Posts
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| House Wren / my photo |
- During the coronavirus pandemic, birders need to keep track of the status of public and private birding areas, and which sites are open may change from week to week. This weekend New Jersey is reopening its state and county parks (provided that visitors practice social distancing). Meanwhile California is closing some beaches because they had too many visitors.
- The pandemic had led to recommendations to bird in backyards or close to home, but access to green space is not equally distributed.
- A study found that flamingos form long-lasting social bonds, and not just with mates.
- The critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot population has rebounded to over 100 birds after the species was down to three females in 2017.
- Songbirds were tagged with radio transmitters in Nicaragua to track their migration.
- Abandoned pastures in the Brazilian Amazon can benefit birds if the forest is allowed to regenerate.
- The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting long-term field research, including monitoring the seabird nesting colonies on Great Gull Island.
- Avian Hybrids: Drum roll, please! The evolution of rhythm in Woodpeckers
- awkward botany: Weeds of Boise: Ridenbaugh Canal between Vista Avenue and Federal Way
- earthstar: 120/366 What’s in a gall?
- Block Club Chicago: Piping Plovers Return To Montrose Beach — And Lakefront Closure Could Mean More Chicks
- There are at least two efforts underway to restore the American Chestnut to eastern forests: one using hybridization and the other using genetic engineering. This article chronicles the genetic engineering program, which has produced resistant trees and is waiting for regulatory approval to begin planting them.
- The coronavirus pandemic is a potential threat to the Tapanuli Orangutan, which is already threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation.
- Coronavirus is also giving bats a worse reputation, which is undeserved.
- Hurricanes may be affecting the evolution of lizards in the Caribbean, as lizards in places hit repeatedly by storms have larger toe pads that provide a stronger grip in high winds.
- The Scaly-foot Snail is the only gastropod to feature scales on its body in addition to its shell.
- There may not be enough land available for conservation offset programs.
- A project in California is tracking urban coyotes to see if hazing can solve conflicts with humans.
- On the mainland, capuchin monkeys are mostly seen in trees, but on Coiba Island, which lacks large predators, they spend a lot of time on the ground.
- A study is tracking bumblebees with radar to learn more about how they forage.
- Greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8% this year because of the pandemic, but they could bounce back to 2010 levels once stay-at-home orders are lifted.
- The International Energy Agency believes that demand for fossil fuels will collapse as a result of the pandemic-related economic downturn. However, there will need to be alternatives in place, like solar and wind energy generation and electrified transportation. In the U.S., that seems unlikely, at least in the short term as a significant chunk of money from the relief bills went to bail out fossil fuel companies.
- A study found that 3.7% of the natural gas extracted from the Permian Basin is released into the atmosphere through leaks, a much larger proportion than typical for gas wells. Natural gas is a greenhouse gas, so any leakage contributes directly to climate change.
- Microplastics are accumulating in large concentrations deep in the Mediterranean Sea, akin to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but at the ocean floor instead of the surface. Researchers are trying to understand how these concentrations affect marine life.
- There is already some evidence of harm, as hermit crabs that have been exposed to microplastics have trouble choosing the best shell.
- The Bureau of Land Management is rushing to open public lands to extractive industries and ignoring their own evaluations in the process.
- Drone footage shows workers blasting through portions of Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge as part of border wall construction. Wall construction is continuing even though construction workers could spread the coronavirus to residents of border towns.
- As if the pandemic were not bad enough, the coming hurricane season is expected to be more active than normal.
