Posts
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| Peregrine Falcon / NPS Photo by Andrew Kuhn |
- A New Jersey legislator wants to lift the state's moratorium on horseshoe crab fishing. The moratorium was imposed in 2006 to protect Red Knots, which feed on horseshoe crab eggs when they migrate through the state in the spring.
- Over the last three years, there has been a significant decline in the breeding success of wading birds in Florida. Endangered Wood Storks were particularly hard-hit; in 2012 all of their nests failed.
- Here is an interview with a scientist on her research into mercury poisoning in songbirds. Problems include mercury's effects on learning and memory, which inhibit a songbird's ability to learn how to sing and attract mates.
- New land purchases totaling 672 acres will protect wintering habitat for Cerulean Warblers along with other migratory and resident bird species.
- A nest belonging to a Stresemann's Bristlefront, a critically endangered bird in Brazil, was discovered for the first time.
- The oldest Northern Shrike in North America is at least 8.5 years old and spends its winters in Wisconsin.
- A study of urban Blackbirds found that urban birds typically sing higher-pitched songs than rural birds in order to be heard over ambient noises. This finding mirrors the results found in other urban bird species.
- Nonnative plants can be ecological traps for native songbirds, by reducing hosts for the insects they feed on and other factors.
- The US Fish and Wildlife Service is due to decide whether to list Lesser Prairie Chickens under the Endangered Species Act in September, and energy companies are lobbying hard to prevent such a listing.
- A Seattle columnist wonders how much birders and other nature lovers contribute to climate change.
- Many orchids grow a handle-shaped sheath from their bracts; according to new research, this sheath provides a landing spot for the sunbirds that pollinate the flowers.
- New research suggests that quail know to choose a nesting spot that closely matches the camouflage of their own eggs.
- A leucistic Bald Eagle was photographed in Washington.
- India is trying to restore populations of tragopan pheasants through captive breeding.
- A British group has been banding Bohemian Waxwings on an industrial estate in Norwich.
- Oregon is hazing the European Starlings on a bridge connecting Portland and Vancouver with propane cannons.
- 10,000 Birds: Bird-Eating Fish
- Tetrapod Zoology: The other peacock
- Skepchick: Pubic Lice are NOT going extinct
- Extinction Countdown: Critically Endangered Parakeet Population Grows on Predator-Free Island Reserve
- Laelaps: Fossil Bird Had Tough Teeth
- Fracking operations in North Dakota can be seen from space. Rather than capturing the extra methane released during the drilling process, extractors burn it off, and the resulting flares (in aggregate) appear as bright as any major city.
- Debris from the tsunami in Japan is currently washing ashore in Hawaii. The trash has included a refrigerator, a seafood storage bin, and lots of plastics. Here is a slideshow of the mess.
- Meanwhile, a new garbage patch has been discovered in the South Pacific.
- The Houston Chronicle has a list of the worst bedbug-infested cities.
- A 1,000-acre tract in Louisiana is going to be used for captive breeding of threatened wildlife with the goal of rebuilding wild populations. Unlike most captive breeding attempts, the wildlife here will be allowed to live and socialize more or less as they do in their native habitats.
- The New York Times is closing its environmental desk, which continues a trend of declining coverage of environmental issues despite climate change and other pressing challenges.
- Here is an interview with Bernd Heinrich on his new book, Life Everlasting: The Animal Way of Death.
