Dendroica: Loose Feathers #146

Friday, April 18, 2008

Loose Feathers #146

Chipping Sparrow / Photo by Dave Menke (USFWS)

News and links about birds and birding

Grassland birds have benefited more from the federal Conservation Reserve Program than from other conservation programs. As mentioned last week, farmers are withdrawing land from the program to take advantage of higher grain prices.
A study of pied babblers found that flocks will have one bird as a sentry to warn about approaching predators. The flock foraged more efficiently as long as the sentry continued singing.
Malta has been the site of multiple confrontations between hunters and birders over a new ban on bird hunting during spring migration.
There is a new urban eagles nest on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Arlington, VA.
A study of songbirds in the Shenandoah Valley found that the insectivorous birds had high levels of mercury in their blood. They most likely ingest mercury by eating spiders, which also accumulate mercury through predation.
New Jersey has closed Champagne Island in Cape May County to recreational boaters to protect shorebird nesting habitat.
Two new colonies of the IUCN Vulnerable White-necked Picathartes (Picathartes gymnocephalus) were recently discovered during bird surveys in Sierra Leone. Wardens from local villages were hired to protect the nest sites.
Darwin's manucripts are now online.
Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago launched its Avian Reintroduction & Translocation Database (ARTD) to help researchers track the locations and progress of reintroduced species.
The spring leks of prairie chickens are bringing tourists to Eagleville, Missouri; eco-tourism provides hope for revitalizing this small town (as long as the birds are there).
New York will restore 35 acres of the Gerritsen Creek marshes in Brooklyn.
Tomorrow is the start of National Wildlife Week.