Author Archives: Timothy Martinez Jr.

We’ve all wondered how they do it at some point in our lives. We’ve wondered how homing pigeons can find their way to specific destinations or how Northern Wheatears can travel 9,000 miles from Alaska to West Africa with amazing precision. The theory we’ve grown to know, which is that birds have a magnetic compass [...]

For many people, the routine of sipping a cup of coffee while admiring the birds fluttering about their bird feeder is a great start to the morning. However, while you’re definitely giving back by helping feed the birds, there’s a possibility you’re doing harm to countless migratory birds that go through Latin America by drinking [...]

Over the past few weeks, pretty disturbing news has come out that Scotts Miracle-Gro knowingly violated US federal laws by manufacturing and selling poisoned bird seed for an incredible two years. Last month, the company pleaded guilty in court for putting pesticides in two of their brands of bird seed called “Morning Song” and “Country [...]

According to Oregon Live, there’s been an outbreak of salmonella poisoning throughout the Portland metropolitan area as local residents are reporting more dead and dying birds around feeders. While salmonella outbreaks are not widespread, isolated cases are common at the very beginning of spring when large clusters of birds are gathering together at bird feeders. [...]

When you’re trying to study a group of animals that number into the billions, it’s hard to do it without the help of the average citizen. Luckily, this year the regular person stepped up to the plate for ornithologists and contributed in astounding numbers to the record-breaking Great Backyard Bird Count of 2012. The results [...]

Although you would think renewable energy sources like wind energy are amenable to birds and wildlife, the two have been at odds for a while. Like most controversial issues, different studies show different results, but anywhere between 100,000 and 440,000 birds die each year as the result of collisions with wind turbines (the 440,000 number [...]