Posts
News and links about birds, birding, and the environment
- Fewer waterfowl than usual visited the Chesapeake Bay region this winter. Canvasback numbers were especially low.
- The Post profiled Huntley Meadows, a birding hotspot in Fairfax County, Virginia.
- Researchers have identified a population of crossbills that became reproductively isolated due to ecological factors in its range. The South Hills crossbill, part of the red crossbill complex, specializes in foraging among lodgepole pines.
- Research suggests that nuthatches can understand chickadees.
- A fight between two peregrines in Pittsburgh was captured by a webcam. The twenty-minute fight occurred when a younger male tried to invade the nesting territory of an older male. Which bird won is not entirely certain. A sequence of photos from the webcam is here.
- Human land use contributes to the decline of grassland and seashore species.
- Ecologists in the U.K. are worried about the flourishing population of feral rose-ringed parakeets.
- Deforestation continues at a rapid pace, but has slowed recently. The article states that 18 percent of carbon dioxide production comes as a result of deforestation since trees soak up carbon. The worst deforestation rates are in South America and Africa, though those continents are not alone.
- The Twin Cities have started a voluntary program to reduce migratory bird deaths by dimming or shutting off lights in tall buildings at night.
- The News Journal profiles the role of Delaware's marshes and beaches during migration.
- Rules affecting livestock grazing and energy production have been enacted in Wyoming to protect sage grouse.
- Grist has an interview with Rep. Ed Markey, chair of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
- The long-whiskered owlet, a small rare species from Peru, was sighted in the wild for the first time. Previous encounters had all been facilitated by mist nets.
- bootstrap analysis: An important message about tree tubes and bluebirds.
- BOU News: Wild birds are innocent scapegoats for the spread of H5N1.
- Field Notes: Birders need to be more involved in advocacy.
- Down to Earth: Flame retardant chemicals appear in the eggs of New England peregrines.
- Birdchick: More on the Robo Falcon.
- RealClimate: Decline of the snowpack in the Cascades.
- New from Delaware: Blue Lizard Birding Blog
- Bill of the Birds is starting a new podcast, available here.
- Natural Notes 3: New laws in New Jersey restrict bird feeding to control black bears.
- See my post on criticism of the Luneau video for links to more commentary on the latest ivory-billed woodpecker news. Stokes Birding Blog has more on ivory-bills vs. pileateds.
