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| Coastal California Gnatcatcher / USFWS Photo |
Birds and birding news
- The US Fish and Wildlife Service decided that the Coastal California Gnatcatcher will retain its protected status as a distinct population despite a challenge.
- A comparison of Spotted Owl populations in national parks and national forests suggests that logging is far more detrimental to owls than forest fires.
- A recent study found that 30% of Australian seabirds had ingested marine debris.
- Most Snowy Owls that winter on the prairie are in good physical condition and may even increase their fat reserves over the winter.
- This week Obama is visiting Midway Atoll, home to 1.5 million Laysan Albatrosses and many other seabirds.
- It is still unclear what causes spruce budworm outbreaks, but the outbreaks are generally ended by an increase in predators (such as the birds that depend on those caterpillars).
- Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge could be an iconic national park in an increasingly urban age.
- Birding can be a window into the marvels of the natural world.
- To learn shorebirds, start with the easy ones like Killdeer first.
- Users of eBird can now make public profiles.
- A Common Raven spent the summer in the Atlantic Highlands of New Jersey.
- September is a great month to look for migratory land birds.
Science and nature blogging
- World Shorebirds Day: How to use eBird for Global Shorebird Counting
- Not Exactly Rocket Science: How New Zealand's Glaciers Shaped The Origin of the Kiwi Bird
- Extinction Countdown: How Social Networks Could Save Hawaiian Monk Seals
- GlacierHub: As Temperatures Rise, Poplars Replace Alaskan Tundra
- The Freiday Bird Blog: Fri-D: How Old is that Shorebird?
- Backyard and Beyond: Red-Tailed Hawk Stalking
- Cicada Mania: Neotibicen latifasciatus – the Southern Jersey Shore Screamer
- On The Wing Photography: Gulf Shore Yellow-crowned Night Heron
- Biodiversity Heritage Library: Unravelling the secrets of Australian native bees
- Capital Naturalist by Alonso Abugattas: Buttonbush
- News from the Studio: Goldenrod
Environment and biodiversity
- The African elephant population declined 30% from 2007-2014 according to a recent study.
- Mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains around Los Angeles could disappear in 50 years because of inbreeding, unless they have a way to cross local highways.
- Formal declaration of the Anthropocene will require identifying consistent geologic signs for it, and perhaps a spot to mark the physical boundary between it and the Holocene.
- The legal cases against the Malheur occupiers are working through the courts; meanwhile, many staff members have resigned, leaving the refuge mostly unsupervised.
- The Bears Ears area of Utah is a strong candidate for national monument status.
