Birds and birding news
- Scientists are studying Semipalmated Sandpipers on their wintering grounds to see if they are surviving during the winter months. The species has declined in recent years.
- While the Endangered Species Act has saved many species from extinction, the road to recovery for most has been slow, partly because a significant portion lack recovery plans or sufficient staff to implement them. For example, saving Bald Eagles was relatively straightforward, but California Condors have had trouble re-populating their former range without regular human intervention.
- Unfortunately the Endangered Species Act is likely to face a series of attempts to weaken or repeal it in the next four years.
- The evidence for most cases involving killing or smuggling protected wildlife (including birds) passes through a forensics lab in Oregon, which has one of the few forensic ornithologists on staff.
- A proposed hydroelectric dam in British Columbia threatens to destroy a wetland used for nesting by Yellow Rails.
- Breeding Bird Survey and eBird data show different population trajectories for Allen's Hummingbirds, which may be driven by the resident subspecies adapting well to suburban southern California.
- Forests with an overabundance of White-tailed Deer tend to lack birds that depend on a healthy understory like Hooded Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, and Prairie Warbler.
- Greater Sage-Grouse travel greater distances than previously reported, which may prevent inbreeding.
- The Ring-necked Pheasant is an introduced species that thrived in North America and is one of the most-studied pheasants in the wild (though mostly not on its native range).
- Young African Penguins have struggled to adapt to changes in prey distribution caused by overfishing and climate change.
- The departure of migratory birds from stopover sites is driven by hormones.
- Ospreys in New Jersey have recovered from a low of 50 nests in 1974 to 515 active nests today, which is close to their historic numbers.
Science and nature blogging
Environment and biodiversity