Science & Environment

This past week brought widespread reports of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Scarlet Tanagers and Baltimore Orioles. On the Bird Report, Vern Laux celebrates an exciting time of year for birders, as migrant birds pass by and summer resident species return for another breeding season. The majority of land birds migrate at night - a mysterious and largely unseen phenomenon!

"Green" has become synonymous with "good" in many circles. Not inside the Arctic circle.

Two recent studies - one projecting into the future, and one reconstructing the ancient past - both lead to the same conclusion: The Arctic of the near future will be warmer, wetter, and dramatically greener, with more trees and less snow and ice.

Every year monarch butterflies begin a journey north from their overwintering grounds in Mexican forests. The epic migration spans generations and the better part of a continent. In this first of two episodes, we’ll meet a pair of women united by their fascination with this iconic insect. Mexican geographer Isabel Ramírez and American biologist Karen Oberhauser are working to save monarch habitat on both ends of this remarkable insect’s 2,500 mile journey. Ari Daniel Shapiro reports.