2021-05-07 14:16
White-crowned Sparrow / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsTomorrow is NJ Audubon's World Series of Birding, a big day tournament to raise money for conservation. Like last year… Read More
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A Dc Birding Blog
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Blog about birding, wildlife, and the environment
2021-04-30 13:16
Green Heron / Photo by Jerry Herman/USFWS volunteerBirds and birding newsScientists are beginning to understand more about nocturnal bird migration thanks to technogical advances in weather… Read More
2021-04-23 13:11
Brant / my photoBirds and birding newsBright reds and yellows are supposed to be a sign of breeding fitness, but some male tanagers are able to appear more colorful than they really are beca… Read More
2021-04-16 13:00
Bald Eagle / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsShorebird Stewards received a grant to help protect beaches for breeding horseshoe crabs and the shorebirds like Red Knots that d… Read More
2021-04-09 13:00
Blue-winged Teal / Photo by Jim Hudgins/USFWSBirds and birding newsSwift Parrots are endangered by deforestation, and new rules to protect their habitat may not be enough to save them. Here… Read More
2021-04-02 13:00
Greater Sage-Grouse / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsAccording to an analysis of CBC data, warerfowl are wintering farther north as winters become warmer, so that some duck… Read More
2021-03-26 13:53
Song Sparrow / by meBirds and birding newsA Ring-billed Gull in Cleveland turned out to be the oldest Ring-billed Gull ever recorded after a partial band number was determined from photograp… Read More
2021-03-19 13:00
Wood Duck / Photo by T. Kersten/USFWSBirds and birding newsRegent Honeyeaters are losing their songs as their population dwindles. Young songbirds learn their songs from mature birds, so wit… Read More
2021-03-12 14:00
Bufflehead / USFWS PhotoBirds and birding newsWhooping Cranes avoid stopover sites near wind farms, so approval for new wind farms should take that into account when selecting sites.Bird wat… Read More
2021-03-05 14:00
Common Grackle / Photo by Diana Cosby/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe capture and selling of wild birds for their song is driving many Asian songbirds to extinction.Spring is a great time to… Read More
2021-02-26 14:00
Ferruginous Hawk / Photo by Rick Bohn/USFWSBirds and birding newsA Black-browed Babbler was found by local birders in Borneo for the first time since the 1840s.John James Audubon left a comp… Read More
2021-02-19 16:03
Greater Sage-Grouse / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsA prominent birder was accused of rape this week, and in response activists are pushing birding organizations to remove… Read More
2021-02-12 15:00
Red-winged Blackbird / Photo by Courtney Celley/USFWSBirds and birding newsThis weekend is the annual Great Backyard Bird Count. Everyone is invited to participate by watching birds for 15 m… Read More
2021-02-05 15:19
Bald Eagle / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsNeoptropical songbirds molt rapidly prior to migration and replace multiple feather tracts simultaneously.Animals that burrow far… Read More
2021-01-29 14:00
Rough-legged Hawk / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsGreat Blue Herons in British Columbia have been nesting near Bald Eagles to reduce nest predation. The herons may lose som… Read More
2021-01-22 14:00
Song Sparrow / my photoBirds and birding newsWhooping Cranes that breed in the boreal forest and winter in Texas have benefited from conservation work.A pigeon found in Australia was wearing… Read More
2021-01-15 15:19
Bald Eagles / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe Trump administration is removing protections from 3.4 million acres of critical habitat for the Northern Spotted Owl. The mo… Read More
2021-01-08 15:43
Ferruginous Hawk / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe Trump administration finalized its rule to allow fossil fuel companies and others to kill migratory birds without fines… Read More
2021-01-01 14:00
Bald Eagles / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsSome of the owls banded by Project SNOW are starting to return data logged over the summer as they come back into transmission r… Read More
2020-12-31 15:00
Goodbye to 2020It has been a while since I posted about my own birding on this blog as it has turned into more of a birding and environmental news blog. However, I've been meaning to revive… Read More
