Loose Feathers #483

Horned Lark / Photo by Tom Koerner (USFWS)

Birds and birding news

• Snowy Owls are back in New Jersey and Pennsylvania this winter, though in smaller numbers than last winter. The Penn Vet Center has done necropsies on 27 dead owls, 13 of which died from collisions. Owls recovered in the Philadelphia area tended to be in better health than those recovered in New England.
• Several owls have been wintering at Island Beach State Park.
• The Big Roundtable has an excellent story on how two birders who grew up on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain later worked together to preserve the Iron Curtain's path as a green belt.
• A new blog will cover eBird-related topics for Colorado and Wyoming.
• In other eBird news, the website did a feature on Indiana Dunes State Park.
• Downtown Sacramento hosts a massive gull roost.
• Mountain Chickadees from higher elevations are faster problem solvers than ones from lower elevations.
• The American Bird Conservancy wants wind energy projects to apply for permits under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
• Veterinary drugs used to euthanize animals are causing comas for Turkey Vultures in California.
• Reserve expanded for the endangered Pale-headed Brush-finch.

Science and nature blogging

• 10,000 Birds: The Brazilian Pepper and the birds that love it
• Birding the day away: Ring-billed Gull ~ Ad. W ~ Lake Merritt, California - 19.02.15
• Bug Eric: Green-eyed Wasps, Tachytes
• Extinction Countdown: Critically Endangered Plant with Brilliant Purple Flowers Discovered in Hawaii
• Laelaps: When Did Dinosaurs Learn to Fly?
• Inkfish: A Few Citizen Scientists Do Most of the Work 
• The Freiday Bird Blog: Wandering Around Cumberland, NJ and a Scaup I.D. Tip

Environment and biodiversity

• New research argues that natural climate oscillations can both enhance and offset warming from human sources. If the authors are correct, we could see a sudden increase in warming in the near future. (See also Greg Laden's Blog)
• This week was National Invasive Species Awareness Week. The Smithsonian will have events featuring invasive species on Saturday. Not all invasive species are equally harmful.
• A few years ago, sea levels along the U.S. Atlantic coast jumped four inches, but it may have been due to natural variation.
• A prominent climate change contrarian did not disclose $1.2m in funding from fossil fuel companies for his scientific papers, which he described to his funders as "deliverables." His papers were not good science but were given undue influence in conservative media.
• The proposed PennEast pipeline has not gotten a welcoming reception from communities in its path.
• Obama vetoed the Keystone XL pipeline bill this week, but a final decision has yet to be announced.
• A new bee species was discovered in Kenya.
• Oregon's wolf population grew from 64 to 77 wolves, which may prompt the state to remove it from its endangered species list.
• Southeast Brazil is in the midst of a crippling drought.