Posts
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| American Coot / Photo: Tom Koerner/USFWS |
- The Great Black Hawk that spent the fall in Maine was euthanized this week after damage from frostbite spread beyond its legs.
- That hawk had wandered thousands of miles north of its usual range and probably lacked adaptations that northern birds have for surviving extreme cold.
- Surveys after recent wildfires suggest that California’s Great Gray Owls are resilient in the aftermath of major fires.
- Despite conservation laws, the Southern Black-throated Finch continues to lose habitat to new development.
- Molecular testing of fossilized dinosaur feathers shows how feathers became lighter and more flexible to allow flight.
- A bipartisan bill would create guidelines for bird-safe construction on federal buildings.
- Milky Storks are threatened by hybridization with more widespread Painted Storks.
- An Australian study found that dull-colored model birds are attacked as frequently as brightly-painted ones.
- Gulls may be culled near dams on the Deschutes and Columbia rivers to reduce predation of migratory fish. Double-crested Cormorants in that area have already been killed for the same reason.
- Usually roads cause habitat fragmentation and loss of breeding species, but for some species, proximity to roads can be beneficial.
- ABA Blog: The TOP 10: Craziest Vagrants of 2018
- Vermont Center for Ecostudies: Field Guide to February 2019
- Bug Eric: R.I.P. LRGV?
- Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography: Red-winged Blackbird Male Singing In January
- The Prairie Ecologist: Prairie Word of the Day – Phenology
- I Used to Hate Birds: January 5MR Highlights
- Eric Carlson: How to make a 5MR Shopping List
- Feathered Photography: Male Northern Harrier Stomping On A Vole
- Net Results: Bachman's Sparrow in Dearborn, 1946
- Avian Hybrids: Are Snow Bunting and McKay’s Bunting different species?
- Steve Nesbitt Bird Images: Water Rail - a challenge to photograph
- A study found that black bears initially are fearful of drones but gradually become habituated to them.
- The undersides of flying squirrels turn pink under ultraviolet light.
- The eastern population of Monarchs had a good breeding year in 2018, and as a result their wintering territory in Mexico has more than doubled.
- Beavers mostly live in freshwater wetlands, but in some places, they thrive in coastal ones as well.
- Mayan beekeepers are protecting native bee species by reviving traditional beekeeping practices.
- Lions in Namibia have started hunting seals and seabirds to survive harsh conditions.
- While the eastern U.S. suffers from a deep freeze, Australia has a record-breaking heat wave that is sending snakes into people's homes. Both are examples of the extreme weather induced by climate change.
- After the government reopened last week, national park staff had to assess the damage. Some parks, like Joshua Tree, could take years to recover.
- During the shutdown, elephant seals took over a beach at Point Reyes National Seashore and are likely to continue occupying the beach.
- About 30% of threatened and endangered fish in the U.S. are in the Southeast, but the region receives less than 1% of the funds for fish conservation.
- A dam collapse in Brazil killed dozens of people and released toxic waste. Meanwhile, Brazil's new president wants to expand development in the Amazon.
- A large cavity has developed under the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica; the glacier's collapse could raise sea levels significantly.
- A conservation group is calling for the creation of protected corridors to connect the Grand Canyon with other public lands in the western U.S. so that wildlife can move with climate change.
- Agriculture, especially in large monoculture form, is a major contributor of greenhouse gases.
- Climate change is increasing conflicts in places like Mali, which has suffered both severe drought and destructive flooding in recent decades.
- States with the most to lose from climate change routinely vote Republican.
- A California judge upheld the state's listing of the gray wolf as endangered.
- Oregon is working on a cap-and-trade bill.
- FERC approved another pipeline extension through New Jersey, this time through Sayreville, Old Bridge and Raritan Bay in Central Jersey. FERC has largely ignored the effects projects would have on climate change, even though this really needs to be part of the analysis for new fossil fuel projects.
