Jess Leber

Get to Know the Brothers Behind the Buzziest Birding Film in Years Owen and Quentin Reiser take us behind the scenes of “Listers” and preview their next project.

It sure was fun speaking with Owen and Quentin Reiser about “Listers,” the most entertaining birding media I’ve encountered. www.audubon.org/magazine/get...

The 2025 Audubon Photography Awards: The Top 100 Marvel at the beauty of birds and learn the stories behind our favorite images from this year’s contests—featuring, for the first time, photographers from Chile and Colombia.

We just published pretty much the greatest collection of bird photos you could ask for. 🪶https://www.audubon.org/magazine/2025-audubon-photography-awards-top-100

The 2025 Audubon Photography Awards: Winners Enjoy our annual celebration of outstanding bird visuals—now featuring new prizes and winners from across the Western Hemisphere.

One of my favorite projects every year. I'm a sucker for urban wildlife so I'm partial to the parrot shot. www.audubon.org/magazine/202...

📣 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...

Trump Killed a Major Report on Nature. They’re Trying to Publish It Anyway. (Gift Article) The first full draft of the assessment, on the state of America’s land, water and wildlife, was weeks from completion. The project leader called the study “too important to die.”

This is a great example of active resistance

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/c...

Tired: "editor" (connotes adding commas and ensuring that words are spelled right)

Wired: "story developer" (I conceived this baby from a single comment made by a scientist and/or turned a pile of disconnected notes into a cohesive narrative with gripping stakes and a lasting takeaway)

How Trump’s EPA Threatens Efforts to Clean Up Areas Affected Most by Dangerous Air Pollution In just two weeks, Donald Trump has made drastic changes to the Environmental Protection Agency. Here’s how they could impact efforts to reform toxic hot spots across the U.S. and who will be left to ...

I spent years covering industrial air pollution and the incremental EPA reforms to clean up the air in places like Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi. Some of those changes were anticipated to make a real difference soon.

Here's what's at stake under Trump's EPA:

www.propublica.org/article/dona...

Follow that Bird! How Drones Are Helping Scientists Track Wildlife A research project to keep tabs on Sharp-tailed Grouse shows the potential benefits of a promising but elusive technology.

Great wildlife tech story by Claudia Geib, plus check out the infrared aerial camera footage of cute nesting grouse. www.audubon.org/magazine/fol...

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.

the vibes we need (excellent review by @pocketsquar.es) www.audubon.org/magazine/new...

Donate to THE CITY | thecity.nyc (Powered by Donorbox) Local problems don’t get solved without local journalism. We cover New York's uncovered neighborhoods, hold the powerful to account, and make sense of the greatest city in the world. Your support toda...

reminder: my newsroom runs on funding from readers

if you're a reader with disposable income, chip in!

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...

A Single Heatwave Killed Half of Alaska’s Common Murres, a Shocking New Study Reveals Nearly a decade later, the seabirds still aren’t rebounding from what researchers say was the largest animal die-off in modern history—and a stark warning about climate change.

Scientists previously thought a 2015 marine heatwave killed 1 million Common Murres. In a new @science.org paper they find that it was actually much worse: 4 million murres died—the worst recorded wildlife mortality event in the modern era, Anna Gibbs reports. www.audubon.org/magazine/sin...

It was a pleasure working with Sarah on her fantastic feature— and after seeing the photography and learning they encountered a dozen polar bears in just a few days, i definitely regret not tagging along :)

i loved this! i sent it to my tour guide friend in San Francisco.

A collage of book covers of new nature & science books. Featured here are Atlas Obscura Wild Life, Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party, Every Living Thing, Alien Earths, Becoming Earth, and Deep Water

A collage of book covers of new nature & science books. Featured here are Frostbite, The Inner Clock, How to Kill an Asteroid, The Great River, The Last Fire Season, and Hoof Beats

A collage of book covers of new nature & science books. Featured here are The Serviceberry, Not the End of the World, Nature's Ghosts, Meet the Neighbors, The Light Eaters, and Our Moon

A collage of book covers of new nature & science books. Featured here are Turning to Stone, The Weight of Nature, What If We Get It Right?, Waves in An Impossible Sea, The Tree Collectors, and Why We Remember

I was deeply disappointed by the lack of nature/science/climate/enviro on many major end-of-year book lists—so I decided to make my own!

