Loose Feathers #522

Green-Winged Teal / Photo by Tom Koerner (USFWS)

Birds and birding news

• The protection of Important Bird Areas used by migratory birds is too uneven to guarantee the birds' survival. Of the 8,200 designated Important Bird Areas, only 22% are completely protected and 41% partially overlap with protected areas, and 91% of migratory birds lack protection of part or all of their migratory routes. 
• New research suggests that the Dodo was not doomed to extinction and that invasive animals played a significant role in the Dodo's demise.
• An adult male Painted Bunting has spent the last several days in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, well north of its usual range.
• Seabirds return the toxic chemicals from water pollution back to land via their excrement.
• Russian birds nesting in a church tower preserved numerous historical documents and other items in their nests.
• The British Trust for Ornithology released its red list of birds on concern this week. While several species were downgraded, the Bittern and Nightjar improved enough to be taken off the list.
• Possible disturbance of dotterel nesting sites during the filming of a music video is the latest example of how shooting in exotic locales can harm rare wildlife.
• Humans speak and birds sing using different vocal organs but similar physical mechanisms.
• There may be rare geese lurking in Canada Goose flocks if one has the patience to look for them. 
• Starlings are more likely than other birds to drown in groups, perhaps because of their habit of bathing and drinking in groups.
• With a handful of exceptions, most terms of venery are purely fanciful.

Science and nature blogging

• Extinction Countdown: Fire Destroys 90 Percent of Rare Bird's Habitat in Australia
• Nemesis Bird: Conservation victory for shorebirds by Drew Weber 
• Stokes Birding Blog: Great White Heron in NH, What??
• Notes from Near and Far: The Bugling Sky
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region: Tiny Technology That’s Making a Big Difference
• Warblers and rumors of warblers: Specific-hope Flycatcher 
• Lawyers, Guns & Money: Book Review: Kurkpatrick Dorsey: Whales and Nations: Environmental Diplomacy on the High Seas  
• Not Exactly Rocket Science: Why Pumpkins And Squashes Aren’t Extinct

Environment and biodiversity

• The Gray Wolf population reached a new high at Yellowstone National Park, despite efforts to delist the species and decimate its population via hunting.
• Despite media reports suggesting a coming epidemic, there is no evidence that kissing bugs and the disease they carry are increasing in the United States.
• This was the warmest November in Newark's recorded history, and the fifth-warmest November recorded in New Jersey.
• While December in much of the U.S. will be warmer than usual, it will still be cold, and some areas will see winter storms.
• The prospects for carbon capture and storage look grim.
• Southern Chile was the site of one of the biggest ever mass whale strandings as 337 sei whales were found dead on beaches.
• Insects other than honeybees pollinate crops, so it might not be a good idea to use "bee-friendly" pesticides that eliminate most other insects.