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| American Avocets / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS |
Birds and birding news
- Many of California's birds are adapting to climate change by nesting earlier in the spring, when temperatures are cooler. The finding comes from a survey repeating surveys done by Joseph Grinnell in the early 20th century.
- Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park may be forced to close and return the land to donors if Trump's wall is built through the park.
- A study of Zebra Finches found that they can distinguish shades of colors in categories, which may help with mate selection.
- A mapping project found that rufa Red Knots are not currently limited by the amount of breeding habitat available.
- Rivers in the Amazon watershed can serve as barriers that lead to speciation, as in the cases of Black-spotted and Guilded Barbets or Guianan and Tawny-tufted Toucanets.
- Cassia Crossbill numbers decreased after a series of exceptionally hot summers that reduced the food available to them, so they are likely to be especially vulnerable to climate change.
- The world's largest King Penguin colony at Île aux Cochons has declined by 90%.
- Scotland's raptors, including Golden Eagles, continue to suffer persecution from landowners.
- Helen Macdonald writes on watching nightjars at dusk.
Science and nature blogging
- Avian Hybrids: Knock, Knock! Who is there? Woodpeckers, but how many species?
- Conserve Wildlife Blog: 2018 Osprey Outlook
- Vermont Center for Ecostudies: Field Guide to August 2018
- Avithera: Lewin’s Rail
- Anything Larus: Juvenile American Herrings - Late July
- Bug Eric: Wasp-watching
- wadertales: Fewer Spotted Redshanks
- Global Flyway Ecology – Team Piersma: An update on the progress of the exceptionally snow-rich breeding season in northeast Greenland
Environment and biodiversity
- The link between carbon emissions and climate change was known to scientists, politicians, and industry by 1979, but they failed to implement solutions in the decades since then. A valid criticism of that article is that it fails to name the people most responsible for blocking action.
- The extreme weather this past July shows how climate change is making the weather worse, but the link to climate change gets inadequate mention in coverage of severe weather.
- The Trump administration formally proposed rolling back fuel economy standards, which act as an indirect limit on air pollution and carbon emissions.
- The person nominated to run the Superfund program worked to defend Dow Chemical during negotiations regarding cleanups of dioxin at its sites.
- The Endangered Species Act and the organisms it protects are coming under attack from multiple directions.
- As the sea level rises and coastal storms worsen, retreat to higher ground will be necessary, with buyback programs like New Jersey's Blue Acres.
- New Jersey is suing for compensation for cleaning up pollution at six sites in the state. These suits mark the first time the state has sued for compensation since before the Christie administration.
- A new publication discusses bee habitat in four New England states. Read the publication here (pdf).
- A bill introduced by a Hawaiian senator calls for using native plants for landscaping projects on federal lands.
