Taking place February 13–16, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an inter-organizational effort between Audubon, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Birds Canada. This fun and impactful global community science event engages bird watchers of all ages and skill levels in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations. You’re invited to a lively, beginner-friendly webinar to discover tips, tricks, and ideas on how you can participate in the GBBC on Thursday, February 5 at 3 p.m. ET or Wednesday, February 11 at 7 p.m. ET. Register for the webinar here.
This plant gave up photosynthesis, shrank its genome, and learned to clone itself—and somehow survived for 100 million years.
Balanophora is a plant that abandoned photosynthesis long ago and now lives entirely as a parasite on tree roots, hidden in dark forest undergrowth. Scientists surveying rare populations across East Asian islands uncovered how its cellular machinery shrank but didn’t disappear, revealing unexpected similarities to parasites like malaria. Some island species even reproduce without sex, cloning themselves to colonize new habitats. This strange survival strategy comes with risks, leaving the plant highly vulnerable to habitat loss.
Photographed in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA on January 14, 2026.
The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a California native plant garden. It is located within Tilden Park in the hills above Berkeley, California, It is a 10-acre garden includes many of the state’s rare and endangered plants and a place for visitors to wander among trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses from plant communities throughout the state. There are free weekend and holiday tours. Admission and parking are free. For more information about the garden visit the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden.
The Trump administration is reviewing hundreds of national wildlife refuges and dozens of fish hatcheries.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it’s looking for sites “established for a purpose that no longer aligns with the mission” of the bureau, according to a Dec. 16 order from Director Brian Nesvik, who used to lead Wyoming’s state wildlife agency.
The Polylepis forests of Peru are some of the highest high-altitude forests in the world, playing an essential role in the water cycle.
Over the past few decades, various restoration projects have worked to restore Polylepis forests across their former range.
In 2022, researchers revisited a restoration project in Aquia, Peru, to understand what factors contributed to its success. The study concludes that stakeholder participation and formal conservation agreements helped the project succeed.
Over the past four years, initiatives by ECOAN and Accion Andina have built on previous success
Long-term research in California shows that many bird populations increase after wildfires and can remain more abundant in burned areas for decades, especially following moderate fires.
Although some bird species are adapted to fire and benefit from low to moderately severe blazes, megafires in California are becoming more frequent.
Megafires, scientists say, are unlikely to benefit most bird species and harm those that depend on old-growth forests.
Wildfire smoke poses a serious threat to birds’ health, with evidence linking heavy exposure to particulate matter in smoke to reduced activity, weight loss and, possibly, increased mortality.
The list of events will be updated regularly. To view past webinars, please visit our YouTube channel. We also announce events on social media and via our e-newsletter. If you have questions, please email outreach@xerces.org.
To see current list of events go to Events | Xerces Society
Scientists warn that a proposed expansion of Port Everglades could cause unprecedented damage to corals in the U.S., including some of the only remaining endangered staghorn corals that survived a record-breaking heat wave.
If life is a numbers game, ants are winning. There are around 20 quadrillion individual ants on Earth (more than two million per human), representing over 15,000 species, according to one estimate. Their omnipresence bolsters their global importance as aerators of soil, recyclers of dead matter and dispersers of seeds.
Travelers will once again be able to drive the entire Big Sur coast when a troublesome slide area of Highway 1 reopens, which is expected to happen at noon Wednesday. That means for the first time in exactly three years, drivers will be able to make the trip from Cambria to Carmel, since the first in a string of slides closed that part of the highway on Jan. 14, 2023.
Recently, the Department of the Interior published an agency rule list which suggests delays in the timeline for monarchs and many other species awaiting listing and delisting actions under the Endangered Species Act.
Among the many marvels of animal migration, one ability remains the most elusive: a magnetic compassthat can sense Earth’s invisible field. While birds, sea turtles, and even some fish have shown hints of magnetic navigation, a definitive, universally accepted example has been missing—until recent work with the monarch butterfly.
For years, researchers have documented the monarch’s astonishing long‑distance journeys across North America, guided by the sun, the wind, and even the scent of milkweed. Now, a series of laboratory experiments and field observations suggest that these iconic insects may also be tapping into the planet’s magnetic signature.
