It’s chilly at dawn in the desert, even though blazing heat will arrive before midday. To the east, stark outlines of cactus and thorny trees stand against the growing light. And on all sides, the air ...

It was early January, and the toyon sapling I’d planted the week before wasn’t nearly old enough to produce fruit. So I asked a friend if I could collect a handful of berries from a plant on their ...

For 500 miles, I’d driven south, air conditioner blasting, radio on. When I arrived at the desert field station and stepped out onto the gravel, I was hit all at once by the heat, the quiet, and a ...

With a whopping 659 species, Texas is host to a stunning array of birds—a greater diversity than any other state except (alas) California. Birders here can find migratory species on their annual ...

Tony Davis Aug 3, 2024 Aug 3, 2024 Updated Mar 6, 2026 A small, iridescent, purple-tinged bird darted from Joe Siegrist’s just-unclasped hands, and quickly flew out of human view. “Ooh!” an onlooker ...

High mountain bird communities tend to be poorly studied due to their relative inaccessibility, but are vulnerable to declines and extirpations driven by global warming and habitat change, even in ...

Experts at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens are now rolling back several bird flu precautions for their bird populations. "As we started seeing bird flu spreading throughout the country and moving ...

SAN DIEGO — In the struggle to survive the ever hotter deserts of California, there are winners and losers. Among the losers are desert birds, whose populations have collapsed amid the heat stress of ...