BRI contributed Bald Eagle tracking data to a new study published in Science, which evaluates how human presence and landscape development influence animal movements. 🦅 🐾 Researchers from UC Santa Barbara, the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, and Yale University led the study, which analyzed animal movement data from 37 bird and [...]
By Deborah McKew, Editor-in-Chief, BRI Publications Secretarybird Close-up The Secretarybird demands attention, especially with those feather spikes crowning its head. In the late 1800s, when European travelers in Africa first saw these birds, they were reminded of the attire of the scribes (or secretaries) of the day–men who wore gray tailcoats [...]
Vol 3. Issue 3. October 2025 Building on Momentum By Allison Foster, Communications Coordinator In his seminal work Meteorology, Aristotle coined the term “quicksilver” to describe mercury. Since antiquity, humans have exploited this liquid metal for its unique characteristics—it is a good conductor of electricity, forms alloys with other metals, is sensitive to [...]
In the summer of 2015, a small group of researchers gathered in the shadow of Denali. Some had known each other for years, while others were meeting for the very first time. As Scott Weidensaul puts it, it was “instant family”. Scott Weidensaul (left) and Dr. Iain Stenhouse (right, BRI) tagging a [...]
Two eagles observed flying along the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec in August 2025 © Hugues Deglaire In July 2025, BRI biologists Bill Hanson and Chris Persico banded a Bald Eagle nestling in Freeport as part of a long-term Bald Eagle contaminants monitoring project throughout the state of Maine. The leg bands [...]
By Nate Fuller, Director of Science Operations, Senior Bat Scientist Hoary bat in flight. Photo by Josh Hydeman / Bat Conservation International The hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) is one of the largest insectivorous bats in North America and, some may argue, the coolest looking. With their impressive yellow, white, and [...]
BRI's Raptor Program Director, Chris DeSorbo climbs a tree to safely monitor a young eaglet in the nest. The story of banded Bald Eagle Red X/R begins almost two decades ago, in early June 2006, near Shapleigh, Maine. There, BRI’s Raptor Program Director, Chris DeSorbo, found himself 60 feet up a [...]
Vol 3. Issue 2. April 2025 Polar (opposite) Research: Lessons learned from two scientists working from the farthest reaches of the globe By Sarah Dodgin, Ecological Analyst The cryosphere describes the frozen parts of the earth, which includes glaciers, ice sheets, snow, and permafrost. While these areas sound desolate and void of life, [...]
Bats are some of nature's ultimate bioindicators! Beyond just eating insects, they reflect changes in habitat quality and rangeland health—soils included. Researchers from Biodiversity Research Institute, Bat Conservation International and experts from Kenya joined together for a workshop earlier this year to learn more about the bats that call Amboseli home. Read the full [...]
Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) announces the launch of their new publishing house Big Dipper Books to take place at the opening of a special wildlife art exhibit called A Critical Balance: Artists Take Action, August 16 at Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro, Vermont. “Big Dipper Books is a creative publishing house at [...]
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