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.