Loose Feathers #394

Northern Spotted Owl chicks / USFWS Photo

Birds and birding

• A study using geolocators found that some Arctic Terns that breed in the Netherlands migrate to their wintering grounds in Antarctica via Australia.
• It looks like scientists have developed an alternative bait that is attractive to whelks but does not use as many horseshoe crabs to produce. The use of horseshoe crabs as bait for whelk fishing has has caused the decline of Red Knots, which eat many of the eggs laid by horseshoe crabs.
• The use of rat poison on illegal marijuana plantations may be contributing to the Northern Spotted Owl's decline in at least some parts of its range. Two owls were recently found dead near a a plantation in northern California and tested positive for poison used there.
• A newly-discovered fossil shifts Archaeopteryx back into the evolutionary lineage of birds. However, there are questions about the fossil, and future discoveries will probably change the picture again since the early evolutionary tree for birds is very tentative. Here is a roundup of coverage of the discovery. See also Ed Yong's discussion of the find.
• Cornell has released a master set of North American bird sounds with 4,938 recordings of 735 species. There is also an essential set with 1,376 vocalizations of 727 species.
• A new study found that at least 58 bird species are at risk because of deforestation in Brazil's Atlantic Forest. Here is a gallery of some birds from that region.
• Researchers in South Korea showed that bumble bees might be able to steal a bird's nest for their own use.
• Here is an interview with someone who is working on owl conservation in Siberia.
• You can watch the Caerlaverock Osprey nest on a webcam.

Science and nature blogging

• Extinction Countdown: Does Controversial Decision Pit California Condors against Wind Turbines?
• ReWire: The New York Times Vs. the Condor 
• TreeHugger: Giant, fluorescent pink slugs found living atop a mountain in Australia
• Earbirding: Cornell’s Master Set 
• Birding Is Fun: Merops apiaster - European Bee-eater - Abejaruco europeo
• The Drinking Bird: The Birder Jargon Project: Two Bird Theory
• Rebecca in the Woods: Beauty in Black and Orange
• Arctic Sea Ice: If this is real...

Environment and biodiversity

• A survey of amphibian species found declines that were much worse than expected, even among populations thought to be stable.
• It is possible that climate change could reduce the effects of chytrid fungus on frogs, if it warms above the fungus's optimal temperature. (However, climate change might still harm frogs in other ways.)
• The wolf pack at Isle Royale in Michigan may soon disappear as it is too inbred to reproduce successfully.
• A new butterfly species, the Vicroy's Ministreak (Ministrymon janevicroy), was discovered in Texas. It was previously unnoticed because it is rare and the only visual difference between it and other species is eye color, and eye color fades in the dead specimens lepidopterists traditionally worked with.
• A 2.5-mile stretch of the Los Angeles River is open to the public for the first time in decades.
• A pitcher plant in Borneo is colonized by ants, which kill and eat larvae that might otherwise be harm the plant. 
• The endangered Island Fox, which lives in California's Channel Islands, is back from the brink and is now thriving.
• A team of researchers has mapped sea-level changes along New Jersey's coast over the past 10,000 years. At several points, the sea-level has risen as much as 4mm per year, and those times have occurred at the same time that major glaciers were melting.

Middlesex Merlins in the World Series of Birding

Every year New Jersey Audubon sponsors the World Series of Birding (WSB), an event scheduled for the peak of spring migration. It doubles as a competition for local bragging rights and as a fundraiser for conservation efforts. The statewide winner usually records over 200 species of birds, while other teams compete at the county level and in other categories. Last year I participated in a World Series of Birding for the first time as a member of the Middlesex Merlins with three other excellent birders: Patrick Belardo, Anthony Laquidara, and Tom Ostrand. We made a good showing, explored some new birding sites, and found some new county birds. You can read more about that effort in my post about it.

This year we tried again, this time representing the Plainsboro Preserve, New Jersey Audubon's center in Middlesex County. We revised our route: dropping some sites, adding others, and shifting more land birding into the morning. The route was more compact, to reduce travel time, and had the potential to produce more species than we had seen the previous year. Building a good route is challenging. Each bird species, whether a Kirtland's Warbler or a House Sparrow, counts as 1, and all team members must see a bird for it to count (except for a limited number of 95% birds). A good route needs to include locations for rare birds but also must leave time for picking up common birds in order to build numbers. In Central Jersey, there is the additional challenge of not getting stuck in traffic.

