Loose Feathers #501

Least Bittern / Photo by Steve Arena/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• The Tricolored Blackbird population has dropped precipitously due to habitat loss and other causes.
• The stability of the American Redstart population requires quality habitat on their wintering grounds.
• California Rigdway's Rails depend on what remains of the once widespread salt marshes around San Francisco Bay. 
• Monk Parakeets became established in North American cities via escaped pets, whether or not the jailbreak story is true.
• When the Gulf of California is unusually warm, Elegant Terns abandon their usual nesting colony there and head north to nest elsewhere.
• A smaller GPS tag will allow for more accurate tracking of smaller birds.
• The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies reports a 25% increase in the Lesser Prairie-Chicken population; we should probably take the report with a grain of salt since the WAFWA is currently suing the federal government for listing the species under the Endangered Species Act.
• Birds that moult at the wrong time could be at an aerodynamic disadvantage during migration flights.
• Replacing natural habitat with a mango orchard results in a loss of species diversity.
• Duke Energy is behind recent attacks on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Tell them to stop.

Science and nature blogging

• ABA Blog: 2015 AOU Supplement is Out!
• Birding New Jersey!: The Fifty-sixth AOU Supplement
• Birding Dude: Spoon-billed Sandpiper Survey China Spring 2015
• Sibley Guides: 'Tis the season for baby birds
• 10,000 Birds: The other Great Egrets
• Pacific Northwest Seasons: Saving Olympic Peninsula Salmon: Upper Quinault River Restoration 

Environment and biodiversity

• BP has agreed to pay $18.7 billion to settle lawsuits arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
• The Delta Smelt was once abundant but is now on the brink of extinction.
• One threat to that and other endangered fish is the invasive striped bass.
• The Supreme Court blocked implementation of mercury emission regulations because the EPA had not done a cost-benefit analysis before deciding whether to regulate.