Posts
Bird and birding news
- Blue Tits line their nests with mint, lavender, and other medicinal plants to reduce bacteria that might infect their chicks. The mechanisms by which the plants kill bacteria and why closely-related species do not engage in the same behavior are unclear.
- A male Black-chinned Hummingbird that was originally banded in Southeast Arizona nine years ago was recaptured this year in Montana, over 1,000 miles away from the original site.
- Male Satin Bowerbirds that scored the highest in intelligence tests have the most success in attracting mates. This may be a result of performing better in the bowerbirds' complex courtship rituals.
- The Nature Conservancy started a program in Washington that encourages farmers to flood some of their fields as part of the normal crop rotation. The program provides additional habitat for migratory shorebirds, and in return the flooding returns nitrogen to the soil.
- The Plain Dealer describes some of the urban birding sites around Cleveland.
- A Brown Booby recently showed up on Assateague Island in Maryland.
- Round Robin: Thursday at AOU: A New Kind of Conservation for Kirtland’s Warblers
- 10,000 Birds: Birds, windows, and buildings
- Great Auk or Greatest Auk: The Warriors
- IBRRC: Bird hazing twist at airports: Warning birds visually
- Bell Tower Birding: Names Games, part 2: North America
- BSI Blog: Winter Wren
- Born Again Bird Watcher: Five Good Terns
- The rainforest of Serrania de San Luca in Colombia is likely to be turned over to gold mining companies, despite the presence of many vulnerable species.
- A new study reports that plastics in the ocean decompose rapidly into their component chemicals. However, the volume of plastics in the ocean continues to increase because we add so much more debris every year.
- When government scientists tested fish in 291 freshwater streams, mercury was present in every fish. About one-quarter of the fish had mercury levels exceeding that safe for human consumption, and two-thirds exceeded the level of concern for fish-eating mammals.
- Poor people in developing countries face the most risk from climate change. Developing countries are the most likely to have their food supply disrupted by extreme weather events, such as heat waves, drought, and heavy rains, all of which are expected to increase as the average temperature warms.
- Union County, New Jersey, has employed the assistance of Gallerucella beetles to control invasive purple loosestrife plants at Echo Lake Park. In the past the county has used Rhinoncomimus latipes, a type of weevil, to control Mile-a-Minute weed.
- Switzerland has extended its border 150 meters into Italy in response to the shrinking of a glacier that defines their border.
- OC Birding: Stunning Skimmers
