Author Rebecca Heisman Rebecca Heisman is a freelance writer based out of Walla Walla, Washington. She worked in environmental education and wildlife biology before taking up writing, and especially loves birds. Follow her on Twitter at @r_heisman. @r_heisman Rebecca Heisman's Latest Articles Spain’s Cliff-Nesting Gulls Are Actually Beach Bums By Rebecca Heisman ● News ● May 14, 2026 Almost a century ago, egg-poaching humans drove yellow-legged gulls away from beaches. Now the birds are coming back. After the Outbreak By Rebecca Heisman ● News ● February 12, 2026 A northern gannet colony devastated by avian influenza is slowly recovering—and so are the researchers who witnessed the virus’s wrath. The Tree That Ate the West By Kathryn Whitney & Rebecca Heisman ● Feature ● August 9, 2016 Both native and invasive—protected and reviled—western junipers are a living contradiction.