2020-12-25 22:15
White-throated Sparrow / my photoBirds and birding newsChristmas Bird Count season is halfway over, but counts are still happening (under rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19.). You can f… Read More
2020-12-18 14:00
Belted Kingfisher / Photo by Scott Somershoe/USFWSBirds and birding newsHornbills are threatened by the wildlife trade and also by a lack of natural nesting cavities and the mature forests w… Read More
2020-12-11 16:57
Orange-crowned Warbler / Photo by Peter Pearsall/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe US Fish and Wildlife Service wants to downlist Red-cockaded Woodpeckers from endangered to threatened. While t… Read More
2020-12-04 15:00
Evening Grosbeak / Photo by Keith Ramos/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe new European Breeding Bird Atlas shows that European breeding birds have moved north by an average 28km since the 1980s… Read More
2020-11-27 15:21
Song Sparrow / my photoBirds and birding newsBeach-nesting birds in North Carolina had a successful breeding season.A new study found that pollution reduction mandated by the Clean Air Act s… Read More
2020-11-20 15:00
Ferruginous Hawk / Photo: Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsSeasonal migrations of White-breasted Nuthatches are disguised by their status as common residents in many areas, but migrati… Read More
2020-11-13 15:29
Red-breasted Nuthatch / Photo by Peter Pearsall/USFWSBirds and birding newsEcologists are noticing hidden bird declines even in relatively undisturbed forests. The decline of Common Loo… Read More
2020-11-06 15:00
Golden-crowned Kinglet / my photoBirds and birding newsA new study proposes splitting the Gentoo Penguin into four species based on DNA and size.In the spring of 2021, there will be Spring G… Read More
2020-10-30 14:00
Ruby-crowned Kinglet / Photo by Peter Pearsall/USFWSBirds and birding newsGentoo and Chinstrap Penguins and threatened by both climate change and krill fishing, and the creation of marine pr… Read More
2020-10-23 14:00
Western Meadowlark / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsA study spurred by deaths at a solar energy plant found that the Yuma Ridgway's Rail migrates even though it was thought… Read More
2020-10-16 14:58
Northern Harrier / Photo: Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsA Bar-tailed Godwit flew 7,500 miles from Alaska to New Zealand in 11 days in a non-stop flight. Avian botulism killed 4… Read More
2020-10-09 14:00
Black-throated Blue Warbler / my photoBirds and birding newsThe USFWS will list the Black Rail as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This species has been declining rapidly, partic… Read More
2020-10-02 14:00
Black-crowned Night-Heron / Photo by Grayson Smith/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe outcome of the November election will affect bird conservation, both directly through enforcement of the Mig… Read More
2020-09-25 14:00
Great Horned Owl / Photo by Keegan Delurey/USFWS SCABirds and birding newsSince Ron Pittaway retired from producing annual winter finch forecasts, the newly-created Finch Research Network wi… Read More
2020-09-18 15:04
Red-breasted Nuthatch / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsHundreds of thousands of migratory birds have died in the Southwest over the past month in an unusual mass mortality e… Read More
2020-09-11 14:00
Piping Plover / Photo by Matt Poole/USFWSBirds and birding newsHummingbirds that live at higher altitudes spend more time in torpor at lower temperatures to conserve energy on cold nights. T… Read More
2020-09-04 14:00
Great Blue Heron / my photoBirds and birding newsThis year's Global Shorebird Counts will run from September 3-9. Any birder is welcome to participate, and there are directions at the link… Read More
2020-08-28 14:00
Pectoral Sandpipers / Photo by Jessica Bolser/USFWSBirds and birding newsEBird announced that their October Big Day will be on October 17 this year, and the same weekend will feature the fir… Read More
2020-08-21 14:00
Yellow Warbler / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsA tracking study found that some Kirtland's Warblers wander widely during the breeding season.Critically endangered Orange-be… Read More
2020-08-14 14:00
American Woodcock / Photo by Jared Green/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe AOS NACC finally renamed the McCown's Longspur as Thick-billed Longspur since John McCown fought for the Confederacy… Read More
