Loose Feathers #658

Eastern Kingbird perched on Showy Milkweed / Photo: Tom Koerner/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• A colony of Least Terns off the coast of Alabama was free from predators but unfortunately not from humans playing beach volleyball, who disturbed at least 100 nests. 
• Increased winds due to climate change may make it harder for some species of birds to nest successfully.
• Many species of birds that nest in the Mojave Desert have declined over the past century due to the drying and warming caused by climate change. 
• Baird's Sparrows were found breeding in Colorado for the first time. Most Baird's Sparrows breed around the US-Canadian border.
• Living Bird has an article on the massive migration roosts of the Amur Falcon and efforts to protect them. 
• The Lesser Florican has declined by 80% since 2000 and may soon go extinct.
• A majority of crows on both the east and west coast migrate between breeding and wintering locations. 
• For some grassland birds, habitat fragmentation is as big of a problem as habitat loss.
• A bipartisan bill would create a stable funding source for maintaining wildlife populations at stable levels.
• Preservation of riparian forests can mitigate the negative impacts of oil palm plantations.
• A study tracked Great Reed Warblers and Red-backed Shrikes flying close to 4,000 meters above sea level during migration.

Science and nature blogging

• Shorebirder: Connecticut's first LITTLE EGRET - Aug 8, 2018
• Feathered Photography: My Favorite Yellow Warbler Image
• Birdchick: Noticing Birds
• Birds Korea Blog: Heat Wave or The New Normal ?
• Avian Hybrids: On the Origin of Pigeon Plumage Patterns: A Role for Hybridization 
• The Corvid Blog: The 45 Crow Species

Environment and biodiversity

• The Weather Channel has started a series on how climate change is affecting the weather and how that is already disrupting where people can live, such as the potential water crisis in Jordan.
• Climate change threatens wild rice harvests in the Midwest, which is a particular problem for Native Americans.
• Citizen science could produce more accurate species distribution maps through projects like iNaturalist and BugGuide.
• The New York City EcoFlora project (hosted on iNaturalist) is documenting plants around New York City, including some rare species.
• Aquatic mammals lost a gene that helps break down organophosphate pesticides, so they may be more vulnerable than other mammals. 
• Creating healthier watersheds for steelhead trout could recharge aquifers and ease some of California's water troubles.