Posts
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| Gadwall / Photo by Tom Koenrer/USFWS |
- EBird and other citizen science websites have had to obscure location data for sensitive species because of misuse of the data (often for poaching, but not just that).
- Outside of the United States and Canada, Indian birders have been among the fastest to adopt eBird, and now the data is helping to answer long-standing questions about Indian birds.
- A new paper found clear differences in body size and back color between Woodhouse’s and Sumichrast’s Scrub-Jays with a narrow hybrid zone where the populations come into contact.
- At least 100 million (and possibly a billion) birds are killed in collisions with buildings in the U.S. every year. A new study ranks which cities are the most dangerous for migratory birds.
- Scientists and students at some universities are documenting which buildings on campus kill the most birds, with the goal of taking action to reduce collisions.
- A new study found that plumage mimicry is widespread among unrelated woodpeckers.
- Non-migratory warblers are more likely to sing together (in duets) because pair bonds are more stable.
- There is much more that bird songs can reveal about a bird's social life if you know what to listen for.
- A reintroduction program was successful in restoring Trumpeter Swans to the Midwest, and now they are spreading eastward.
- How high Golden Eagles fly depends on the topography, which in turns affects how likely wind farms are to harm birds of prey.
- The use of herbicides does not seem to affect White-crowned Sparrow fledglings, but the study did not test their effect on other species.
- The last Heath Hen, the eastern subspecies of the Greater Prairie-Chicken, is commemorated with a statue on Martha's Vineyard as part of the Lost Bird Project.
- A project using volunteers showed how temperature and habitat differences affect Eurasian Jays.
- Avian Hybrids: An Egyptian Goose is not a goose
- ABA Blog: 2019 AOS Classification Committee Proposals, Part 3
- Backyard and Beyond: Red-Spotted Newts
- The Meadowlands Nature Blog: Don Torino’s Life in the Meadowlands: My Birding Apologies
- Shorebird Science: All Abuzz in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego
- The Artful Amoeba: For Some Reason, New World Flying Squirrels Fluoresce Pink
- An NPS study found that cats make up one-fifth of coyotes’ diet in Los Angeles. That study, based on coyote poop, is backed by evidence from roadkill.
- A paper argues that the size of protected areas matters less than whether new or existing protected areas are adequate for preserving biodiversity.
- Two new species of corals have been discovered in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument, a marine conservation area created by the Obama administration.
- New squid species were found around the Kermadec Islands, part of a proposed marine reserve in New Zealand.
- A new report suggests protecting one-third of the world's oceans to preserve marine biodiversity.
- Data from New Hampshire indicate that more than dozen wild bee species declining in the Northeast.
- The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy announced plans for a trail system that would connect Washington, DC, to Washington state. The trail system would make extensive use of trails that already exist, like the towpath of C&O Canal National Historical Park.
- A healthy Black Bear population in Texas needs to be free to move back and forth across the border. Birds stand to lose habitat from border fencing and not all of them fly high enough to clear the wall.
- A new EPA study predicts that climate change will cost the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars per year.
- Arctic sea ice reached a new record low at its lowest maximum extent this winter.
- The Trump administration withdrew funding for Landscape Conservation Cooperatives even though it was explicitly funded in recent funding bills.
- The Forest Service and nonprofit organizations are trying to restore the Red Spruce forests that once covered the mountains that were converted into coal mines in West Virginia.
- Here is a state-by-state look at how recycling programs are changing across the U.S.
- National forests were called "socialist" because they were originally proposed to address both environmental and social justice concerns, much like Green New Deal proposals.
- More people are calling out bad behavior by park visitors on social media, especially when it is done by Instagram "influencers" who inspire others to do likewise. (This has especially been a problem at hotspots for California's super bloom.)
