Friday Bird Notes

On this rainy day, I have no sightings to report. I am glad to see a good, drenching rain, though. The trees on my block could certainly use it, and the sugar maples on the next block over are in an even more dire condition at the moment. As of last night, their leaves were already a crispy brown.

Laura at Birder Blog reports that the American Bird Conservancy is entering into a partnership with the Colombian Fundacion ProAves to preserve wintering habitat for migratory birds. One of the avian beneficiaries will be the cerulean warbler, this blog's mascot. (So maybe there is hope of seeing one yet.) The preserve, if properly maintained, should benefit rare birds endemic to Colombia as well.

The American Bird Conservancy has also produced a Birdwatcher's Guide to Global Warming. It gives state-by-state accounts of how global warming might affect birds and birders. A likely change is that as the climate warms, bird breeding ranges will shift northward; to some extent this process is already being measured. One species that may leave this area altogether is the Baltimore oriole.

One more thing: Anthony Williams, mayor of Washington, D.C., and avid birder, started a blog for the mayor's office this week. It will be interesting to see where this goes.