Loose Feathers #660

Hawaiian Duck / Photo by Brenda Zaun / USFWS

Birds and birding news

• EBird completed its taxonomy update for 2018. The link has a full explanation of changes. One item of note is that eBird and the Clements Checklist split with AOS on the status of the Mexican Duck.
• A new paper suggests that murre eggs are pear-shaped to give them greater stability on slopes. 
• This has been a poor year for Atlantic Puffins in Maine, as many chicks are taking too long to fledge.
• A study found that Pileated Woodpeckers can survive in suburban areas as long as there are mature trees and at least 20% forest cover.
• Techniques for cleaning and rehabilitating oiled birds seem to be producing better survival rates.
• Tracking of hybrid birds is helping to answer the question of whether migration is influenced by genetic or social factors. 
• Bahama Nuthatches were recently rediscovered on Grand Bahama Island. This endangered species was feared extinct after Hurricane Matthew hit the islands in 2016.
• A study using geolocators helped identify specific areas where Common Sandpipers spend the winter.
• Young Golden Eagles were released in Scotland to boost the local population.
• Recent studies have revealed some remarkable things about seabirds. 
• Here is an account of watching Sandhill Cranes at one of their migratory staging areas.

Science and nature blogging

• Avian Hybrids: Salty Genes: Hybridization between saltmarsh and Nelson’s sparrow results in exchange of adaptive genes
• Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography: A Glimpse Into What Could Happen to Bear River MBR With Less Water Flowing Into It
• Birds Korea Blog: Shorebird Conservation: Hwaseong / Namyang Bay
• Flatbush Gardener: Plant Blindness and Urban Ecology
• Kent Dragonflies: More Mixed Pair Observations 
• Feathered Photography: Did You Know That Most Adult Female Birds Have Lost Their Right Ovary? Do You Know Why?  
• Extinction Countdown: Lemurs in Crisis: 105 Species Now Threatened with Extinction
• Ornithologi.com: An Illustration of Some Members of the Genus Buteo
• 10,000 Birds: DDT, oil spills, and a wall.

Conservation and biodiversity

• The Trump administration's plan to open national monuments to mining will likely do more to harm local economies than help them.
• A fossil shows evidence that beetles pollinated cycads 99 million years ago. 
• Here is a guide to shells found on Atlantic coast beaches. One interesting element is that many of the shells get there by dredging and beach replenishment rather than natural processes.
• New Jersey will not have a bear hunt on state lands this year, though bear hunting may continue on private lands.

Climate change and public health

• The Arctic's oldest sea ice, in the ocean north of Greenland, has started to break up. Scientists had assumed that sea ice in that area would be the last to disappear.
• The massive wildfires and resulting smoke plaguing western North America seem like a taste of things to come. 
• In a similar vein, the extraction economy based on fossil fuels and timber harvests is proving itself unsustainable.
• Deregulation of emissions from coal plants would cause an extra 1,400 deaths per year according to EPA estimates.
• Sea level rise is already affecting property values along the east coast in places with a recent history of flooding. 
• The US and Mexico will need to cooperate on an agreement to make the best use of the Rio Grande's declining waters.
• Scientists are urging California to include tropical rainforest conservation as a source of offsets in its cap-and-trade program.