Posts
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| American bittern in flight / Photo by Ken Sturm (USFWS) |
- The New York Times provides an update on the Red Knot situation along Delaware Bay. Apparently this year, their numbers are double what they were last year, with 26,000 Red Knot stopping to feed along the bay's shores. The species is still highly vulnerable, however.
- Scientists in Hawaii are studying Elepaio nests and surveying other native birds.
- In other Hawaiian bird news, a mongoose has been captured on Kaua'i, an island that was thought to be free of these bird-eating predators.
- BirdLife has updated the IUCN Red List for birds, with one result being that almost 100 bird species are at increased risk of extinction in the Amazon. You can see the complete list on the BirdLife website.
- A photographer in Alaska witnessed (and photographed) Sandhill Cranes chasing a fox that had been hunting shorebirds.
- Conservationists are working on protecting the wintering grounds of Bicknell's Thrushes in the Dominican Republic through the creation of land trusts.
- Peregrine Falcon chicks fledged from their nest on the tower of Philadelphia's City Hall last week. Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, the Peregrine Falcons in Harrisburg had a very eventful nesting season, including a territorial fight and the disappearance of the mother.
- Not Exactly Rocket Science: Giant insects disappeared thanks to falling oxygen levels and agile birds
- South Jersey Butterfly B/Log: May Compilation (& a little bit of June)
- In advance of the climate meetings in Rio de Janeiro, a group of scientists published a paper in Nature arguing that the global environment is approaching a tipping point at which climate change, over-exploitation of resources, and habitat destruction lead to ecosystem collapse and mass extinction. Here is some commentary on the press coverage.
- A Spanish study suggests that butterflies that emerge late in the year or live at higher elevations may have a harder time adjusting to climate change.
- Climate change is inducing "pop-up forests" in the Arctic, in which previously small tundra shrubs grow rapidly into small trees. This raises the possibility that instead of reforesting over centuries as the boreal forest shifts northward, the tundra could reforest within a few decades.
- Here are some suggestions for eating weeds that grow in your garden or backyard. Many invasive plants are also edible; harvesting them to eat can help keep them in check. There are some recipes and serving suggestions here, here, here, and here.
- The news about spider swarm attacks in India was probably not true. (link via Bug Girl)
- Trail cameras photographed jaguars and other wild felines in a palm oil plantation in Colombia. The photos are a sign that wild cats may be able to survive in such developments even if the plantations are destructive in other ways.
- The National Park Service will employ sharpshooters to kill about 300 white-tailed deer in Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC. The goal of the cull is to reduce the density of deer from about 80 per square mile to 15-20 per square mile.
