Amid falling snow, with a yellow pencil, Mike Newhouse tallied the latest birds in sight. “Any chickadees? Titmice?” he asked, standing next to the Hudson River. “No, but you got the flicker?” asked ...

Despite the storms that we have had over the past few weeks, there have already been signs of spring out there according to the “bird barometer.” Red-winged blackbirds and grackles are returning, with ...

Years ago, coal miners used to take caged parakeets down into the mines, to warn them in advance of deadly accumulations of methane gas.The birds provided an early warning in a dramatic manner: They ...