Loose Feathers #527

Townsend's Solitaire / Photo by Steve Shunk, USFWS Volunteer

Birds and birding news

• Last weekend gunmen began an occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, known among birders for its annual spring birding festival. Some of the people involved have a long history of harassing refuge employees (a serious problems throughout the West). Many birders are incensed, as refuges like Malheur are a shared resource for all Americans.
• The conservation plan for Greater Sage-Grouse only partially protects the birds' wintering grounds.
• A Snowy Owl was recorded flying past a traffic camera in Montreal.
• Also in Canada, a Gyrfalcon has been hunting in a rail yard in Edmonton.
• Unusual numbers of Little Auks (a.k.a. Dovekies) have been seen close to shore in Great Britain.
• A study found that Adélie and Gentoo Penguins generally do not compete directly while foraging since they usually forage at different depths.
• Trash is changing the ecological balance in many places, especially by increasing the numbers of scavengers like gulls.
• Black-capped Chickadees can differentiate songs from other regions and according to the sex of the singer. 
• This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty between the United States and Canada, which forms the basis for protecting bird populations in both countries.
• A leucistic Anna's Hummingbird has been visiting a birder's backyard.
• There are many reasons to be skeptical of the pet bird trade, from the collapse of wild populations to the mistreatment of captive birds, especially in aviaries.

Science and nature blogging

• Laura's Birding Blog: The Ivory Gull is dead. Long live the Ivory Gull!
• Anything Larus: Duos of Ivory Gulls
• Warblers and rumors of warblers: New Year birding, and the last of the Painted Bunting
• The City Birder: Early Brooklyn Hawk "Problem"
• Laelaps: A Crushing Bite Gives Sea Otters Their Cute Mugs
• Bird Ecology Study Group: Pin-tailed Parrotfinch – age variation  
• Arthropod Ecology: Frozen spiders
• Bruce Mactavish Newfoundland Birding Blog: A 10.5 year old Glaucous Gull
• The Rattling Crow: The variable Redpoll
• Southern Fried Science: Remote Protests are visually impressive, but not as effective as public comments

Environment and biodiversity

• In order to reduce trail congestion and habitat damage, visitors to Muir Woods National Monument will need to make advance reservations starting in 2017.
• A pesticide risk assessment by the EPA reported on risks to honeybees but barely mentioned native wild bees.
• Most chemicals are unregulated, so a toxin like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) can cause health and environmental damage for decades before anything is done about it.
• Aerial photography recorded a Narwhal nursery off Baffin Island.