Posts
White-crowned Sparrow / Photo by Gary Kramer (USFWS)News and links about birds, birding, and the environment
- Scientists are studying birds' sleep patterns to understand human sleep needs. In particular, they are testing the importance of slow-wave sleep. One interesting question is how birds manage to sleep during migration, such as songbirds' nocturnal flights and the bar-tailed godwit's nonstop flight across the Pacific.
- A banding operation in Bronx Park is testing whether migrant birds take on enough body fat in New York's parks to reach their winter destinations.
- DNA analysis found that older coal tit males are more likely to have extra-pair offspring than younger males in the course of a breeding season.
- The RSPB urges homeowners to provide bird habitat in their yards and gardens. The key elements to provide are food and shelter.
- Also in England, two rare hen harriers were found shot on one of the Queen's estates.
- The European Court of Justice held that Greece violated European conservation law by not designating sufficient Special Protection Areas and by not doing enough to protect twelve species of special conservation concern.
- A writer in Birmingham sings the praises of red-breasted nuthatches.
- Atmospheric carbon dioxide increased 35% faster than expected. The added increase was due to inefficient fuel use and a decline in the ability of land and water to soak up excess carbon dioxide.
- President Bush visited the Patuxent Refuge last weekend to announce some bird conservation measures, including funds for conserving priority habitats in Mexico and expanded use of conservation easements.
- Michael Chertoff waived several environmental laws that construction of a border fence possibly violated. The section in question runs through that San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. (Via nuthatch)
- Meanwhile the White House heavily censored CDC testimony to Congress on the health impact of climate change.
- The Nightjar: The Future of Birds and Farming
- The Drinking Bird: Mind Blown
- Tails of Birding: Siskins - Vanguard of Winter Finches
