Posts
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| Male and female Short-tailed Albatross at Midway NWR / USFWS Photo by Dale Chorman/SeeMore Wildlife Systems |
- BirdWatching has an interview with David Sibley about his revised Guide to Birds, which is due to appear in March of next year. The interview includes several sample pages.
- Red Knots have been proposed for listing as threatened, but the regulation is not finalized yet. You can submit comments on the proposed listing through this form or through the Federal Register. (A comment through the latter that cites scientific data is most useful.)
- Many seabirds die each year in gillnets; potential solutions are in the works, but they depend on the location and types of seabirds involved.
- Forsythe NWR, an important birding site in New Jersey, contributes to the local economy.
- Around this time each year, there is a parade of articles on Wild Turkeys. This one explores the bird's success in recolonizing New York City.
- Another frequent November theme is Benjamin Franklin's stated preference for the turkey over the bald eagle as a national symbol, which Nicholas Lund discusses in depth.
- The ABA's Birder’s Guide to Listing and Taxonomy is now available online.
- A rare Hoogerwerf's Pheasant was photographed by a camera trap in Sumatra.
- A study of White-throated Sparrows found that the birds can adjust their behavior according changes in the barometric pressure.
- One reason House Sparrows are so successful is that their immune systems adjust to the pathogens present in the areas they invade.
- Several conservation groups are calling on the Interior Department to protect Northern Spotted Owl habitat in its rules for post-fire salvage logging.
- Nemesis Bird: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and Lark Sparrow!
- Philly Bird Nerd: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - in Philly
- Extinction Countdown: Sunday Species Snapshot: Jackass Penguin
- Charismatic Minifauna: Hummingbird Banding is Like Holding Magic
- Not Exactly Rocket Science: Solar-Powered Slugs Are Not Solar-Powered
- Bourbon, Bastards, and Birds: How To Bird The Bay Area (Winter Edition): Part 1
- Tails of Birding: Waterfowl Aggression
- March of the Fossil Penguins: Crown Penguins: Younger than Ever
- Bird Ecology Study Group: Pacific Golden Plover feeding
- The Open Space Institute works closely with the state of New York to preserve open space as it becomes available for purchase. In many cases, the conservation group has bought land before the state had funding for it and then resold the land to the state at or below cost. It has been especially active in expanding Minnewaska and Fahnestock state parks. It hopes eventually to create a band of preserved land connecting New Jersey with the Catskills.
- A seismologist in Oklahoma is proposing to test the link between earthquakes and fracking.
- Speaking of fracking, here is a top ten list of the politicians who get the most money from fracking interests.
- Carbon dioxide emissions are likely to set a record high of 36 billion tonnes in 2013.
- The impacts of invasive plants tend to lessen over time, but this does not necessarily help native plants since the invasive plants are just as likely to be pushed out by other invasive plants.
- Three new species of wafer trapdoor spider (Fufius) were described from Brazil.
- Planting more native trees in Western Australia may help mitigate the effects of climate change and drought since the drop in rainfall may have been exacerbated by deforestation.
- Northern New Jersey is entering drought conditions, and it is not clear whether there will be enough rainfall this winter to alleviate it.
- Two men in Newfoundland rescued a shark that was choking on a piece of moose hide.
- South Plainfield wants to build a truck route through the Dismal Swamp.
- A farmers co-op in Iowa is leading the state in solar energy generation.
