Audubon Magazine Spring 2020
Audubon is the official magazine of the National Audubon Society. Get Audubon Magazine digital magazine subscription today for news coverage of the natural world. We help our readers appreciate, understand, and protect the environment with a particular focus on birds, other wildlife and their habitats
dans ce numéro
high hopes
Adult Swallow-tailed Kites primarily eat insects, but they feed their chicks lizards, snakes, and amphibians, like the green tree frog this father caught. Many known nests in the United States are located in privately owned working forests. When conducted sustainably, logging creates the mosaic historically formed by natural disturbances that kites need: a heterogeneous patchwork of stands of varying ages and heights that provide the raptors with nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat, all within relatively close proximity. “When you think about the disturbance factors in Florida, it’s fire and storms,” says Ken Meyer, head of the nonprofit Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI). “Timber harvest mimics those disturbances.” When spring arrives in Florida, avian acrobats cut across the sky. Swallow-tailed Kites carry cypress twigs and long strands of Spanish moss back…
about time
HIGH ON THE SHELVES IN OUR art room sits a series of hardbound volumes. Each several inches thick, they hold issues of Bird-Lore, Audubon’s predecessor in print and spirit, dating back to 1899. The stitched black-and-white pages contain the history of the Audubon societies, which eventually formed Audubon, and in no small way a history of the conservation movement itself. It’s reassuring, this history. It feels solid. It also feels practical. After all, to flip an old aphorism on its head, if we remember the past, we are not condemned to repeat its mistakes. We can make better choices for the future. The feature stories in this issue grapple with that concept. Our cover story (“Death Spiral,” page 22) investigates how the chemical carbofuran—after being pulled from shelves due to its extreme…
good intentions and false choices
THERE’S A NIGHTMARISH, AND completely avoidable, scenario coming into focus for climate and wildlife advocates, one where America’s wildlife could become roadkill on the path to ambitious reductions in climate change. If you connect the dots, the formula for this tragedy is already unfolding: The gutting of our major environmental protections leaves birds and other wildlife vulnerable while climate activists are at work building plans for urgent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Ironically, that outcome would suit both longtime climate-action opponents and those companies that would benefit from massive investments in renewable energy. We plan to hold everyone accountable, from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the American Wind Energy Association. We’re going to lead the fight to hold renewable energy companies to strong and reasonable environmental protections. And as we look to…
wishing you could be left with more?
Supplement your retirement with fixed income for as long as you live—at an attractive rate—and leave a conservation legacy with an Audubon gift annuity. Annual payment rates go as high as 9.0%, depending on your age. Act now to save on taxes in 2020. SAMPLE RATES * *Based on a donation of $25,000 and one beneficiary SEE YOUR BENEFITS To receive a no-obligation personal proposal describing your payment rate and tax savings using your age and gift amount (minimum age is 65 and minimum contribution is $10,000), contact Shari Kolding: By mail: Using the attached reply card By email: plannedgifts@audubon.org By phone: 512.236.9076…
inbox
How Do You Say… Phainopepla? Pauraque? Pyrrhuloxia? Chances are good that most birders don’t know how to properly pronounce at least one of these bird names. And that’s okay: We first learn about many birds through reading, so unless you’ve heard someone say a species’ name out loud, mistakes are easy to make. That’s why we’ve created an online guide to pronouncing some of the more challenging North American bird names. You can study—and listen—up at audubon.org/pronunciations. RE: Winter 2019 I really enjoyed several superb articles in the issue. The Chinese Crested Tern story is fascinating, and the dedication of the researchers is wonderful. Reading about Debi Shearwater made me sad that I’ve never had the opportunity to go on a pelagic trip with her. The acorn-planting Island Scrub-Jay project is not…
do you love hummingbirds?
You can now easily find the local plants you need to support the birds you love. audubon.org/native-plants HONEYSUCKLES The long, tubular flowers of native honeysuckle vines are magnets for hummingbirds. Plant them near a fence or trellis to ensure a sturdy vertical growing space. MILKWEEDS Milkweed blooms entice both butterflies and hummingbirds. Tolerant to drought, these hardy plants prefer to grow in full sun and well-drained, sandy soils. SAGES The colorful flowers of these perennial shrubs draw hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Blooming in spring and summer, sage thrives in full sun and dry soils. PENSTEMONS Penstemons blossom in a variety of colors and attract hummingbirds and other pollinators. Ground-feeding birds eat the tiny seeds of these perennials. DAVID SHIPPER/AUDUBON PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS; CC ROGERS/FLICKR (CC BY 2.0); ISTOCK (3)…
