Birding
No time to keep vultures out of danger as new Nepal airport set to open
KATHMANDU — Conservationists in Nepal have expressed concern over the opening of a new airport in the tourist town of Pokhara, renowned as a bird paradise, at the start of next year. The opening of the $216 million facility has been delayed several times already. In the latest announcement, Jeevan Ram Shrestha, the minister for […]
An emerald-green hummingbird lost to science reemerges in Colombia
In the mountains of Colombia, an experienced bird-watcher saw an iridescent flash of blue and green. “A hummingbird caught my attention. I got out my binoculars and was shocked to see that it was a Santa Marta sabrewing,” Yurgen Vega said. “This sighting was a complete surprise, but a very welcome one.” This was only […]
Bolivia’s former ‘death road’ is now a haven for wildlife
In Bolivia, the infamous “Death Road” has become a haven for life. Once the only route north from La Paz, the narrow and treacherous old road to the Yungas claimed an average of 300 lives per year during peak usage. However, since the construction of a safer road in 2007, traffic has dropped 90% and […]
Winter sanctuary in Nepal proves a killing field for yellow-breasted buntings
KATHMANDU — Ornithologist Hem Bahadur Katwal, who studies farmland birds, says he’s excited about an upcoming trip to visit Nepal’s plains when the monsoon rains end in September. This is the time when the cold starts creeping in over the lands farther north — Russia, Mongolia, China — and thousands of migratory birds flock to […]
‘Sharing the air’ proves a challenge for new Nepal airport in bird paradise
KATHMANDU — Nine lakes listed as Ramsar sites, perennial rivers that start from the Himalayas and beyond, and lush green fields in the foothills of the mountains: these features make Pokhara, a tourist town in western Nepal, a paradise for birds. But the paradise, home to 470 species of birds, could soon be abuzz with […]
Bird-counting app kindles interest in Nepal’s rich avian life
KATHMANDU — Hundreds of bird lovers in Nepal, who would otherwise have been enjoying the spring weather visiting the various bird-watching sites around the country, stayed home in the second week of February spending time on their mobile phones. They looked for birds in their own neighborhoods, counted them and uploaded the information to the […]
Nepal’s first bird sanctuary takes flight, raising hope for conservation
KATHMANDU — Conservationists have welcomed the declaration of Nepal’s first official bird sanctuary as a big boost for more than a dozen globally threatened species. The Ghodaghodi complex, a wetland in western Nepal’s Sudurpashchim province, was recently declared a bird sanctuary by the provincial and the Ghodaghodi municipal governments. More than 360 bird species, some […]
A shot to the gut: American eagles poisoned by lead from bullets
Eagles, regarded by some as a symbol for American freedom, are being poisoned by lead from ammunition. Scientists sampled the blood from 1,210 living and dead bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) across 38 U.S. states over eight years. Nearly half of all the sampled birds showed evidence of repeated lead exposure, according to […]
Top 15 species discoveries from 2021 (Photos)
With humans sending probes to explore Mars and the sun, one might think we’ve already explored the full extent of our own planet. But scientists say we’ve only begun to find and describe the riches here on Earth. “I think most people believe that we know most species on Earth … but in the best-case […]