Friday, February 15, 2008

Loose Feathers #137

Photo by Ardith Bondi (NY)
Great Backyard Bird Count
2007 Photo Contest Behavioral Winner

This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count. Get out and count some birds!

News about birds and birding
  • At least 84 spoon-billed sandpipers are wintering at coastal wetlands in Myanmar, which were previously unknown as winter spots for the species. The spoon-billed sandpiper is on the verge of extinction without swift intervention. Finding the new wintering site will help guide conservation plans.
  • Fishing bycatch that is left out for seabirds reduces their breeding success, since the bycatch does not have sufficient fat content to nourish growing chicks.
  • A wetland in Kenya may be turned into a sugarcane plantation for biofuel production. The development would threaten several rare bird species and may adversely affect the livelihoods of local communities.
  • Birds in tropical rainforests use two types of song features - "public" ones that identify their species identity and can be heard clearly at a distance, and "private" ones that communicate individual identity to nearby birds.
  • The US Fish and Wildlife Service is backing out of an agreement to reconsider ESA listing for the greater sage grouse because they agreed to the timeline "inadvertently."
  • A British study found that birds fare better in richer neighborhoods than poorer ones.
  • If you are looking for a spotting scope, see Living Bird for a review of 36 current models.
Birds in the Blogosphere
Environment and Climate Change
Carnivals and Newsletters
Note for Oekologie fans: The carnival will be up later in the day.