Loose Feathers #301

Greater Yellowlegs / Photo by Dave Spier (USFWS)

Birds and birding news

• Scientists studied how far toucans disperse seeds by tracking them with GPS backpacks. Toucans disperse seeds an average of 472 feet from the food source, which makes them an excellent means of seed dispersal.
• For Acorn Woodpeckers, cooperative breeding is more helpful in times of plenty than in times of scarcity. When food is scarce, the helpers tend to use up more resources than they bring in.
• The BLM is working on a new management plan for Greater Sage-Grouse on its lands.
• A Forest Service study concluded that reducing clear-cutting in western forests to help Spotted Owls and salmon also turns the forests into carbon sinks.
• Meanwhile, the BLM will have to set aside a management plan that called for more logging in northwestern forests because of a legal error.
• The House of Representatives is working on a bill that would make sweeping changes to bird conservation, including defunding programs like the State Wildlife Grants and enforcement of the Endangered Species Act. If it passes, this will probably die in the Senate, but it is indicative of the hostile political atmosphere for wildlife conservation.
• Three Osprey chicks in the U.K. have been equipped with satellite trackers to record their journey to Africa for the winter.

Nature blogging

• 10,000 Birds: How to Eat an Eel 
• From the Notebook: A gallon of Petrels
• ABA Blog: Flight Photography: Stacking The Odds in Your Favor
• Laelaps: How Mosasaurs Slid Into the Sea
• Rob's Idaho Perspective: Blinded by science
• Sibley Guides: Trumpeter Swans with yellow loral spots
• The Drinking Bird: Birder Jargon Project: Hoodies and Woodies
• The Abstract: What Do Bees See? And How Do We Know?
• BugBlog: The little Brown Argus complex tale of range expansion
• Myrmecos: How to tell the difference between Formica and Camponotus
• The Nemesis Bird: Whimbrel and Long-billed Curlew Comparison – Cibola NWR, AZ

Environment and biodiversity

• A mountain lion born in the Dakotas crossed the U.S. before dying in Connecticut.
• Most climate scientists disagree with a paper that claims to debunk carbon dioxide as a driver of climate change. The paper claims that random variations in cloud cover drive climate change instead.
• Agave, a desert plant used for tequila production, has potential as a biofuel crop. Production of fuel from agave would require less energy input and produce less carbon dioxide than production of biofuels from corn and would not take arable land out of food production since agave can grow in marginal areas.
• The governor of California wants to see an increase in distributed power generation through means like rooftop solar and small wind turbines.
• The government is considering a plan to remove four dams from the Klamath River in California to allow salmon to pass upstream for spawning. The plan has support from native tribes, farmers in the region, and the power company that owns the dams, which would save money by tearing them down instead of building fish ladders.
• The Hudson River still has high levels of sewage-related bacteria as a result of discharges at the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant.
• New research seeks to provide guidance on when conservationists should move species that may be affected by climate change.