Loose Feathers #417

Red-bellied Woodpecker / Photo by Frank Miles / USFWS

Birds and birding

• The Tasmanian subspecies of the Wedge-tailed Eagle probably flew to the island recently rather than speciating as a result of Tasmania being cut off from the mainland. 
• While most seabirds can avoid hitting offshore by flying around them or underneath the blades, some high-flying species such as gulls are at greater risk. Potential solutions include mounting the blades on taller towers or installing larger but fewer turbines.
• The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed removing the Inyo California Towhee from the Endangered Species List. This is a range-restricted species, but it has seen a strong population recovery.
• A study using computer models suggests that homing pigeons are able to find their roosts using clues available in the atmosphere.
• The British Trust for Ornithology is working to use its existing network of refuges to assist birds threatened by climate change.
• A Finnish kayaker rescued a Northern Hawk-Owl that was swimming and exhausted in Lake Tuusula. (There are a lot of errors in that article, but it is one of the few in English.)
• Many hawk species migrate through New York City.
• A column from 100 years ago encourages bird lovers to use binoculars rather than guns to identify birds.

Science and nature blogging

• ABA Blog: Avian Changes in the West 
• 10,000 Birds: Sage Grouse — The Other Kind of Listing 
• Birding Is Fun!: The Ovenbird's unusual enemy 
• Outside My Window: Crows Adapt 
• The City Birder: Blue Grosbeak versus Indigo Bunting
• Birding Dude: Banded Red Knots on Long Island NY 
• Laelaps: Jurassic Froghopper Sex Set in Stone 
• Extinction Countdown: How Much Did the U.S. Spend on the Endangered Species Act in 2012?

Environment and biodiversity

• California's Catalina island fox is recovering from its brush with extinction.
• Climate change effects in the developing world are not just economic; there is also social and cultural disruption.
• In China, there is a movement to give up shark fin soup, and so far it has been fairly successful.
• Whales are dying from ingesting plastic trash in the ocean. 
• A new beetle species has been described from the Solomon Islands.
• The New York Times wins the bad headline pun of the week award with "This Little LED of Mine," an article on the growing use of LEDs for energy-efficient lighting.
• A lot of pundits and journalists seem to have the mistaken impression that Chris Christie is moderate on environmental issues.
• The EPA is going to clean up a Superfund site in South Plainfield, New Jersey.