Friday, December 25, 2015

Loose Feathers #525

Trumpeter Swans on Seedskadee NWR / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, December 18, 2015

Loose Feathers #524

Golden Eagle / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, December 11, 2015

Loose Feathers #523

Painted Bunting at Prospect Park (photo by me)
Birds and birding news
  • This week I went to see the Painted Bunting that has lingered in the southeastern corner of Prospect Park since it was found on November 29. (One of my photos is above.) Here is a roundup of reactions and media coverage (as of a few days ago). There is a chance that the bunting will stay for a while since it has plenty to eat in the native plantings around the ice center and the early part of the winter is expected to stay mild.
  • All the same, there are other birds worth watching in the New York metro area.
  • Blackpoll Warblers that breed in northwestern North America have to migrate eastward across the continent in addition to their better-known ocean crossing.
  • Scientists were able to locate a rare Ashy Storm-Petrel nest through analysis of audio recordings
  • Spotted Owls continue to decline wherever they come into contact with Barred Owls.
  • The Bald Eagle population in Wisconsin reached a new high in the latest state surveys.
  • An injured Bald Eagle was rescued from a backyard in New Jersey after three days of trying to coax it out of a tree.
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity
  • Endangered species decisions are often shaped more by politics than science, as in the recent decision not to list wolverines as endangered.
  • Something to remember when reading coverage of the climate talks in Paris is that the world is already committed to warming at least 1.5°C because of past and current emissions.
  • WNYC has a tool for looking up toxic sites in New Jersey. The information in it is a little sparse.

Friday, December 04, 2015

Loose Feathers #522

Green-Winged Teal / Photo by Tom Koerner (USFWS)
Birds and birding news
  • The protection of Important Bird Areas used by migratory birds is too uneven to guarantee the birds' survival. Of the 8,200 designated Important Bird Areas, only 22% are completely protected and 41% partially overlap with protected areas, and 91% of migratory birds lack protection of part or all of their migratory routes. 
  • New research suggests that the Dodo was not doomed to extinction and that invasive animals played a significant role in the Dodo's demise.
  • An adult male Painted Bunting has spent the last several days in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, well north of its usual range.
  • Seabirds return the toxic chemicals from water pollution back to land via their excrement.
  • Russian birds nesting in a church tower preserved numerous historical documents and other items in their nests.
  • The British Trust for Ornithology released its red list of birds on concern this week. While several species were downgraded, the Bittern and Nightjar improved enough to be taken off the list.
  • Possible disturbance of dotterel nesting sites during the filming of a music video is the latest example of how shooting in exotic locales can harm rare wildlife.
  • Humans speak and birds sing using different vocal organs but similar physical mechanisms.
  • There may be rare geese lurking in Canada Goose flocks if one has the patience to look for them. 
  • Starlings are more likely than other birds to drown in groups, perhaps because of their habit of bathing and drinking in groups.
  • With a handful of exceptions, most terms of venery are purely fanciful.
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, November 20, 2015

Loose Feathers #521

American Coots / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, November 13, 2015

Loose Feathers #520

Northern Harrier / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, November 06, 2015

Loose Feathers #519

Fox Sparrow / Photo by Alex Galt/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, October 30, 2015

Loose Feathers #518

Common Raven / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, October 23, 2015

Loose Feathers #517

Wild Turkey / Photo by Alex Galt/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, October 16, 2015

Loose Feathers #516

Northern Harrier / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, October 09, 2015

Loose Feathers #515

Lark Sparrow / my photo
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, October 02, 2015

Loose Feathers #514

Bald Eagle with a fish / Photo by Ron Holmes/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, September 25, 2015

Loose Feathers #513

Least Sandpiper / Photo by Bill Thompson/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, September 18, 2015

Loose Feathers #512

Virginia Rail / Photo by Steve Arena/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, September 11, 2015

Loose Feathers #511

Red Knot with other shorebirds / Photo credit: Gregory Breese/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, September 04, 2015

Loose Feathers #510

Tagged Red Knot with other shorebirds / Photo by Gregory Breese/USFWS
Birds and birding news
  • Citizen science is contributing much data for scientific research, especially through birding-related projects like eBird and the Christmas Bird Count.
  • Scientists estimate that plastic will be found in 99% of seabirds by 2050. It already affects 60% of species; the number of individuals affected rose from <5% in 1960 to 80% by 2010.
  • Many birds may lose parts of their ranges due to climate change, and conservation planning needs to account for shifting ranges.
  • Common Loons return to the same wintering sites year after year.
  • White-tailed Eagles avoid large bullet fragments during consumption of carcasses, an important finding in support of nonlead ammunition. 
  • Scientists are trying to bring back the endangered Attwater's Prairie-Chicken, but success is limited due to numerous factors, from fire ants to floods. Currently the population stands at 104 birds.
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity

Friday, August 28, 2015

Loose Feathers #509

Osprey hovering / Photo by Ron Holmes/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity
  • Ash trees in the Emerald Ash Borer's native range produce compounds that discourage the beetles from attacking healthy trees.
  • Melting of sea ice in the Arctic has forced thousands of walruses ashore near Alaska in an unusual mass stranding event.
  • In addition, there have been a series of unexplained whale deaths in the Gulf of Alaska.
  • Damage from Hurricane Katrina lingers in the marshes around New Orleans ten years later. 
  • California may have the worst drought, but other western states have drought trouble too.
  • Urban areas have an average summer temperature 1.9°C higher than surrounding the rural areas; areas with less than 35% impervious surfaces had less severe warming effects.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Loose Feathers #508

Roseate Tern / Photo by Kirk Rogers/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
 Environment and biodiversity

  • Hillary Clinton has come out against oil drilling in the Arctic.
  • Trail cameras recorded wolf pups in northern California. Prior to wolf OR7's visit to the state in 2011, no wolf had been recorded in California since 1924.
  • Some scientists may have found a way to immunize bats against white-nose syndrome.
  • A worldwide survey of non-native plants found that there are 13,168 species that are not native to places where they currently grow and that North America has the highest number of non-native species.
  • Activists call for increasing the share of wind and solar power in New Jersey's next Energy Master Plan. 
  • Progress has been slow on improving management of the newly-created San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
  • So many coastal towns have been building sea walls that now 14% of the U.S. coastline is covered in concrete.

Friday, August 14, 2015

Loose Feathers #507

Arctic Tern / Photo by Kirk Rogers/USFWS
Birds and birding news
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity