Friday, October 01, 2010

Loose Feathers #258

Bushtit / Photo by George Gentry (USFWS)

Birds and birding news
Birds in the blogosphere
Oil spill
Environment and biodiversity
  • Reintroduction of gray wolves significantly changed the ecology of Yellowstone National Park. Elk numbers are reduced, and they tend to be more wary. That in turn allowed many streams to start flowing again, and the beaver and pronghorn populations have increased.
  • The California Energy Commission issued a response to comments on the Ivanpah solar development.
  • Heavy rains cause sewer overflows in New York City because the system is too antiquated to handle the volume of sewage and storm water.
  • Twenty-two percent of the world's plants are at risk of extinction, with species in tropical rainforests having the greatest risk, according to a survey by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, the Natural History Museum, and the IUCN. Another third of the species surveyed are too poorly documented to evaluate. 
  • Montana and Idaho want to hold a hunt for gray wolves even though the species is federally endangered. According to a study, the hunt in Montana would halve the state's wolf population.
  • 'Tis the season for brown marmorated stink bugs. The bugs try to find shelter within houses as the weather gets cooler.
Carnivals