As bird rescue groups prepare to deal with hundreds or potentially thousands of oiled birds resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf, American Bird Conservancy President George Fenwick cautioned that the toll from the spill may be far greater when the unseen impacts are factored into the environmental disaster still ongoing in the Gulf of Mexico.

American Bird Conservancy has released a list of key bird sites they say are most immediately threatened by the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf. The sites have been previously designated as Globally Important Bird Areas by the organization, and are directly in the path of the advancing oil slick.

An article published today in the journal Science cites continued losses of biological diversity worldwide, despite targets set for 2010 by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) intended to stop or at least slow such losses.

The Orlando Sentinel newspaper and other Florida media are reporting two incidents of rabid feral cats attacking humans. WFTV in Orlando, Florida describes both attacks as unprovoked.

ABC has signed on as a supporter of The Aransas Project, an alliance concerned with decreasing freshwater flows in the Guadalupe River Basin of Texas and the resulting increase in salinity along coastal inlets, including the Aransas Bay, where the only remaining natural flock of endangered Whooping Cranes spends the winter.

As warmer temperatures begin to arrive and we spend more time outdoors, we hear the many, familiar sounds of spring, including the songs of our returning migrant birds. At this time of year, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) often gets asked how people can help birds. Toward that end, ABC has identified the top ten things people can do to aid or protect declining birds in their homes and yards.

American Bird Conservancy's Mexican partner Pronatura Noreste is reporting another successful year for the Thick-billed Parrot nest box program.

American Bird Conservancy has just published a new, downloadable brochure that offers a variety of tips on how to reduce the chances of birds flying into home windows and glass doors. Scientists estimate that 300 million to one billion birds die each year from collisions with glass, the majority of which is on homes.

Two communities in the southern Bolivian Department of Cochabamba have joined forces with American Bird Conservancy and the Center for Biodiversity and Genetics to designate two areas of almost 500,000 acres to aid in the protection of the Red-fronted Macaw. These important areas will also help protect other rare and declining species.

Opening arguments will be heard in an appeal starting today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that will decide the fate of carbofuran, one of the most toxic pesticides to birds. American Bird Conservancy hopes the judge's gavel will sound the death knell for this chemical in the United States, which is thought to have caused the deaths of tens of millions of birds since its use began in 1965.

The Long-whiskered Owlet, one of the rarest birds in the world, was filmed and photographed in January 2010 by researchers at La Esperanza, Peru. Fewer than 15 people have ever seen this bird in the wild.

Dr. David Pashley, Vice President of American Bird Conservancy cautioned today that as climate change impacts are increasingly felt throughout the United States and beyond, conservation efforts affecting birds will take on a doubly important role in protecting not only birds that are already threatened, but also more common birds as well.

American Bird Conservancy (ABC) - the nation's leading bird conservation organization - applauded legislation introduced by Illinois Congressman Mike Quigley (D-IL) that will help prevent the deaths of millions of birds that collide with windows at thousands of federal buildings across the country.

The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) is reporting that the primary causes of the recent Brown Pelican mass stranding (involving varying degrees of incapacitation of hundreds of birds) along the Oregon and California Coast are related to shortages of preferred prey items, such as anchovies and sardines, and rough winter weather likely related to the current El Nino event.

American Bird Conservancy (ABC) - the nation's leading bird conservation organization - today called the decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the greater sage-grouse disappointing, but hopeful. The Service determined that the sage-grouse warrants federal protection as an endangered species, but that it will not be listed due to other priorities. Instead, it will be placed on the Candidate List with other species whose status is also in limbo.

Lihu'e, Kaua'i - Four citizen groups today advised the St. Regis Princeville Resort of their intent to sue over the luxury resort's failure to prevent the ongoing deaths of rare native seabirds, in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act. The St. Regis is owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which also owns the Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, W Hotels, and Le Meridien brands.

After three years without a confirmed mortality due to lead poisoning, three California Condors in Northern Arizona have recently died from ingesting lead. The condors, including a female and her chick, were recovered by The Peregrine Fund, the organization responsible for the condor release program in Arizona.

Saturday, March 27, 2010 8:30 pm, your local time, where ever you are around the globe, will be Earth Hour. By turning off 'non-essential' lights, this is a simple but powerful way for millions of people to send a very visible signal that they are concerned about global climate change.

With significant help from ABC, two new protected areas in Bolivia are providing habitat protection for the endangered Red-fronted Macaw and other rare and declining species. The first of these two areas was established in the Andean municipality of Aiquile, while the second, in the neighboring Omereque municipality, will be officially declared later this year.

Citing that numbers of the Greater Sage-Grouse have dramatically diminished in recent decades, and the continued expansion of energy developments that threaten the species' sagebrush habitat, the President of American Bird Conservancy today called on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Greater Sage-Grouse under the Endangered Species Act.>

American Bird Conservancy and its partners in 12 countries throughout the Americas have launched a new, international birdwatching tourism initiative called "Conservation Birding" that is aimed at preventing the extinction of bird species. The initiative will help to finance bird reserves across the Americas by developing them as birding tourism destinations with lodges, trails, and other facilities for visitors.

Leading U.S. bird conservation group, American Bird Conservancy (ABC), and two Hawaiian groups - the Conservation Council for Hawai'i and Hawai'i Audubon Society, have renewed calls to Congress to provide funding to clean up 70 deadly lead paint-contaminated buildings on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.