2020-08-07 14:00
Saltmarsh Sparrow / USFWS PhotoBirds and birding newsLike the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society is re-evaluating the life and legacy of its founder. There is also a push to rename the No… Read More
2020-07-31 14:00
American Goldfinch / Photo by Courtney Celley/USFWSBirds and birding newsFor the sixth year in a row, there has been a mass die-off of seabirds in Alaskan waters, this time near Nome. Most h… Read More
2020-07-24 14:20
Greater Sage-Grouse / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsSurface feeders like kittiwakes and fulmars are more likely to ingest plastic than seabirds that feed below the surface… Read More
2020-07-17 14:11
American Robin on nest / Photo by Mara Koenig/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe Cornell Lab of Ornithology published their comment on the proposed regulatory changes to weaken the Migratory Bir… Read More
2020-07-10 14:00
Brewer's Blackbird / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsIn response to calls to drop objectionable honorific bird names, the American Ornithological Society announced that they… Read More
2020-07-03 14:00
Western Tanager / Photo by Kari Cieszkiewicz/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe Trump administration is pushing a regulatory change that would stop enforcement of "incidental" bird killings unde… Read More
2020-06-26 14:21
Ruby-throated Hummingbird / Photo by Courtney Celley/USFWSBirds and birding newsWhile people are distracted by other crises, the Bureau of Land Management is speeding up deforestation and sa… Read More
2020-06-19 14:00
Marsh Wren / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsBroad-tailed Hummingbirds can see a variety of nonspectral colors that combine ultraviolet with colors in the visible spectrum.&n&hell…Read More
2020-06-12 14:00
Bald Eagle chick in nest / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsBlack Birders Week continued on social media through the end of last week to raise the profile of non-white birders… Read More
2020-06-05 15:24
Tree Swallow / my photoBirds and birding newsBlack birders designated this week as Black Birders Week in response to the bias incident in Central Park and coinciding with nation-wide protest… Read More
2020-05-29 14:00
Eastern Kingbird / photo by meBirds and birding newsAn encounter between a black birder and a woman with a dog off-leash in Central Park escalated into a racial incident when the woman calle… Read More
2020-05-22 14:00
Gray Catbird / my photoBirds and birding newsThe COVID-19 pandemic has inspired many people to start birdwatching. The link includes tips for backyard birding.The Delaware Bay has a shortage… Read More
2020-05-15 14:00
Red-headed Woodpecker / Photo by Jessica Bolser/USFWSBirds and birding newsLast Saturday was the World Series of Birding in New Jersey. My team, the Middlesex Merlins, recorded 148 bird spec… Read More
2020-05-08 14:00
Common Grackle / my photoBirds and birding newsThis weekend is the World Series of Birding in New Jersey, with new rules suited to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds raised through the WSB go to s… Read More
2020-05-01 14:05
House Wren / my photoBirds and birding newsDuring the coronavirus pandemic, birders need to keep track of the status of public and private birding areas, and which sites are open may change… Read More
2020-04-24 14:00
Cinnamon Teal x Blue-winged Teal hybrid / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsA bacterial infection has killed 11,000 Blue Tits in the past two weeks in Germany. Flamingos in Alb… Read More
2020-04-17 14:18
Bald Eagle / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsThere have been a number of articles published on birding while practicing social distancing. Here is one on backyard birding. Bi… Read More
2020-04-10 14:00
American Robin / my photoBirds and birding newsThe American Birding Association has some recommendations for birding while practicing social distancing.A study in Brazil showed that forest b… Read More
2020-04-03 14:00
Masked Booby / USFWS PhotoBirds and birding newsThe coronavirus pandemic has made birding more complicated. EBird has some recommendations for safe birding. One option is backyard birding. T… Read More
2020-03-27 15:45
American Robin / my photoBirds and birding newsWatching even common birds like geese can distract from the coronavirus for a little while, and so can paying attention to the arrival of sprin… Read More
