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| Horned Larks / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS |
Birds and birding news
- As birders and conservationists predicted, the new, glass-covered stadium for the Minnesota Vikings is killing birds at an astounding rate. Here is Audubon's report on the fall 2016 season (pdf).
- The Greater Prairie-Chicken population in Illinois needs human intervention because of declining genetic diversity and loss of habitat.
- A profile of Noah Strycker muses on what gets people into birdwatching.
- A California photographer has recorded a roadrunner catching a hummingbird in midair.
- Another video shows turkeys circling a dead cat in the middle of a street, possibly a form of predator defense.
- Volunteers are helping the effort to rebuild the endangered Orange-fronted Parakeet's population in New Zealand.
- An albino Black Vulture was found in New York.
- Last year a record 172 Bald Eagle pairs with 216 chicks were recorded breeding in New Jersey.
- The companies responsible for the Berkeley Pit in Montana will start using propane cannons and lasers to scare waterfowl away to prevent more incidents like the deaths of several thousand Snow Geese in November.
Science and nature blogging
- Corvid Research: Have you ever seen a caramel crow?
- Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography: Listening for Long-billed Curlews
- Feathered Photography: “Gradual Diving” Pied-billed Grebe
- Lyreades nature blog: The claustrophobic birds that nest in dangerous places
- Splendour Awaits: Photographs as specimens: Adding value.
- Bug Eric: The Big Bug Hunt and How You Can Help
- Project SNOWstorm: Wells is on Her Way
- Bird Ecology Study Group: Do you know that Snowy Owl…
- robertscribbler: Antarctic Sea Ice Hits New All-Time Record Low
- 10,000 Birds: Western Reef-Heron
- Snapshots of Nature: Prospect Park Work Day
Environment and biodiversity
- Today is UN World Wildlife Day, which celebrates the signing of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). For more, see the linked website or follow the #WorldWildlifeDay hashtag on Twitter.
- The proposed federal budget would cut EPA staff from 15,000 to 12,000 and reduce or eliminate funding for environmental justice and energy efficiency programs.
- Rep. Ryan Zinke was confirmed this week as Secretary of the Interior, the department that oversees most public lands, including national parks and wildlife refuges, and is charged with enforcing the Endangered Species Act. His nomination caused a split among environmental groups, with many opposing but some supporting.
- One of Zinke's first acts in office was to revoke the Obama administration's rule (pdf) against the use of lead ammunition in national wildlife refuges. Lead poisoning from ingesting ammunition is a major cause of death for many species, including endangered California Condors.
- The Trump administration also wants to reverse the Obama administration's Waters of the U.S. rule, which had sought to clarify which waterways and wetlands are regulated under the Clean Water Act.
- Budget cuts to state parks pose a major conservation challenge, especially in Wisconsin where tax-funded support for parks was eliminated.
- If the proposed border wall is constructed along the entire border, it would have substantial effects on wildlife and natural landscapes (in addition to the human rights problems).
- Forest degradation (especially in the tropics) is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions but tends to be overlooked in policy-making.
- Drastic cooling in the North Atlantic could happen sooner than expected due to slowing of ocean currents.
- The warm temperatures in the eastern U.S. have pushed salamanders to start migrating to their breeding grounds earlier than usual; in many places, like the Delaware Water Gap and East Brunswick, roads are closed temporarily on migration nights.
- The Pinelands Preservation Alliance is starting a campaign to protect the waters of the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer, which are increasingly threatened by development projects (like the Pinelands pipeline).
- A bill in New Jersey's state senate would ban logging within the Highlands protected area.
