A Central Park birdwatching incident went viral after Christian Cooper filmed a white woman threatening him. Now he is using his platform to share his passion for nature

In May 2020, Christian Cooper was in an area called the Ramble in Central Park in New York. It’s a beautiful place, he says, and vital to the local bird population. So when he saw a dog off its leash, which is not permitted in the Ramble to protect the birds, he confronted the owner.

The woman, angry that Cooper was filming, said she would call the police and say ‘an African American’ man was threatening her if he did not stop. The video went viral and the ugly incident sparked fury, coming as it did on the same day as the death of George Floyd.

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Mechanism unpicked that allows black-capped chickadees to stash and relocate huge quantities of food

While adults might be spending the weekend trying to remember where they have hidden a hoard of Easter eggs, the black-capped chickadee has no trouble recalling where its treats are stashed. Now researchers have discovered why: the diminutive birds create a barcode-like memory each time they stash food.

Black-capped chickadees are known for tucking food away during the warmer months – with some estimates suggesting a single bird can hide up to 500,000 food itemsa year. But more remarkable still is their reliability in finding the morsels again.

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Lower Pertwood in Wiltshire aims to restore declining plants, insects and endangered species

The rolling hills south of Salisbury Plain are a bleak scene of vast arable fields and tightly grazed pasture dotted with scores of sheep.

In recent decades, Lower Pertwood farm has embraced organic growing, producing oats, barley and other crops, while boosting numbers of rare corn buntings and other wildlife with wildflower banks and newly planted trees.

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Boats had been barred from landing since July 2022 owing to virus, which has ravaged populations of seabirds

The puffins started arriving two weeks ago – and now there are thousands of them fizzing around in a mad frenzy. They have joined kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and shags. Soon Arctic terns will arrive after their epic journey across the world from the Antarctic.

This week humans arrived after a two-year ban from the Farne Islands in Northumberland, one of the UK’s most important sanctuaries for breeding seabirds.

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Asymptomatic cases may seem reassuring for the penguins, but scientists fear they could act as ‘Trojan horses’ for other species

Adélie penguins in Antarctica are testing positive for bird flu without showing outward signs of disease, according to researchers who travelled around 13 remote breeding sites on an ice-breaking cruise ship.

Since bird flu arrived in the region this year , there have been concerns about the virus reaching the Antarctic’s fragile penguin populations. In November last year, researchers warned in a pre-print research paper that if the virus caused mass mortality in these colonies, “it could signal one of the largest ecological disasters of modern times”.

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Trial project aims to drive colonies causing a nuisance at Camp Nou football stadium to nearby parks

Barcelona has recruited a new weapon in its fight to keep the urban pigeon population under control: Harris eagles and falcons.

As part of a trial, teams of three or four birds of prey have started patrolling an area around Camp Nou , FC Barcelona’s football ground, between 8am and 4pm. Pigeons nesting in the ground have been driven out by building works and have relocated to nearby blocks of flats whose residents have demanded action.

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In late 2023, Peter Kaestner was about to log his 10,000th bird species seen in the wild. Then Jason Mann showed up

In late 2023, 70-year-old birder Peter Kaestner was within striking distance of a goal that had never been accomplished: seeing more than 10,000 different species of birds in the wild.

Such a record had previously been unthinkable, but with new technology facilitating rare bird sightings, improved DNA testing identifying a growing number of bird species, and public listing platforms making it easier to keep track of and share findings, more super-birders are inching towards the five digits.

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African Verreaux’s eagle owl to make final flyover during Easter holidays before move to Yorkshire Dales

Any night owl who has spent 30 years of working all day would be dreaming of retirement.

Such is the case for Ernie, an owl with a “big personality”, who will be quitting after delighting guests at Warwick Castle for three decades.

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MSPs vote for controls as it emerges another hen harrier has vanished in area ‘notorious’ for persecution

Grouse moors across Scotland will be required to hold licences and face being banned from shooting as part of radical measures to combat bird of prey persecution passed by MSPs on Thursday.

The Scottish parliament voted for the controls following intense pressure from conservation scientists and campaigners after decades of illegal attacks on birds of prey by gamekeepers instructed to protect grouse on shooting estates from being eaten.

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