Loose Feathers #547

Cinnamon Teal / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• Genetic evidence supports splitting two Vermilion Flycatcher populations on the Galápagos into new species. Since one of the populations appears to be extinct, splitting the species would mark the first documented extinction of an endemic bird species on the Galápagos. 
• The Saltmarsh Sparrow population is shrinking rapidly because of a combination of coastal development and sea level rise.
• Even small amounts of oil can cause a seabird to die of hypothermia, and small oil spills can still have a significant impact on seabird populations.
• The presence of nonnative mice on the Farallon Islands may be increasing predation of seabirds by owls (pdf). 
• A study of owl study skins found one new genus and four new species of quill mites, which are ectoparasites that live on feathers.
• This article has some fantastic photos of Great Egrets in Hungary.
• Australia used to be home to a giant penguin, Anthropodyptes gilli, which was taller than modern Emperor Penguins.
• House Wrens are disliked by many birders for evicting other birds from cavity nests, but the behavior represents its natural instinct to reproduce.
• Thousands of cormorants abandoned their nests at the mouth of the Columbia River after the Army Corps of Engineers shot 200 of them.
• NPR has a report on Snowy Owls tracked by Project SNOWstorm.
• An artist is posting cutouts of tropical birds around Brooklyn to draw attention to the affect climate change will have on birds.

Science and nature blogging

• Extinction Countdown: Illegal Pet Trade Threatens 13 Indonesian Birds with Extinction
• 10,000 Birds: How to create an IBA and get a permanent headache in five easy steps
• GlacierHub: Ivory Gulls Made an Iceberg Their Home
• wadertales: Are there costs to wearing a geolocator? 
• Birding New Jersey!: “Whitestart”? Just Say No

Environment and biodiversity

• The USDA has approved four species of parasitic wasps for release to fight the invasive Emerald Ash Borer, the latest of which is Spathius galinae, which is native to Russia. Learn more about the Emerald Ash Borer and control programs at the USDA website.
• The Totten Glacier in East Antarctica is unstable and has collapsed in the past. Collapse of this glacier could yield 1-4 meters more sea level rise to that being caused by other melting ice sheets.
• A wasp being considered for endangered status in Canada was found in multiple new locations, so its population may be secure for now. 
• Poland has started a major logging project in its Białowieża forest despite protests from environmentalists. The forest is home to rare plants and animals and has survived intact for thousands of years.
• The Pinelands Preservation Alliance argues for assessing the ecology and future needs of a forest before using management tools like logging. 
• Hutcheson Memorial Forest in Somerset County now has a deer exclusion fence to help the forest recover from decades of deer browsing.
• New Jersey has many native orchid species that can be found in the Pine Barrens and elsewhere.
• The Trust for the Public Land ranked Washington, DC, 3rd in the US for access to parks.
• The Zika virus is being used as an excuse to gut pesticide regulations. 
• Australia tried to suppress a UNESCO report on threats to the Great Barrier Reef.