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Received yesterday β€” 13 February 2026

β€˜We are hopeful’: small signs of recovery for Scotland’s rare capercaillie bird

13 February 2026 at 01:00

Number of males at RSPB Abernethy rises to 30, after β€˜huge amount of work’ by conservationists in Highlands forests

After decades of decline, there are signs of hope for the capercaillie, one of Britain’s most endangered birds.

Populations of the charismatic grouse, which in the UK is found only in the Caledonian pine forests of the Scottish Highlands, have increased by 50%, from 20 males in 2020 to 30 in 2025 at RSPB Abernethy.

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Β© Photograph: Stefano Sudaro/Getty Images/500px

Β© Photograph: Stefano Sudaro/Getty Images/500px

Β© Photograph: Stefano Sudaro/Getty Images/500px

Received before yesterday

Rare Albatross Coasts Above California Waters Far From Home

1 February 2026 at 12:07
The unexpected sighting of a waved albatross, which was thousands of miles from its typical range, earned it a label ornithologists reserve for the unexpected: an avian β€œvagrant.”

Β© Melody Baran/University of California-San Diego-Scripps Institution of Oceanography, via Associated Press

A rare waved albatross was spotted off the coast of Point Piedras Blancas, Calif., this month.

Filoplumes Are Nature’s Super Feather

21 January 2026 at 09:56
Filoplumes may be tiny, but these hairlike feathers enable nonstop flights that span thousands of miles.

Β© Bryan Anselm for The New York Times

Bird Flu Viruses Raise Mounting Concerns Among Scientists

10 January 2026 at 15:27
Researchers are not just worried about the virus popping up on American farms. Other types are causing trouble around the world.

Β© Tim Gruber for The New York Times

The milking parlor of a Wisconsin dairy farm. The Agriculture Department announced the first detection of bird flu in a herd in the state, the third time the virus had jumped from wildlife into dairy cattle last year.
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