Videos

A golden eagle is flying free again after being injured. This video shows its first flight—on February 16, 2011—after a month of rehabilitation. Golden eagles migrate through the mountains of western Virginia and some winter here, but they are rarely seen. A biologist at the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and researchers with West Virginia University and Virginia Tech are studying the migration patterns of the raptors. This eagle was banded and fitted with a GPS transmitter that will track its movements for up to two years. The bird, a male eagle, is expected to head to Canada for the breeding season within the next few weeks.

This short video gives an overview of the Migratory Bird Program and the work we do conserving America’s birds for present and future generations. We work to protect, restore, and manage migratory bird populations through population monitoring, assessment, partnerships, and grants. We work to increase awareness of the value of migratory birds and their habitats for their intrinsic, ecological, recreational, and economic significance and work to improve migratory bird hunting, birdwatching, and other outdoor bird-related experiences.

Many migratory birds that breed in the Appalachians winter in tropical forests in Latin America. These tropical forests are increasingly threatened due to encroachment from coffee farms that eliminate shade trees that wildlife depends on. This video documents the impact daily coffee has on tropical forests and how shade grown coffee plantations play an important role in the conservation of migratory birds.

Audubon North Carolina’s Climate Initiative brings attention to the challenges birds face as our climate changes. In partnership with Forsyth Audubon, The Wood Thrush Connection, produced by the Climate Listening Project, connects people around the world – from North Carolina to Belize – through a shared love of the climate threatened Wood Thrush. Meet some climate heroes, learn about full life-cycle conservation approaches, and discover the importance of habitat protections and the threats of climate change to this beloved bird. Learn more about the effects of climate change on the Wood Thrush.

The Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative is hard at work reestablishing native forests on former coal mining sites throughout Appalachia. The Flight 93 Memorial in Storystown, PA is one of these sites. Learn how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with multiple partners, is working to restore these forest habitats for the benefit of migratory bird species, including the golden-winged warbler, a bird of conservation concern.

In a landmark study that researched the origins of bird species, evolutionary biologists have made discoveries about the age of birds, and the genomic relationships among modern birds. The genomes of modern birds tell a story: today’s winged rulers of the skies emerged and evolved after the mass extinction that wiped out dinosaurs and almost everything else 66 million years ago. That story is now coming to light, thanks to an international collaboration that has been underway for four years.

Scientists already knew that the birds who survived the mass extinction experienced a rapid burst of evolution. But the family tree of modern birds has confused biologists for centuries, and the molecular details of how birds arrived at the spectacular biodiversity of more than 10,000 species was barely known. David Mindell, an evolutionary biologist and program director of the NSF Division of Environmental Biology discusses the study’s findings.