The Arctic last season was the hottest it has been in the past 125 years. The extent of sea ice during its usual maximum in March was the lowest in 47 years of satellite recordkeeping. The North American tundra was more green with plant life than ever recorded.
Theodore Payne Foundation inspires and educates Southern Californians about the beauty and ecological benefits of California native plant landscapes.We are located on 22 acres of canyon land in the northeast corner of the San Fernando Valley. Our full-service native plant nursery, seed room, book store, art gallery, demonstration gardens, and hiking trails are open to the public year round. We offer garden tours and classes for adults and families, as well as field trips to TPF and in-classroom programs for children. Friendly on-leash dogs are welcome and there is no admission charge!
A bi-national corridor of nearly 1,000 kilometers between Panama and Costa Rica could be key to protecting manatees, which are endangered in Central America, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) said Tuesday. This binational corridor, spanning 984 kilometers—220 kilometers in Costa Rica and 764 kilometers in Panama—and encompassing 2,631 square kilometers of coastal marine ecosystems and wetlands, is proposed by Smithsonian researchers who developed a study revealing the transboundary movements and habitat use of the Greater Caribbean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus).
Three people were unaccounted for as out-of-control bushfires raged in the Australian state of Victoria, destroying homes and burning through vast swathes of bushland amid the worst fire conditions since 2019’s Black Summer.
From January 15 to February 15, volunteers across North America will help us tally for twelve target bird species. You don’t have to be an expert birder to participate in Climate Watch but knowing (or wanting to learn) how to identify nuthatches, bluebirds, and goldfinches by sight or sound is a big plus.
The “Long-Term Evolution Experiment” (LTTE) tries to answer questions about evolution and how the process of natural selection works, whether it is slow or fast and does the curve changes at certain points. It has been going on for nearly 40 years, but it has seen thousands of generations.
Early signs point to a good poppy year and you can be a part of it! Volunteer training Feb 7th and 14th 9am-2pm! New volunteers must attend both training sessions and work a minimum of two shifts per month March 1- Mother’s Day. Benefits: sharing the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve with the public, free day-use to the Poppy Reserve, after 40 hours a day-use pass to the Great Basin District Parks and a statewide day-use pass to California Parks upon completion of 200 hours in a single calendar year (hours may be combined with volunteer work at other Great Basin District State Parks). To apply, visit https://bttr.im/961y5 and fill out the information requested. You will join a wonderful group of dedicated staff and volunteers. 🌱🌼🌻🌞💓 #poppyreserve #VolunteerHeroes— at Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.
The leader of an organization that has been facing off against a foreign mining company with designs on destroying a sacred Indigenous site is walking more than 60 miles across Arizona to attend a court hearing that will decide the fate of 2,400 acres of federal public lands.
Wendsler Nosie, Sr. (San Carlos Apache), founded Apache Stronghold in 2014 to oppose the transfer of the public lands in the Tonto National Forest. The organization has been locked in a 10+ year legal battle with the mining giant Resoutin Copper to protect the land, which includes Oak Flat, a mesa that has been the site of religious ceremonies for tribes in the region since time immemorial. The lands are also home to endangered and threatened species, such as ocelots and Arizona hedgehog cacti.
Orchid Obscura
The 73rd Annual Pacific Orchid Exposition will be at
the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park on
February 27th – March 1, 2026 (with Preview Night on February 26th)
Male nest desertion can leave chicks in a vulnerable Family life in the animal world, much like in humans, is not always peaceful. Raising offspring demands time, energy, and cooperation — and sometimes, parents don’t fully agree on how much each should contribute. Each parent would personally benefit by investing a little less and leaving more of the work to their partner.
California’s rainy start to 2026 has led to wet conditions pushing the state to break a 25-year record, according to the latest federal and state data.
The U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday, based on data valid as of Jan. 6, shows 100% of California classified as free of drought conditions, with no areas listed as abnormally dry or experiencing moderate, severe, extreme or exceptional drought.
Even as some scientists search for signs of life beyond Earth, other researchers have been discovering new species on our own humble planet faster than ever before.
Natural History Wanderings 