Our early morning birding was a wash, so to speak. We heard an American Woodcock but missed out on rails, bitterns, owls, and other nocturnal singers as we listened at our scheduled stops in the light rain. As dawn broke, we found ourselves at Rutgers Gardens, and new birds started coming more quickly. Blackpoll, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Blue, and Tennessee Warblers. Veery, Wood Thrush, and Swainson's Thrush. Flocks of Cedar Waxwings overhead. Lingering Pine Warbler, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the pine plantation. A small flock of White-throated Sparrows. By the time we left, we had seen or heard almost all of the warbler species we would find that day.

The agenda for the rest of the morning was a series of stops south of the Raritan River. When we arrived at Ireland Brook, the rain started pouring, but we found our target species there, a Pileated Woodpecker, and Tom spotted a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, another species we missed last year. At our next stop, Davidson Mill Pond Park, we missed our target Eastern Bluebirds but found Purple Martins and a Blue Grosbeak. Giamarese Farms produced a Mute Swan; we failed to find Wood Ducks at our designated Wood Duck stop, but we heard an Eastern Wood-Pewee instead. At Capik Preserve, we found Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers, and a stop in South River produced the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron we hoped to find there.

At Kin-Buc Landfill, we found big flocks of Bobolinks and a surprise Eastern Meadowlark (which I missed, unfortunately), but missed out on Grasshopper Sparrow. Our miss might have been because of the loud singing of the numerous Bobolinks and Savannah Sparrows, which made it hard to hear quieter birds. (I think that was the most Bobolinks I have ever seen together at one time.) From the top of Edison Landfill, we saw a Bald Eagle cruising down the river corridor. A drive around Raritan Center produced Clapper Rails, as well as lingering American Black Ducks and Gadwall.

From there we headed to South Amboy to start our tour of Raritan Bay access spots.  Waterworks Pond was less productive than we hoped. It seems to have gone downhill as a birding spot since construction work and Hurricane Sandy changed its hydrology. A spontaneous stop at a boat ramp in South Amboy became one of our best stops of the day. Not only did we get our target bird, Bank Swallow, but Patrick found a Western Grebe! Morgan Mudflats had the birds we expected, but we had to get off the beach early because a thunderstorm was rolling in from the west. Pirate's Cove had a Lesser Black-backed Gull, and a stop in Lawrence Harbor produced a Northern Gannet.

At Brown's Marina on Cheesequake Creek, we found two very cooperative Black-crowned Night-Herons (one of which is pictured above). We also had a beautiful view of a Seaside Sparrow — a hard bird to see and a hard bird to find in Middlesex County.

From Brown's Marina, we headed north. We made a short stop at William Warren Park in Woodbridge, a wooded park with a mostly native understory, where we found our Downy Woodpecker for the day. Our stop in Carteret failed to produce any Monk Parakeets. Medwick Park had a singing Swamp Sparrow. When we tried again for the Monk Parakeets, we finally heard them squawking. Despite some night birding in South Amboy, the Monk Parakeets would be our last species of the day.

When we tallied our list for the day, it came out to 127 species — the same total as the year before. (You can view our full list here.) Because of this year's unfavorable conditions, I think that shows we devised a better route this year than the year before. However, 127 species was not enough to unseat the defending county-level winners, the Meadowlands Marsh Hawks, who found 145 species in Bergen County.

Here is the full list of winners and full list of species found statewide (pdf). For the first time ever, a youth team won the World Series of Birding.

Loose Feathers #393

Whimbrels / Photo by Dan Roby (USFWS)

Birds and birding

• The Red Knot known as B95 returned once again this spring to the Delaware Bayshore. This individual is at least 20 years old and has survived many trips between the Arctic and Argentina.
• Because of the continuing problem of illegal egg collecting in the UK, a Common Crane nesting in western Britain needs a 24-hour guard.
• Conservationists are trying to persuade the Minnesota Vikings to use a bird-friendly glass design for their new stadium.
• Nick's blog post on improving state birds, which I linked in a previous Loose Feathers, got picked up by Slate. So here is another chance to read it.
• Even though the Lesser Black-backed Gull population has declined in England (enough to warrant listing for conservation protections), the Abbeystead estate has culled tens of thousands of the gulls.
• The US federal government is taking legal action against Hawaii for petrel deaths caused by street lights.
• The songs of translocated birds diverge significantly from those of the source population.
• Being able to remember and sing a diverse repertoire does not necessarily mean that a Song Sparrow can apply those mental abilities to practical tasks.
• A recent study supports the idea that penguins lost their ability to fly in order to become more efficient swimmers. The study found that guillemots are adept at diving but very inefficient fliers as a result.
• Conservationists are trying to protect Marbled Murrelet nests from being pilfered by Steller's Jays by placing distasteful fake murrelet eggs in the same forests. A chemical in the fake eggs causes the jays to vomit, which teaches them to stay away from eggs with a similar appearance.
• The Hooded Grebe of Patagonia is in severe decline.
• This year's World Series of Birding was won by a youth team from Pennsylvania.

