Loose Feathers #468

Eastern Towhee / Photo by Bill Thompson (USFWS)

Birds and birding

• The "Lights Out" project documents bird kills around buildings and seeks to introduce bird-friendly design and lighting policies.
• Climate changes and land use changes will alter the ranges of many birds in the U.S. in the next half-century.
• Climate change is likely to affect migratory shorebirds as well.
• 3D scans of a Dodo skeleton clarified some points about its anatomy, including the reduced keel on its breastbone and how the bird probably moved. See also the full skeleton at Wired.
• The trial of a gamekeeper for poisoning hawks highlights weaknesses in England's protections for birds of prey.
• Mockingbirds sing a four-note song similar to a phrase New Orleans musicians commonly play.
• Yellow-rumped Warblers are able to survive the winter in cold climates in part due to their ability to digest the wax-covered fruit of Northern Bayberry.

Science and nature blogging

• Charismatic Minifauna: When Did Insects Evolve?
• Extinction Countdown: Rarest Kiwi Species Gets Breeding Boost
• Bug Eric: Large-headed Grasshopper
• Dan Tallman's Bird Blog: "Olympic" Gull
• Stokes Birding Blog: How to ID a Cackling Goose, it looks like a small Canada Goose!
• The Bee Pasture: The three milkweed butterflies of the United States
• Birding Dude: A Larophile's Delight

Environment and biodiversity

• Climate change is likely to produce an increase in grass pollen production and a corresponding increase in allergies.
• A project at SUNY has genetically engineered American Chestnut trees to resist the blight that wiped out most chestnut trees a century ago, and the transgenic trees may become available in the near future pending federal approval.
• Emerald Ash Borers have been documented completing their life cycles on White Fringetree instead of their preferred ash trees.
• New Jersey voters passed a ballot question that will create a stable source of funding for open space acquisitions; unfortunately the funds will be diverted out of existing environmental programs. Morris County voters approved the use of county open space funds to create and maintain trails on county land. Florida also passed an amendment to dedicate funds to land conservation.
• On the federal level, elections results ensure that nothing substantial will be done to address climate change in the near future.
• As with fish, the mislabeling of shrimp has implications for conservation.
• Since the repeal of Australia's carbon tax, its greenhouse gas emissions have risen sharply.