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Ma-Me-O Beach, Alberta

Pelican Island

Hundreds of pelicans call this island no larger than a car their home during the summer months.
Snow geese fly away from Montana's Berkeley Pit after a sunrise hazing in 2021.
science

At Montana's Infamous Berkeley Pit, Saving Lives Means Hazing Birds

Engineers and ecologists have considered everything from lasers to cannons to keep waterfowl out of the toxic water.
Sarah Trent April 10, 2023
The Gocta Waterfalls in northwestern Peru are the subject of one of our favorite recent Atlas Obscura Podcast episodes.
science

7 Recent Atlas Obscura Podcast Episodes You Just Have to Hear

For our two-year pod-iversary we're headed back to some of the coolest places we've taken you recently.
April White March 22, 2023
This photo, captured by researchers Matthew Gardner and David Pereira on Grand Bahama in 2018, is one of the last-known sightings of the Bahama nuthatch. It is believed the bird was wiped out by Hurricane Dorian in 2019.
science

The Last Days of the Bahama Nuthatch

What's it like to "very probably" witness extinction?
Shoshi Parks March 15, 2023
Culver Hole
Port Eynon, Wales

Culver Hole

This tall stone wall with no door and ill-matched windows was built centuries ago, and used as a shelter for domesticated pigeons.
White ibis at Coburg Lake Reserve
Melbourne, Australia

Bin Chicken Island

This island at Coburg Lake Reserve is home to a sizable, very visible colony of Australian white ibis.
paintings

Did Ancient Egypt Have a Pigeon Problem?

More than 3,000 years ago, the birds appeared in unexpected places.
Shoshi Parks January 25, 2023
Written by Elizabeth Z Pardue, Photos by Michele Zapf
islands

This Tiny Island Was Settled Thousands of Years Ago. It Hasn’t Really Changed.

Home to 4,600-acres of natural wonderland, mysterious ancient artifacts, and Gullah Geechee history.
Cher Ami, a black checker pigeon, earned his fame carrying messages for the American military during World War I. The pigeons recruited by the CIA during the Cold War were trained to undertake more clandestine tasks.
cold war

When the CIA Spied on American Citizens—Using Pigeons

The seemingly birdbrained Cold War experiment is still partially classified.
Steven Ewin January 11, 2023
Video • Discover More Wonder in Visit St. Pete/Clearwater

Dive Into Florida’s Sunken Gardens

1:34
animals

To Save Birds From Invading Americans, One Man in Poland Built Floating Forts

Non-native American minks and raccoons ravaged the Lower Oder's birds before the predator-proof islands.
Wojciech Mikołuszko January 4, 2023
Saguaro National Park in full bloom.
birds

The Unique (and Surprisingly Wet) Biodiversity of the Sonoran Desert

In Arizona, the country’s most diverse desert teems with kaleidoscopic spring flowers, charming desert tortoises, and the famous saguaro cactus.
It's one thing to see a bird of prey soaring on a thermal. It's another thing entirely to get this close to one.
amusement parks

Our Favorite Photos of 2022 Are a Feast for the Eyes and the Imagination

Wondrous portraits of feathered friends, lowriders, a handmade amusement park, and more.
Winnie Lee December 29, 2022
A veterinary technician examines a falcon.
Doha, Qatar

Souq Waqif Falcon Hospital

A state-of-the-art medical facility dedicated to treating beloved birds of prey.
poison

Podcast: Laguna Del Diamante

What a toxic Andean lake has to say about the dawn of life.
The Podcast Team November 7, 2022
Pigeon Tower
Ad Dilam, Saudi Arabia

Pigeon Tower

A historic structure that once housed pigeons used by farmers to help fertilize farmland.
San Remo Pelican Sculpture
San Remo, Australia

San Remo Pelicans

Locals have a long-running relationship with the big-beaked birds of this Australian fishing town.
Columcille Megalith Park in Bangor, Pennsylvania
volcanoes

Podcast: Summer Adventures ‘22

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team September 20, 2022