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Black-headed Gull / Photo by foxypar4
Birds and birding news
- A rare leucistic Atlantic Puffin was seen off the Isles of Scilly in the company of puffins with normal plumage.
- A proposed solution for climate change is to fertilize the sea with iron shavings to spur the growth of algae that would absorb carbon dioxide from the air. New research shows that promoting algae blooms would also promote the release of domoic acid, a potent neurotoxin that poisons mammals and birds.
- BirdLife wants to see a stronger conservation plan for the Wadden Sea in northwest Europe. The area provides important habitat for many bird species, including Red Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, Sandwich Tern, Eurasian Spoonbill, and Pied Avocet.
- Like in North America, swifts in the U.K. are in decline, most likely because of changes in home construction. Almost 80% of U.K. swifts nest in houses, most of which were built before 1919.
- The Syncrude trial continued in Edmonton this week.
- Explorers found an all-black King Penguin in South Georgia during a recent trip to Antarctica.
- Poisoning of raptors remains common in Scotland despite the government's attempts to crack down on the practice.
- The Delaware Ornithological Society has webcam images from a fight between two male Peregrine Falcons over a nestbox.
- Duke Farms has a webcam at its Bald Eagle nest.
- Cape May is an excellent birding location, even in the winter.
- Speaking of Cape May, the Coast Guard is planning to close its Loran station and turn over the property – most likely to the Fish and Wildlife Service, which already maintains a wildlife refuge adjacent to the station. Fishermen are organizing to maintain access during Piping Plover breeding season.
- Bell Tower Birding: Alpine Eye Candy: Snowfinches in Austria
- Great Auk or Greatest Auk: Owl Prowl IV – Back to the Woods (all four parts are well worth reading)
- The Marvelous in Nature: A field guide to nestboxes
- Chip Notes - eBird Buzz: Science Pipes Contest
- CVWO at First Landing State Park: Second Bahamas Plover in South Carolina
- Conservation Maven: Quality vs. quantity in protecting habitat for birds
- Outside my window: Anatomy: Lores
- Treehugger: New Bird Species Picked Out by its Eyes
- The CITES committee voted against a proposal to ban trade in the critically endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna. This tuna species has been fished to the brink of extinction for its use in sushi.
- At the same meeting, the committee also turned down a US proposal to ban the cross-border trade of polar bear parts.
- The EPA is investigating whether shale oil production violates environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act.
- A new study shows that excessive carbon dioxide emissions around urban areas harms the health of city residents. Localized CO2 concentrations trap heat and increase the amounts of other air pollutants, particulate matter, and ground-level ozone. The study provides evidence for regulating CO2 as a pollutant at the local level in addition in addition to the national one.
