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| Northern Harrier chicks / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS |
Birds and birding news
- A Bald Eagle nest in British Columbia has been home to a Red-tailed Hawk chick, which so far has been holding its own against its nestmates.
- Male fairy-wrens behave more cautiously once they acquire their bright blue feathers to avoid attracting the attention of predators.
- Palm Cockatoos have been recorded modifying and using tools to drum rhythms to impress potential mates.
- Two critically endangered Hawaiian birds, the Akikiki and the Akeke’e, face threats from climate change, mosquitos, habitat loss, and budget cuts.
- A new study predicts the spread of the Pin-tailed Whydah, a brood parasite from Africa, now that it has become established in North America.
- A research center in Pennsylvania tests various types of glass and glass coverings to see if they can prevent bird collisions.
- The Delaware Bay is a key stopover site for Red Knots and other shorebirds on their journey to their Arctic breeding grounds.
- After an eradication campaign, Desecheo NWR in the Caribbean is now free from invasive rats and safe for nesting seabirds.
- A group of Brooklyn birders has been trying to turn the Ridgewood Reservoir site into a wildlife refuge.
- A new parrot species, the Blue-winged Amazon, has been identified from the Yucatan Peninsula.
- Mallards in Romania were recorded killing and eating two songbirds, a Black Redstart and a Gray Wagtail, that landed in the water.
Science and nature blogging
- The Meadowlands Nature Blog: Don Torino’s Life in the Meadowlands: A Healthy Meadowlands Means Great Butterflies
- robertscribbler: Arctic Sea Ice Melt Analysis: The Concerning Development of a Beaufort Warm Pool During Late June
- Bird Ecology Study Group: Blue Rock-thrush – calls
- The Conversation: Urban nature: What kinds of plants and wildlife flourish in cities?
- Birding Dude: Arctic Tern at Nickerson Beach LI, NY
- ABA Blog: Happening NOW: Dickcissels on the Move
- 10,000 Birds: Birding By the Way
- Gulls to the Horizon: Chick predation by adult Lesser Black-backed Gull – 20170612
- Corvid Research: My first caramel crow
- Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography: Juvenile Eastern and Western Kingbirds – Their Ranges Overlap Here in Utah
Environment and biodiversity
- An Iranian city may have tied the record for the world's hottest recorded temperature as the Persian Gulf region remains stuck in an intense heat wave.
- Meanwhile the climate action plan for the G20 summit has been weakened to mollify Donald Trump, though the Trump administration seems likely to reject or ignore the agreement anyway.
- In the U.S., the economic effects of climate change are likely to be worse in the southeast than elsewhere in the country.
- Even though greenhouse gas emissions have stabilized, carbon in the atmosphere is still rising, which raises the question of whether natural carbon sinks will continue to respond as we expect.
- Budget cuts threaten progress in cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay.
- The public can now comment on the review of national marine monuments and sanctuaries. Leave comments here.
- While marginal agricultural land offers the best opportunity for restoring butterfly populations (especially the Monarch), planting native plants is necessary in all landscape types, including suburban and urban ones.
- After part of a coastal cliff collapsed in southwestern England in the 19th century, a remaining piece became an isolated haven for rare plants.
- An intensive logging campaign is destroying the Białowieża forest in Poland, which has long been recognized as a key biodiversity hotspot.
- The PennEast pipeline project, which would carry natural gas from Pennsylvania through western New Jersey, is stalled after its parent company did not submit required information for its application.
- More Humpback Whales will be in New Jersey and New York waters this summer because of the rise in Atlantic Menhaden close to shore.
