Sunday, May 21, 2006

Loose Feathers #48

News and links about birds, birding, and the environment.

  • Scientists are montoring birds passing through Alaska for bird flu. Two shorebird species have been selected for testing: long-billed dowitchers and pectoral sandpipers. The birds will be given anal swabs, which will be analyzed for H5N1.
  • The Smithsonian is studying a subspecies of swamp sparrow unique to Delaware.
  • Cowbird-trapping will continue in Michigan this year as part of the program to reduce nest parasitism among endangered Kirtland's warblers.
  • Mute swan cygnets from a brood near Annapolis disappeared after some kayakers were seen in the creek near the nest. The disappearance was not related to the Maryland DNR control program.
  • The owner of a rival hatchery is surprised at the arrests of workers at the Mohawk Trout Hatchery for killing herons.
  • Scrub jays will hide their food a second time if they think that a dominant bird watched them hide it the first time.
  • If you liked the Great Backyard Bird Count, you might be interested in My Yard Counts. This is a new Cornell program to gather data about what birds are in people's yards during the spring and summer. See the link for how to participate.
Carnivals
Non-birds

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