birds

This year marks the 125th anniversary of the nationwide Christmas Bird Count. The data volunteers gather in Utah helps scientists understand how climate change and other factors threaten bird habitats.

The Colorado River Delta is almost entirely dry, but environmentalists are hoping they can keep getting water to restore habitats after a U.S.-Mexico agreement expires in 2026.

Grouse numbers plummeted in recent decades because of drilling, disease and other pressures.

Every year a Weber State University professor collects western spotted orb weaver spiders at Antelope Island to test how much mercury they contain.

Window collisions are a big threat during spring bird migration. New window treatments going up at Zion National Park are part of a movement to reduce glass strikes.

Biologists from the Utah Department of Natural Resources have been monitoring the birds since 2019.

Changing climate patterns and growing populations are having an impact on all of our lives, but it is also affecting birds and their migration patterns.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that avian influenza was confirmed in a flock of 47,300 turkeys in Jerauld County of South Dakota on Oct. 4 and at a farm with 141,800 birds in Utah's Sanpete County last Friday.

Data collected during the annual Christmas Bird Count helps scientists identify long-term trends about different species.

With just a few thousand Cassia Crossbills total and only a small range to roam, researchers already believed the species was heading toward extinction when, in 2020, a large wildfire burned through a significant portion of the lodgepole pine in its territory.

“This is not one of our more fun projects,” said Tracy Aviary’s conservation director. But the survey helps identify species that are particularly vulnerable to building collisions.

Another avian influenza outbreak was confirmed earlier this year. The virus spreads easily among birds, but people don’t need to worry about themselves.