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| Northern Harrier / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS |
Birds and birding news
- A study involving museum specimens found that California Condors were abundant and more genetically diverse 200 years ago.
- A new estimate of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper population from 2014 puts the breeding population at 210-228 pairs and the total post-breeding population at 661-718 individuals.
- Fulvous Whistling-Ducks have gradually expanded their range into the U.S., a trend that may continue.
- Blackbirds switch abruptly to migratory behavior rather than a gradual increase in restlessness.
- Bar-tailed Godwits make some of the longest recorded migratory flights.
- Africa's endangered vultures are threatened by hunting and poisoning, and their disappearance increases the risk of disease outbreaks.
Science and nature blogging
- Extinction Countdown: The Mangrove Finch: An Extinction in Slow Motion
- The Prairie Ecologist: Trusting the Resilience of Prairies
- robertscribbler: Arctic Sea Ice Falls into Record Low Ranges — Again
- Warblers and rumors of warblers: Rock me, Ammodramus
- Ricky L. Jones Photography Blog: Bald Eagle Flying over Horicon Marsh
Environment and biodiversity
- An experiment in Puerto Rico is testing how tropical forests will respond to climate change.
- Preventing overfishing remains the best way to protect coral reefs.
- Invertebrates are often overlooked among the organisms disappearing in the current mass extinction event.