Science and nature blogging

• Cicada Mania: Tips for photographing adult Magicicadas for identification purposes
• Arctic Sea Ice: The Four Charts That Really Matter
• All Things Birds Blog: Excellent Migrants in Late May
• Extinction Countdown: Amphibians in U.S. Declining at ‘Alarming and Rapid Rate’ 
• Wanstead Birder: This Land isn't your Land

Environment and biodiversity

• Brood II periodical cicadas are beginning to emerge in New Jersey and neighboring and are getting plenty of media attention. Here is a review of their life cycle. The Staten Island Museum is organizing events based on the emergence. The scientists who discovered the periodical cicadas' mating system have been unable to get tenure-track positions.
• A site in the Meadowlands is finally getting attention from Superfund, while two other sites in the state are also being added to the program for remediation.
• Swedish scientists have sequenced the genome of the Norway Spruce.
• Heat-related deaths in Manhattan may rise 20% in response to climate change.

Loose Feathers #392

Brown Pelicans / Photo by Roy W. Lowe (USFWS)

Birds and birding

• Last Saturday was the World Series of Birding in New Jersey. You can see the full results here. My team, the Middlesex Merlins, found 127 species in Middlesex County, including a Western Grebe.
• Conservationists in the UK want stricter regulations of polyisobutene after a spill harmed 4,000 seabirds.
• Male Reed Warblers will aggressively chase off other males that attempt to mate with their female partners, but once the chicks hatch, males will take care of them regardless of paternity.
• Some conservationists are calling for stricter enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act against wind farms since turbines kill about 573,000 birds per year.
• A study of the skeletal remains of 250 Hawaiian Petrels found that industrialized fishing has forced the petrels to change their diets from larger fish to smaller ones, beginning about 100 years ago.
• Peregrine Falcons may be removed from Indiana's state endangered list now that there are 20 breeding pairs in the state and 300 in the upper Midwest.
• The American Bird Conservancy helped protect habitat for wintering Bicknell's Thrushes in the Dominican Republic.
• A new study found that American Kestrels are more sensitive to human activity than previously thought.
• While the reintroduction of White-tailed Eagles to Scotland has been a success, it is unclear whether the species will be able to regain its historic range.
• Some waterfowl are wintering closer to their summer breeding grounds than in the past.

Science and nature blogging

• Bug Girl's Blog: Wrong on the Internet: Bogus USA Spider Chart
• Not Exactly Rocket Science: 3-D Scans Reveal Caterpillars Turning Into Butterflies
• Tetrapod Zoology: In pursuit of the Rook
• Compound Eye: Thrifty Thursday: The Digital Herbarium
• Bird Ecology Study Group: Breeding of Masked Lapwing in Singapore
• Birding Is Fun!: Blue Grosbeak: My Favorite Summer Passerine
• WorldWaders News Blog: Whimbrels completed 3rd leg of unknown loop migration route
• Digital Photography School: How To Photograph Dragonflies

Environment and biodiversity

• Periodical cicadas from Brood II will emerge this spring in several eastern states after spending 17 years underground.
• Greater Wax Moths can hear sounds up to 300 khz, which is the highest recorded sensitivity of any animal. (For comparison, humans can hear up to 20 khz.) Such sensitivity is most likely a defense against bats, which use high-frequency sonar to navigate and catch insects.
• A new map of the most endangered and unique species highlights the lack of protection for many critical habitats for biodiversity. You can view the map here.
• The Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle has successfully pushed out many native lady beetle populations in Europe and North America through the use of microsporidia that infect and kill other lady beetle species.

Loose Feathers #391

Least Bittern / Photo by Steve Arena/USFWS

Birds and birding

• Tomorrow is the World Series of Birding in New Jersey, an event in which teams compete to see the most birds and raise money for conservation. I will be participating again with the same team as last year, the Middlesex Merlins.
• Scientists are using drones to monitor wildlife populations such as migrating Sandhill Cranes.
• Sea level rise will hurt birds that nest on low-lying Pacific islands.
• Scientists have sequenced the Scarlet Macaw genome.
• Kelp Gulls may be the cause (or at least a cause) behind the high mortality of Southern Right Whales off the coast of South America. The gulls land on the whales when they surface and tear off bits of skin and blubber.
• A federal court upheld conservation measures to protect the Palila, which include aerial hunting of feral livestock.
• When a hiker fell to her death in the Pyrenees, Griffon Vultures devoured her within an hour.

