Loose Feathers #553

Common Nighthawk / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• The AOU has released its latest checklist supplement (pdf) that contains taxonomic changes from the past year. A summary of those affecting the US and Canada can be found at the ABA Blog. The supplement includes a major reordering of non-passerine orders, as well as splits to a few species such as the Western Scrub-Jay (now California Scrub-Jay and Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay).
• The presence of campgrounds in Marbled Murrelet breeding territory changes the behavior of Steller's Jays and may put the endangered murrelets in danger of nest predation.
• A huge colony of Macaroni and Chinstrap Penguins on Zavodovski Island is at risk from erupting volcano.
• The first two Spoon-billed Sandpiper chicks hatched as part of a captive breeding program both died.
• An extinct relative of ostriches once lived in North America. 
• Genetic research is showing how hummingbirds and bees influence the shape of flowers in the genus Penstemon.
• The caustic waters of Lake Natron support a population of around 1.5 million Lesser Flamingos.

Science and nature blogging

• On The Wing Photography: Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay - A Familiar Bird with a New Name
• Extinction Countdown: The Italian Alps Hold a Secret: A New Species of Viper
• mocosocoBirds: Red-headed Woodpeckers – July 6, 2016
• Birding Dude: Tough Going For Birds Sharing The Beach At Cupsogue County Park 
• Bird Ecology Study Group: Olive-backed Sunbird nesting in a watering pot 
• DeSmogBlog: Are Oil Trains Just Too Heavy? No Regulations, No Weigh To Know
• 10,000 Birds: Three Impressions
• robertscribbler: Global CO2 Spike Spurs Hottest June on Record, Extreme Weather For US
• GlacierHub: Walk the Natural History that Shaped NYC  
• The Prairie Ecologist: More Than One Milkweed
• The Last Word On Nothing: Milkweed In Summer

Environment and biodiversity

• So-called "beneficial uses" for coal ash are largely unregulated and can release numerous toxins into the environment and poison drinking water.
• A recent oil train derailment (and resulting spill) in Oregon was caused by broken lag bolts that inspectors had missed.
• Canada's pipeline regulator is finally addressing problems with shoddy pipeline materials that were first identified eight years ago. 
• Coal production has been on the decline, which is good for the environment, but western states are not prepared to deal with the economic fallout.
• The Northern Oak Hairstreak may be more common than it seems because it spends its adult life feeding on oak galls high in the canopy.
• Cape Cod National Seashore is rebuilding infrastructure like parking lots farther from the shoreline in anticipation of sea level rise (and in some cases erosion that is already happening).
• During the last Ice Age, weakening of currents in the Atlantic caused rapid climate fluctuations.
• A black bear in New Jersey lost the use of its forelegs, so it learned to walk upright and appears to be healthy.
• Three former governors have joined a lawsuit to stop the planned Pine Barrens pipeline.