Audubon Magazine

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

Adélie Penguins After Dark • During the austral summer, Cape Crozier—a 40-minute helicopter ride from the McMurdo Antarctic research station—is home to a million or so Adélie Penguins. For more than 20 years scientists have been studying the curious and charismatic birds when they come ashore on this windswept landscape to breed. Yet where Adélies forage during the winter is mostly a mystery. A new study seeks to track the penguins’ behavior during the long polar night—information that could help conserve the species as climate change rapidly transforms the glacial continent.

A Club for Everyone • Birds bring people together, but sometimes it requires a thoughtful assist.

Training the Next Generation of Conservation Leaders • Audubon is building a more sustainable future by incubating the leaders of tomorrow, today.

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Fudging the Numbers • U.S. agencies are writing their own accounting rules to justify decisions that endanger the environment and public health.

Hummingbird Hackers • Studying birds that live hard and fast isn’t easy, so scientists have embraced inventive ways to keep up.

Doctor Whooooo • To treat human disorders like ADHD, neuroscientists have unlocked the key to the Barn Owl’s extraordinary focus.

Models of Health • Barn Owls aren’t the only birds with answers to our medical quandaries. These four species are also helping to demystify the human body.

Rallying to Save a Rookery • South Carolina’s Crab Bank gets a second chance, thanks to quick work by a flotilla of activists.

The Butterfly Effect • A community-science project helps conservationists understand—and protect—an imperiled species.

MIXED BLESSING • Eagles have long been sacred to Native Americans. But a demand for feathers that far outstrips supply has put wild birds in a secular bind.

GO TIME IN THE GULF • Funds from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement are flowing into the Gulf States, providing an unprecedented opportunity to restore the beleaguered region. A new Audubon report pinpoints 30 projects that, if financed, would be a boon for birds and people alike.

RESCUE MISSION

The Flow of Deepwater Horizon Settlement Funds • As redress for the spill, the Department of Justice has secured more than $20 billion from BP, Transocean, and other companies—the largest environmental settlement in U.S. history. Much of that money will be used for restoration in the Gulf. Here’s where it came from and where it’s going.

THE (BEFORE) BREAKFAST CLUB • Thirteen years ago, six teens helped launch a group for young birders in Ohio. Since then others across the world have adopted the model in their own backyards, with the aim that no kid should have to go it alone.

ROLL CALL • Ohio young birders past and present continue to spread the feathered love and conservation ethic.

Cryptic seabirds can hide from this scientist but not the spy network she leaves behind • It’s just one way that artificial intelligence can tackle our hardest conservation challenges.

Emergency Response

Uncommon Goods

Rules of Engagement • The accessible-birding movement is new and growing, but its leaders are full of experience. Here, three birders and advocates describe how they tackle the challenges of vision loss, mobility impairment, and autism spectrum disorder in the field.

BIRDING • For the nature lover who knows no bounds.

A Beautiful Mind

Hitch a Ride • Not everyone can...