Science and nature blogging

• Bug Girl's Blog: Guest Post: Honey bees, CCD, and the Elephant in the Room
• Birdchick: Late Spring Snow
• The Smaller Majority: Mozambique Diary: Heroes, and what bugs them
• Extinction Countdown: The 5 Most Endangered Canine Species

Environment and biodiversity

• The wolves in Isle Royale National Park in Michigan face an uncertain future due to inbreeding and the lack of contact with the mainland wolf population. Three scientists argue for intervention to maintain the island's wolf population.
• Periodical cicadas of Brood II are starting to emerge in the Mid-Atlantic states. Cicadas adopt 13-year or 17-year life cycles to prevent predators like birds from syncing with brood emergences.
• Dryden, NY, won its case against energy companies, so its fracking ban will remain in effect even if the state lifts its moratorium.
• The Arctic Ocean is acidifying rapidly due to greenhouse gas emissions, with detrimental effects to ecosystems.
• A study by the federal government found no single cause of honey bee deaths. Instead, their decline is linked to a variety of causes that must all be addressed.
• In other bee news, Britain's rarest bees are in serious trouble, and the U.S. lost a third of its honey bee colonies over the winter.
• The sister of OR-7, the Gray Wolf that crossed into California last year, crossed into Idaho and was killed by a trapper.

Loose Feathers #390

Greater Sage-Grouse / Photo by Jeannie Stafford (USFWS)

Birds and birding

• A new fossil bird, Eocypselus rowei, helps to clarify the evolutionary relationship between hummingbirds and swifts.
• Climate change is making it easier for elk to spend the winter in high elevation canyons on the Colorado Plateau, which does not bode well for the Red-faced Warbler and other birds.
• The world's rarest duck, the Madagascar Pochard, is becoming a little less rare through a captive breeding program.
• In 1908, Theodore Roosevelt prepared a list of 93 bird species that he had seen in and around the White House grounds. The full list is here (pdf).
• A pair of Bald Eagles is nesting on a toxic site in Ridgefield Park that is slated for remediation. Since remediation involves the stripping of all vegetation and a layer of soil, planners now need to decide what to do about the nest tree (once the nesting season is done). One option is to replace it with an artificial nesting platform; another is to leave the tree and the area around it untouched while remediating the rest of the property.
• California's proposed plan for Big Basin State Park would have significant impacts on the local breeding population of Marbled Murrelets.
• Scientists have built a model of seabird behavior during migration based on three years of tracking data from Manx Shearwaters.
• Seabirds provide a means for tracking ocean pollution through feather and blood samples.
• Fossil caenagnathids, feathered dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous, show a range of speciation akin to Darwin's finches.

Nature and science blogging

• Round Robin: 294 Species and One Shattered Record on “Almost Perfect” Big Day
• Earbirding: “Russet-backed” vs. “Olive-backed” Swainson’s Thrushes
• Safari Ecology: Indian house crows and invasive aliens
• All Things Birds Blog: Sandy Hook Opens and Birders Rejoice
• Tetrapod Zoology: Herring gull eats sea star, and other tales of larid gastronomy

Environment and biodiversity

• Five unique populations of butterflies have disappeared from southern Florida in the past decade.
• The US Fish and Wildlife Service plans to strip endangered species protections from the Gray Wolf in most of the Lower 48 (with the exception of the Mexican Gray Wolf population).
• Sandy Hook reopened this week for the first time since Hurricane Sandy. Some infrastructure is still in bad shape, particularly the sewer system.
• Meanwhile, staff at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge needs to decide whether to repair the breach in the West Pond.
• Warren County has New Jersey's largest population of the rare Bog Turtle.
• Climate change could significantly reduce the amount of drinking water available in the DC area.
• BP was rebuked by Norway for a spill at one of its North Sea oil rigs last year.
• The EU imposed a two-year ban on three neonicotinoid pesticides in an attempt to halt the declines in bee populations. For more coverage of the story, see the roundup at Knight Science Journalism Tracker. 
• Meanwhile, the US government issued its own report on the causes of colony collapse disorder, which named mites as the chief culprit. The full report is here (pdf).