2020-03-20 14:00
Brown-headed Cowbirds / my photoBirds and birding newsDue to the coronavirus pandemic, many spring birding festivals have been canceled. The National Park Service is leaving outdoor spaces o… Read More
2020-03-13 14:00
Black-capped Chickadee / Photo by David Ellis/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe discovery of a skull of a bird ancestor, named Oculudentavis, trapped in fossilized amber shows that birds attain… Read More
2020-03-06 15:00
American Robin / my photoBirds and birding newsMigrating warblers with more body mass tend to sleep facing forward, while thinner ones sleep with their heads tucked, which saves energy but a… Read More
2020-02-28 15:10
Mallard / my photoBirds and birding newsThree native honeycreeper species on Kauai are starting to sound like each other because their populations have declined so much. The loss of distinct… Read More
2020-02-21 16:44
Blue Jay / Photo by J. Meyers/USFWSBirds and birding newsA study of Black-throated Blue Warblers using data from bird banding stations found that they have been migrating about one day earli… Read More
2020-02-14 15:00
Great Horned Owl / Photo by Bill Moses/USFWSBirds and birding newsThis weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count. Here is an explanation of how to participate.New genetic evidence suggests th… Read More
2020-02-07 15:05
Northern Pintail / Photo by K. Chelius/USFWSBirds and birding newsCaptive-bred Madagascar Pochards are already reproducing in the wild. The Madagascar Pochard is critically endangered, and i… Read More
2020-01-31 15:00
Pine Grosbeak / USFWS PhotoBirds and birding newsAlbatrosses equipped with radar detectors are being used to track illegal fishing that might otherwise go undetected. Out of 353 ships that a… Read More
2020-01-24 15:12
Golden Eagle / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsA study using thermal imaging found that Tufted Puffins use their big bills to disperse excess heat. Northern Spotted Owls have… Read More
2020-01-17 15:00
American Robin / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsA new study links the mass mortality of Common Murres in Alaska in 2015 to a combination of a reduction in prey fish and an i… Read More
2020-01-10 15:00
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsA new study names five new bird species and five new subspecies from three remote Indonesian islands.Detroit is expe… Read More
2020-01-03 15:00
Red-headed Woodpecker on New Year's Day / by meBirds and birding newsThe number of Gurney's Pittas has declined rapidly since surveys in 2003. Major threats include the wildlife trade (pitta… Read More
2019-12-27 15:00
Cedar Waxwing / Photo by Grayson Smith/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe Audubon project Survival By Degrees shows how bird ranges will change as the climate warms. Among other things, many sta… Read More
2019-12-20 15:00
Common Loon / Photo by Grayson Smith/USFWSBirds and birding newsA genetic study of the Long-whiskered Owlet confirmed that it is most closely related to the Elf Owl, and that those two speci… Read More
2019-12-13 15:00
Masked Boobies / USFWS PhotoBirds and birding newsA genetic study confirms that the extinction of Carolina Parakeets was caused primarily by humans.The loss of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean co… Read More
2019-12-06 15:00
Ash-throated Flycatcher / my photoBirds and birding newsNew genetic research using museum specimens finds that the extinction of the Great Auk was a result of overhunting and not due to envi… Read More
2019-11-29 15:00
Great Blue Heron / Photo by Keenan Adams/USFWSBirds and birding newsA study that requires collecting seabirds in the Bering Sea so far has shown that the birds are struggling to find their p… Read More
2019-11-22 15:00
Cedar Waxwing / Photo by Bill Thompson/USFWSBirds and birding newsEnvironmental DNA has been used to confirm the presence of an endangered Gouldian Finch at a watering hole in Australia.A st… Read More
2019-11-15 15:00
American Bittern / my photoBirds and birding newsIf greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current level, Emperor Penguins would probably be extinct by the end of the century. If every c… Read More
2019-11-08 15:00
Swallow-tailed Kite / Photo by Grayson Smith/USFWSBirds and birding newsFor coastal species like Saltmarsh Sparrows to survive climate change, restoration of high salt marshes will be necess… Read More
2019-11-01 14:09
