1+ hour, 21+ min ago  (273+ words) BOOK REVIEW " "The Return of the Oystercatcher: Saving Birds to Save the Planet," by Scott Weidensaul (W. W. Norton & Company, 368 pages). All around the world, "people are mapping avenues to recovery if we choose to follow them, making progress for birds," Weidensaul…...

4+ mon, 3+ day ago  (930+ words) Top: A whooping crane in flight in Texas. Visual: John Noll/USDA Each fall " always before Thanksgiving " Diane Johnson looks to the sky above her home, waiting for the moment when her birds return. "You look up, and they're here,…...

8+ mon, 3+ day ago  (294+ words) BOOK REVIEW " "Nature and the Mind: The Science of How Nature Improves Cognitive, Physical, and Social Well-Being," by Marc Berman (S&S/Simon Element, 336 pages). "Other studies had asked people how they felt after time in nature, but none had…...

9+ mon, 8+ hour ago  (501+ words) Top: A researcher searches for Eastern meadowlarks on the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois. Visual: Nate Sapp/USDA/Forest Service In the 1800s, when Europeans first trundled into northwest Iowa to settle one of the country's last uncolonized tallgrass prairies,…...