Natural Curiosity, an outdoor education non-profit in southern New Mexico, will host an upcoming Birding Workshop April 24th – 26th, and we would love your help spreading the word!

This workshop is designed for anyone interested in deepening their connection to birds and the landscapes they inhabit. Whether someone is brand new to birding or looking to strengthen their identification skills and field experience, this immersive workshop offers guided bird walks, hands-on learning, and meaningful time outdoors with a supportive community.

If you know someone who might enjoy expanding their birding knowledge, refining their observation skills, or simply spending intentional time in nature, please pass this along. And, of course, if you’re interested, we would love to have you join us!

You can find full details and registration information here:
https://www.natural-curiosity.org/birdingworkshop

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As if birds didn’t already have enough problems in this world, now it turns out that there is a large European bat (up to 18 inch wingspan) that catches and eats migrating birds on the wing.  By attaching biologging tags to 14 greater noctule bats in Spain and recording the variability of the bats’ echolocation buzzing and the altitudes where they were foraging, researchers were able to determine that the bats mostly pursued and ate insects at lower altitudes under about 300 ft.  But on two occasions, tagged bats were recorded flying up to nearly 4000 ft. where the intense buzzing of their echo locations showed prey pursuit.  In one case, the pursuit was short as the prey apparently escaped.  In the other case, the bat followed its prey (identified by vocalizations as a European robin) down close to the ground, captured, killed, and ate it (masticating sounds were recorded for 23 minutes)—all while still on the wing!  

A few wings of other birds were found on the ground below the greater noctule bats’ hunting grounds, but this bat is rare and it is not known what impact their bird hunting capabilities might have on migrating European songbirds.

Based on an article in Science, 9 October 2025

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Next time you have a chance to view a total solar eclipse, watch and listen to what the birds around you are doing!  That is what several researchers in Indiana did in April of 2024 when the path of a total solar eclipse passed across their area during the period when vocalizations relating to territorial establishment and mate attraction are leading up to breeding season. They set up microphones to record bird vocalizations the day before, the day of, and the day after the eclipse for a period each day centering on the time of totality. But that isn’t all they did. In an excellent example of encouraging active public engagement in science (“citizen or participatory science”), they created a smartphone app that allowed users to record observed behaviors (such as singing, flying, eating) and they recruited observers not only in the path of totality from Mexico to Maine, but elsewhere across the continent.  Extensive statistical and AI analysis of thousands of observations showed that the behavior of 29 of 52 species was significantly affected by the brief darkness, but with considerable variation.  Nineteen species produced a “dawn chorus” as light returned (notably American robins and a barred owl), fewer species (11) responded with a dusk chorus as daylight dimmed, and during totality 6 of 12 species increased vocalizations and 6 decreased.   Movement dropped noticeably during totality. 

This natural experiment shows that the biological rhythms of most birds are indeed affected by light/dark cycles—even when “night” lasts for just 4 minutes—and that citizen science can be a powerful tool for understanding the natural world.

Based on an article in Science, 9 October 2025

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