Posts
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| Common Grackle / my photo |
- This weekend is the World Series of Birding in New Jersey, with new rules suited to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds raised through the WSB go to support NJ Audubon and other conservation organizations; my team's donation page is here.
- Two weeks ago, hundreds of migrating songbirds were found dead on the decks of a cruise ship, probably off the coast of the southeastern US. While a storm system contributed, the ship's bright lighting probably lured the birds into a death trap.
- Even though many birding events are canceled or postponed, stay-at-home orders have boosted interest in birdwatching.
- For some people, birding was good preparation for quarantine since the hobby requires patience and attention to small details.
- Yellow-legged Gulls adapted their annual cycle to take advantage of human activity.
- Watching a goose family was a respite from coronavirus news until the goslings unexpectedly disappeared.
- The presence of invasive Japanese Barberry does not seem to harm Ovenbirds.
- Trapping efforts for invasive predators in New Zealand's seabird colonies has been stopped during the pandemic shutdown, which does not bode well for this year's nestlings.
- Last year, the Piping Plover population on the Atlantic Coast reached 2,008 breeding pairs, a record high since conservation efforts began.
- A new study found substantial hybridization between two species of Darwin's finches.
- Vermont Center for Ecostudies: Field Guide to May 2020
- MaghrebOrnitho: Split of Western and Eastern Subalpine Warblers confirmed
- On The Wing Photography: One Bad Mama Mountain Bluebird And Her Swiss Army Knife
- earthstar: 125/366 Bonding
- Bug Eric: What the Insects Have Taught Me
- Be Your Own Birder: How Birds Get Their Names
- Laura's Birding Blog: AT&T's cell phone tower at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area: Update
- Asian Giant Hornets, the so-called "murder hornets," have been spotted in the U.S. but mainly pose a threat to honeybees and can be controlled. Some entomologists worry that the hype surrounding the giant hornets will lead people to kill other bee and wasp species. The linked article shows some insects that could be mistaken for giant hornets.
- One invasive insect that currently poses a greater threat than giant hornets is the spotted lanternfly, which people in the Mid-Atlantic region can help to control.
- Female bees are already flying and starting a new generation. Social queen bees are choosing new colony sites, and solitary bees are looking for mates.
- Analyzing the blood in parasitic flies can help conservationists find and study rare or secretive frog species.
- Tree frogs overlap their courtship calls to trick potential predators.
- Climate change is likely to affect alpine butterfly species.
- A federal judge canceled 287 oil and gas leases in Montana because BLM failed to take all of the environmental risks into account before leasing them. Another judge threw out the Keystone XL pipeline's water crossing permits because they were based on a rule meant for much smaller projects.
- Microplastics travel via ocean currents to underwater plastic hotspots like the Tyrrhenian Sea.
- The coronavirus shutdowns have exposed the unequal access to green space for safe exercise and recreation.
