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| Whooping Cranes / Photo by Mike Umscheid/USFWS |
Birds and birding news
- A new book uses examples from birds to argue that some traits evolve as much for aesthetic reasons as for survival. The author expounds on that view in this essay.
- Climate change could put endangered Whooping Cranes at further risk of extinction by drying up their wetland breeding grounds.
- Captive-bred Blue-throated Macaws will soon supplement the remnant wild population of this highly-endangered species.
- Olana, the home of Frederic Edwin Church, is a good spot for birding during migration and the breeding season.
- Venezuela's Harpy Eagle conservation program has managed to get some cooperation from loggers (one of the main threats to the species) and promote ecotourism as an economic reason to preserve the species.
- Male Dark-eyed Juncos adjust their courtship displays depending on the social context: elements like whether the bird has a mate, its size, and whether other birds are watching.
- Migratory birds arriving later than they should to breeding grounds since climate change has sped up the onset of spring.
- Sometimes a bird song is one of several mimic species rather than the real thing.
- A new paper suggests that wing-assisted hopping might have been a precursor to fully powered flight in the early evolution of birds.
- The kokako will be reintroduced to part of its former range in New Zealand.
- Even non-migratory birds like Zebra Finches use a magnetic compass to orient themselves.
- Blue Tit nestlings can tell the difference between the smells of familiar and unfamiliar nestlings.
- Yellow-eyed Penguins could disappear from New Zealand's Otago Peninsula by 2060.
- In a series of experiments, cockatoos kept their tools safe by holding them with their feet while eating.
- Egyptian Vultures engage in cosmetic mud bathing rituals in red soil.
- The Architect of the Capitol installed duck ramps around the Capitol Reflecting Pool so that ducklings could get in and out of the pool more easily.
Science and nature blogging
- 10,000 Birds: New York City Park Department Contractor Tears Up Imperiled Sparrows Home
- Movement Ecology of Animals: Connecticut Warblers fly over the Atlantic for 2 straight days in the fall
- Boreal Songbird Blog: Is a boreal songbird’s stunning over-ocean flight just the tip of the iceberg?
- Snapshots of Nature: A Fallout of Birders
- NY Harbor Nature: Common Terns Active Around New York Harbor
- Backyard and Beyond: Vigilance Against Poachers
- The Urban Birder World: Urban birds: Tails of the Unexpected
- Linda Murdock Photography: Up Close with a Reddish Egret
- Entomology Today: Photographing Spiders in Singapore: A Night Hike With Photographer Nicky Bay
Environment and biodiversity
- Surveys by amateur entomologists in Europe have found dramatic declines among many insects, especially among hoverflies, which are important pollinators.
- A remote island in the South Pacific is covered in plastic trash despite being far away from any major landmass or human population.
- Changes in precipitation patterns are causing hardwoods in eastern forests to move west at the same time that warming is causing conifers to move north.
- Ryan Zinke is touring Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante this week as part of his review of monuments designated during the Clinton and Obama administrations. People who want to preserve these and other national monuments need to speak up and submit comments during the review process. Here are some talking points regarding Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.
- The Revelator is a new environmental news website backed by the Center for Biological Diversity; one of the first articles asks how to keep from feeling overwhelmed by bad news.
- A new paper suggests planting hedgerows between pedestrians and the street to reduce the pollutants that pedestrians inhale. (That article mentions privet hedges, which are invasive in North America, but native substitutes could probably be found.)
- The National Weather Service predicts a warmer than usual summer for most of the U.S.
- A research project is developing a plan for managing coastal wetlands to compensate for sea level rise.
