Maddie Burakoff

The Ballad of U10: How One Mischievous Bird Taught Me to Love Gulls Even More After a chance beach encounter with a banded Herring Gull, cartoonist Rosemary Mosco dug deep into the surprisingly popular bird's life and adventures.

I wrote an article for @audubon.org about a gull I know, and it’s full of surprising facts about gulls in general. I hope you like it.

www.audubon.org/magazine/bal...

Loved getting to spend time with these pelican chicks, whose blood samples are helping researchers figure out how PFAS may impact wildlife. Truly special (and deeply stinky) birds

North Carolina's Cape Fear River Is a ‘Forever Chemical’ Hotspot—What Does That Mean for Its Birds and People? Amid mounting global health concerns about PFAS, communities living along the waterway must grapple with how contamination is affecting life on the river. Yet as hard as it is to conduct health...

For decades, a plant dumped PFAS into the Cape Fear River, a nesting site for birds and tap water source for people. Now, communities are grappling with how "forever chemicals" are affecting life on the river -- and across the planet.

My story (which is on the cover of Audubon mag's spring issue!):

🎉 Time truly does fly when you're having fun reshaping the landscape of environmental journalism! Today, we are celebrating four whole years of The Uproot Project and what makes this organization so extraordinary and transformative -- our members! Happy birthday, Uproot! 🎉

📣 Attention early career journalists: Audubon magazine is now accepting applications for our summer editorial internship. Join a wonderful team, build your clip portfolio, and make a real contribution to our award-winning print and digital coverage. audubon.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Audubo...

A Sweeping New Report Shows U.S. Birds Declining Sharply Across a Range of Habitats Scientists checked in on species all over the country for the latest State of the Birds report. Nearly everywhere they looked, birds were struggling—including some that have been resilient in the...

Scientists looked at habitats across the U.S. to check on the "state of the birds." What they found was... not so good.

Lots of birds are still declining (grassland birds are down >40% since 1970!) and ducks have taken a turn for the worse. My story on the report: www.audubon.org/magazine/swe...

Get Ready to Melt Over These Sweet Photos of Baby Birds From fluffy penguins to gawky cranes, here are some of our favorite baby bird pics from the 2024 Audubon Photography Awards.

Perhaps you need these baby bird pics as badly as I did. 🪶 www.audubon.org/magazine/get...

A New Documentary About a Hummingbird Rehabber Peeks At Life on a Different Scale Terry Masear's dedication to nursing hummingbirds back to health offers tidbits of wisdom about practicing empathy and living each moment to the fullest.

I wrote about the new documentary Every Little Thing, which follows a hummingbird rehabber for a busy & emotional season of rescue work in LA. hummingbirds are so special! this one really stuck with me!

Applications are now open for the 2025 Uproot Project Fellowship! You can learn more about the Uproot Project Fellowship and find this year's application here: uprootproject.org/initiatives/...

Long Before Pantone, This Bird-Based System for Describing Color Was a Hit In the early 20th century, ornithologist Robert Ridgway published a massive dictionary to categorize birds’ hues, from Peacock Blue to Duck Green. His work still resonates for artists and designers...

Pantone's color of the year is "Mocha Mousse." Ornithologist Robert Ridgway might have called it "Walnut Brown."

Learn more about Ridgway, and the massive dictionary he created to describe birds' hues, in this delightful read from @alicesunreports.bsky.social!

www.audubon.org/magazine/lon...

First Nations Are On the Cusp of a Big Marine Conservation Win in Canada—and They Have Even Bigger Plans Indigenous communities in Ontario are leading a campaign to protect critical portions of a vast inland sea that people, migratory birds, and other wildlife all rely upon. Can they conserve the...

This summer I had the opportunity of a lifetime to visit Omushkego territory on the Hudson Bay to report on their efforts to create a marine protected area the size of Maine. A rare sliver of hope, please give it a read and a share! www.audubon.org/magazine/fir... @audubon.org

Science Is Revealing the Social Disparities at the Root of Urban Ecosystems When it comes to biodiversity, research shows not all neighborhoods are created equal. They’re defined by injustices past and present.

“We can’t just sweep everything under the rug. We’ve got to face our past if we want to have a future.”

My latest for Audubon mag (and a sneak peek of our winter issue!) digs into the research untangling how wealth + redlining shape where species thrive 🌱

www.audubon.org/magazine/sci...

Looking for climate and environmental journalists of color to follow? You’re in luck.

The Uproot Project (@uprootproject.bsky.social), which I am a board member of, has *the* starter pack for you!!

(h/t to @prosaaquino.bsky.social for putting this together) go.bsky.app/TX5sFaj

The first Journey of a Story event kicks off in just a couple of hours! Join Uproot and Grist for What's Art Got to Do With It? on Zoom at 12 pm CT. Then tonight, come out to Climate + Culture in New Orleans at 6 pm CT! uprootproject.org/events/

Bird Union logo with a shrike in the corner. Text reads: CONTRACT UNANIMOUSLY RATIFIED! CWA 1180 Bird Union & National Audubon Society.

We are proud to announce that our membership voted UNANIMOUSLY to ratify a three-year contract, our union’s first!

More details to follow. We’re extremely grateful for all of the support you’ve shown us throughout the last 2.5 years of bargaining and escalations.

How Extreme Weather Tests Facilities Housing the Last of a Species Natural disasters fueled by climate change imperil critically endangered species under human care. Breeding centers must be more ready than ever to swing into action in an emergency.

Climate change is unleashing new threats for breeding centers where the world's most vulnerable species are safeguarded. Learn about several species, like Kauai's 'Akikiki, and how centers are preparing for new extreme weather events in my latest for Audubon magazine: www.audubon.org/news/how-ext...

Fellowships The Uproot Project Environmental Justice Fellowship At The Uproot Project, we believe important environmental justice stories need to be told. We believe that journalists of color bring critical and f...

We're delighted to announce that the Uproot Environmental Justice Fellowship will be entering its third year! Applications open on Friday, February 2nd, and close on Friday, March 1st. Learn more about the Fellowship on our website: uprootproject.org/initiatives/...