Gray Catbird / Photo by Kyle Chelius/USFWSBirds and birding newsWith the fledging of some chicks this summer, there are now more than 100 California Condors in the wild in central California… Read More
2019-10-25 14:00
Mallard (my photo)Birds and birding newsThe male White Bellbird has the loudest recorded bird vocalization at 125 decibels, louder than a Screaming Piha.A study of Yellowhammer song found th… Read More
2019-10-18 14:00
Common Yellowthroat / Photo by Kyle Chelius/USFWSBirds and birding newsIt was another bad summer for seabirds in Alaska, as volunteers collected nearly 9,200 seabird carcasses from around Al… Read More
2019-10-11 14:00
Sanderling / Photo by Peter Pearsall/USFWSBirds and birding newsA new report from Audubon finds that 389 bird species are vulnerable to extinction due to climate change out of the 604 North… Read More
2019-10-04 14:00
Surfbird / Photo by Peter Pearsall/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe falling water level in the Great Salt Lake created land bridges that allowed coyotes to reach an island where American Whit… Read More
2019-09-27 14:00
Carolina Wren (my photo)Birds and birding newsSaltmarsh Sparrows are losing habitat to sea level rise and development, while their nests are flooded by higher tides or raided by invasive spe… Read More
2019-09-20 14:05
Bristle-thighed Curlew / USFWS PhotoBirds and birding newsThe North American bird populations has dropped by almost a third since 1970, a decline of about 3 billion birds. Since common birds… Read More
2019-09-13 14:00
American White Pelicans / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsWhite-crowned Sparrows exposed to a high dose of neonicotinoid pesticides lost weight and delayed migration, which c… Read More
2019-09-06 14:00
Indigo Bunting / Photo by Michael Schramm/USFWSBirds and birding newsA team of scientists found and filmed the nest of a rare Nordmann's Greenshank in Russia. Nordmann's Greenshank is one of… Read More
2019-08-30 14:00
Western Kingbird / Photo by Kari Cieszkiewicz/USFWSBirds and birding newsAs shorebirds migrate south, they depend on being able to forage at key stopover sites, like the Bay of Fundy.A singl… Read More
2019-08-23 14:00
Barred Owl (my photo)Birds and birding newsEBird completed its taxonomic update for 2019. Read the details at the link. This year's update moves the Clements Checklist closer to other taxono… Read More
2019-08-16 14:00
Canada Goose / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsFemale American Kestrels spend the winter in higher quality habitat than males do, a difference that can be traced back to thei… Read More
2019-08-09 14:00
Killdeer / Photo by Grayson Smith/USFWSBirds and birding newsBlack-backed Woodpeckers nest around the edges of burned patches, and climate change is reducing that type of habitat by making f… Read More
2019-08-02 14:00
Wild Turkey / Photo by Courtney Celley/USFWSBirds and birding newsIn Australia, a single cat caused the collapse of a Fairy Tern colony after it killed 6 adults and 40 chicks. A new book con… Read More
2019-07-26 14:00
Greater Sage-Grouse / Photo by Tom Koerner/U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceBirds and birding newsDespite the protections of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Florida has become a hotspot for song… Read More
2019-07-19 14:00
Yellow-headed Blackbird / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsThe New York Times has been publishing belated obituaries for historically significant people that the newspaper had… Read More
2019-07-12 14:07
Tree Swallow / my photoBirds and birding newsA newly-discovered bird from the Cretaceous had one toe much longer than its other toes, unlike any living bird today. Its toes also featured bri… Read More
2019-07-05 14:00
Canada Geese / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsWildlife trafficking is a threat to Scarlet Macaws even in places where they have some protection.A proposed pipeline project w… Read More
2019-06-28 14:00
Western Tanager / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsThis week the American Ornithological Society published its 60th checklist supplement, which includes proposals accepted in… Read More
2019-06-21 14:00
Wilson's Phalarope / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWSBirds and birding newsA recent study found that most Prothonotary Warblers spend in the winter in the same region of Colombia, which is at risk… Read More
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