Loose Feathers #485

Greater Sage-Grouse / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• Island Scrub Jays living in oak-dominated habitats have shorter bills than ones in pine forests, which suggests that the two populations might be diverging despite living in such close proximity to each other.
• The recently-discovered Cryptic Treehunter has a very small population, possibly as low as 10 individuals.
• A coalition of scientists has offered suggestions for reducing seabird bycatch in the Mediterranean.
• New York is scaling back its plan to reduce its feral Mute Swan population.
• San Jose will adopt bird-friendly building guidelines.
• The American Bird Conservancy wants better data collection at wind farms.
• White-collared Manakins struggle during El Niño events in young forests; mature forests may buffer climate effects.
• Wild animals such as Peregrine Falcons and Ring-necked Parakeets are reclaiming British cities.

Science and nature blogging

• View from the Cape: Beach birds and beached birds
• Wanstead Birder: Priorities and how to get them completely wrong 
• Native Plant Wildlife Garden: A Bestiary: Part Thirty-nine ~ Songbirds: Hermit Thrush
• Notes of Nature: Trunk of the Month: March 2015: Betula ermanii
• Martin Stervander: Again and again and again – evolutionary charter trips to the Canary Islands

Environment and biodiversity

• Researchers are looking for volunteers to look for and record the newly-described Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog.
• Cloride from road salt runoff lingers in wetlands long after winter has ended, with detrimental effects on people and wildlife.
• The number of ponds in the Arctic dropped about 17% and the average pond size shrank 33% over the past 60 years. 
• The US Fish and Wildlife Service is considering delisting the endangered endemic foxes on Catalina Island, but the foxes still face dangers from trash containers and vehicle collisions.
• While much of eastern North America had below average temperatures in February, the West Coast had a very warm winter, especially in Alaska, where the Iditarod had to be rerouted because of insufficient snow and unfrozen rivers.
• Lawyers could receive as large a portion of the Exxon settlement as would go to environmental restoration.
• Restoration of drained wetlands can reduce greenhouse gas emissions according to a Swedish study.
• The third derailment in northern Ontario in less than a month shows the need for action on oil train safety.