Rare coastal hailstorm kills or injures nearly 1,900 birds in Texas
Dead Brown Pelicans lie scattered across a Coastal Bend nesting site following the 1 November hailstorm, which caused one of the region’s most severe recorded bird mortality events. © Harte Research Institute

Rare coastal hailstorm kills or injures nearly 1,900 birds in Texas

A violent hailstorm that struck the Coastal Bend of Texas on 1 November delivered a rare and devastating blow to local bird populations. Updated assessments from the Harte Research Institute indicate that nearly 1,900 birds were killed or severely injured, with Brown Pelicans making up the vast majority of the casualties. Researchers recorded approximately 1,860 affected birds, including around 1,484 Brown Pelicans. While the storm primarily hit coastal waterbirds, smaller numbers o
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The Ornithologist

The Ornithologist
Farewell to Solstice: The Last Stewart Island Kākāpō Passes Away
Kākāpō conservation remains one of New Zealand’s most intensive recovery missions — a reminder of what has been saved, and what could still be lost. © Oscar Thomas

Farewell to Solstice: The Last Stewart Island Kākāpō Passes Away

Solstice, the final female kākāpō originally from Stewart Island, passed away in Dunedin after several months of treatment for cloacitis – a recurring disease that has claimed several individuals in recent years. Her death has resonated deeply among conservationists who have followed her story for nearly three decades. First discovered in 1997, Solstice was found against all odds – years after her species had been declared locally extinct on Stewart Island. At that time, the last kn
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Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly
In Defence of Bird Conservation in a Broken World
Native to Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean, this small passerine fell to a few hundred birds in the 1970s as forests disappeared. Thanks to sustained restoration, the Rodrigues Fody population has rebounded, becoming one of conservation’s quiet success stories. © Alex Jones

In Defence of Bird Conservation in a Broken World

When the world feels fractured beyond repair, speaking about bird conservation can sound almost indulgent. Yet in the quiet persistence of those who still care, a truth endures: to protect the living fabric of the Earth is not a luxury. It is an act of survival — and of humanity.
Editorial
Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly
North America’s Bird Declines Reveal a Global Conservation Blind Spot
Eastern Meadowlark — a defining voice of North American grasslands, now in steep decline. Its disappearance reflects the wider crisis of common birds. © Shelley Rutkin

North America’s Bird Declines Reveal a Global Conservation Blind Spot

Common species are the backbone of ecosystems, yet new research shows they are declining at a scale that reshapes the conservation challenge. If familiar birds disappear, the loss will be both ecological and cultural — and it may already be happening faster than we think.
Conservation
Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly