Loose Feathers #696

Green-winged Teal / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• A Bald Eagle in Glacier National Park died of lead poisoning, mostly likely from consuming lead ammunition. 
• Audubon has some suggested exercises for preventing warbler neck. 
• A new population of endangered Blue-eyed Ground-doves was discovered in Brazil.
• A new paper looked at the cellular level to find why birds generally live longer than mammals.
• Songbirds like Zebra Finches are able to learn social cues.
• A Red-shouldered Hawk in South Carolina was observed catching and eating a ghost crab.
• Feral and outdoor cats remain one of the biggest killers of birds.

Science and nature blogging

• ABA Blog: Happening NOW: Delaware Bay Shorebirds Provide a Study in Local Status & Distribution
• AOS News Blog: Singing Above the Urban Ruckus, If You’re a Mockingbird
• Bug Eric: Borids Are Not Bor-ing
• Ontario Birds and Herps: Hermit Warbler and other Ontario rarities
• Feathered Photography: Are Predator Control Practices Used On Antelope Island Coyotes? 

Conservation and biodiversity

• Since Araguaian River Dolphins were discovered in 2014, researchers have been documenting their vocalizations.
• Over the winter, NPS introduced 13 new wolves to Isle Royale National Park and collared 20 moose with tracking devices to learn more about how the wolves affect them.
• Common Dolphins are dying at a record pace this year, and many of them have injuries that seem to be caused by being trapped in fishing nets.
• A drone helped rediscover an endangered plant in the Kalalau Valley on Kaua'i. The plant is probably pollinated by endemic honeycreepers.
• "Plant blindness" is an impediment to conservation, and here are some ways to address it.
• The forests of Cambodia's Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary are disappearing through a series of clearcuts and agricultural concessions.
• An off-leash dog killed a Guadalupe Fur Seal pup at Point Reyes National Seashore.
• Parts of Appalachia will have a 17-year cicada emergence this summer.
• Another mangrove in Myanmar is being cleared to make way for aquaculture shrimp. 
• Invasive Spotted Lanternflies are vulnerable to two native fungi. 

Climate change and environmental politics

• The Trump administration weakened offshore drilling safety regulations that were put in place after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
• The American Burying Beetle will be downlisted from endangered to threatened to allow more oil and gas drilling in Oklahoma.
• Serious flooding in eastern Canada raised questions about how to address threats from climate change.