Posts
American Oystercatcher / Photo by Terry FooteBird and birding news
- Critically Endangered Slender-billed Vultures, which lost much of their population to bovine drugs, have been bred successfully in captivity for the first time. This gives some hope for restoring their wild population.
- Living Bird examined the disruption that border wall construction is causing for rare wildlife (especially birds) and ecotourism in Texas. Some refuges are on the wrong side of the fence or have been cut in two.
- Scientists in northern Alaska have spotted a Bar-tailed Godwit that was banded in Victoria, Australia.
- Some Common and Least Terns lost their nests to unusually high tides this summer in Connecticut.
- In news of crow intelligence, rooks can drop rocks into a jar to raise the water level and New Caledonian crows will use up to three tools in the proper sequence to get at food.
- Audubon Pennsylvania and Temple University are working to document and reduce migratory birds' collisions with glass walls in downtown Philadelphia. Between 1% and 5% of the North American migratory bird population dies annually in window collisions, making it a leading cause of preventable bird deaths.
- Dozens of ducks died from botulism at a park in Orange County, CA. These types of outbreaks are common at urban parks in the summer.
- Tejon Ranch is finally seeking to disclose documents regarding its negotiations over a development project wih the USFWS. The ranch is within the range of the California Condor and other sensitive species.
- I received a flyer for Meet Me at the Corner, a program for children about homing pigeons.
- An exhibit on Long Island features the work of Jean Luc Mylayne, who photographs birds without a telephoto lens.
- Birding in Peru: A new species of Spinetail from Venezuela. Rio Orinoco Spinetail Synallaxis beverlyae
- BES Group: Malayan Whistling Thrush: Importance of images and publishing your observations
- Birds As Art: Back to the Basics and More #3/Galapagos
- The Drinking Bird: Birding on TV
- Snail's Eye View: Odd One Out
- Wildbird on the Fly: Power Lines Threaten Bosque del Apache NWR
- Field of View: New effort to save a spectacular hummingbird
- Birder's Library: Review: Grass, Sky, Song: Promise and Peril in the World of Grassland Birds
- Scientists are predicting rapid evolution (and perhaps mass extinctions) in response to climate change. The evolutionary process can be seen at work already as species shift their ranges and breeding times.
- Alberta intends to follow Quebec's lead in preserving a large swath of boreal forest but so far has no concrete plans regarding which lands to preserve. The region under consideration contains most of Alberta's tar sands reserves.
- Expanding the use of hydropower to reduce carbon emissions could have devastating effects on fish populations, especially salmon.
- Grist has an interview with the UN's only wildlife crimes enforcement officer. He helps coordinate enforcement of the CITES protocol in developing nations.
- According to a government study of benchmark glaciers in Alaska and Washington, melting of US glaciers has increased rapidly over the past decade.
- Cash for Clunkers may work better as economic stimulus than as climate policy.
- Emerald Ash Borer has been identified in New York state for the first time. This invasive beetle has devastated ash tree populations in the Midwest and southern Canada.
- Urban stream pollution (i.e., sewage outflow) is very beneficial for mosquitoes.
- NWF has a nature event finder to find parks and activities in your area. In my area, it marks most of the nature spots, but misplaces a few and misses some good ones.
- Deet, a common insect repellent, has been found to be a neurotoxin for both insects and mammals. Further tests are necessary to assess the extent of deet's toxicity to humans. (But see also BugGirl's cautionary post.)