Introducing: ✨🎁📚 The 2024 Holiday Gift Guide to Nature & Science Books ✨🎁📚

Please share: Let's make this go viral in time for Black Friday / holiday shopping!

When Wild Turkeys Attack: How to Survive and Thrive In a Great Gobbler World Just remember: Don't turn around.

Don’t become a statistic this Thanksgiving. Follow @jessleber.bsky.social’s advice. www.audubon.org/magazine/whe...

A Third Woman Died Under Texas’ Abortion Ban. Doctors Are Avoiding D&Cs and Reaching for Riskier Miscarriage Treatments. Thirty-five-year-old Porsha Ngumezi’s case raises questions about how abortion bans are pressuring doctors to avoid standard care even in straightforward miscarriages.

NEW: Porsha Ngumezi is the fifth case we've reported on in which a woman died after not receiving a D&C or its second-trimester equivalent in time, or at all.

Her case raises questions about how abortion bans are pressuring doctors to avoid standard care even in straightforward miscarriages.

When Wild Turkeys Attack: How to Survive and Thrive In a Great Gobbler World Just remember: Don't turn around.

Don't ever turn your back on a Wild Turkey...and other tips i've gathered on how to survive out there when turkeys come to town.

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.

Great story by @maddieburakoff.bsky.social from our upcoming Audubon mag issue.

“The injustices that have shaped what we are today—as a nation, as a society—are shaping the entirety of the planet."

Interesting reflections on Hannah's and our team's climate coverage during Trump's first term that definitely still feel relevant.

How an infamous Great Lakes shipwreck became trendy on TikTok | Great Lakes Echo By Clara Lincolnhol As the gales of November approach, social media users are channeling an infamous Great Lakes shipwreck as tongue-in-cheek inspiration for a new fall aesthetic. It began with a video comedian Django Gold posted to TikTok in September. “Brat Summer is over. It’s time for Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Fall,” Gold says

“Brat Summer is over. It’s time for Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Fall.” greatlakesecho.org/2024/11/07/h...

Dive Into 125 Years of Audubon Magazine Covers, Bird by Bird We catalogued more than 700 covers dating back to 1899 to discover what their subjects reveal about our publication’s enduring interests.

We did a really fun graphic on all birds + other animals of Audubon magazine's covers over our 125 year history. Guess which bird was featured most often + then check it out! www.audubon.org/magazine/div...

thanks for creating this! would love to be added.

A letter to our readers

a note to Washington Post readers: On Dec. 7, we ask you to respect our walkout by not crossing the picket line: For 24 hours, please do not engage with any Post content. That includes our print + online news stories, podcasts, videos, games and recipes.

My sister is an amazing journalist, so snatch her up!

The Bone-eating Bearded Vulture Is Reclaiming Europe’s Skies Once widely persecuted, the majestic scavenger is making a remarkable rebound in Europe, but new threats could undermine a full recovery.

An early victim of fake news, bearded vultures in Europe were persecuted for decades by people who believed they attack sheep & even children. Now, the unusual raptors — the only bird that eats mostly bones — are once again soaring over the Alps’ snowy peaks. #birds

www.audubon.org/news/bone-ea...

Native Americans Domesticated Turkeys Long Before the Pilgrims Arrived Indigenous societies in the Americas valued the birds so highly that they tamed them at least twice, including in the U.S. Southwest. Turkey feathers still have abundant uses to tribes there today.

Domesticated turkeys are a millennia-old American tradition, a species so nice that native nations tamed them (at least!) twice. I wrote your seasonal reminder about it for Audubon.
🪶🦃🦉🧪

All North American Birds Named After People Will Soon Get New Names After years of consideration and little news, this week's announcement by the American Ornithological Society caught many birders by surprise.

So amidst all the excitement last week, Audubon asked lil' old me to write them a news story on the bird names announcement. (I gather they were caught by surprise and their staff writers were busy.) 🪶 www.audubon.org/news/all-nor...

Nice to see it!