishing Across the Pacific Northwest—Can an Ambitious New Effort Save Them?