Posts
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| Red-headed Woodpecker / Photo by Jessica Bolser/USFWS |
- Last Saturday was the World Series of Birding in New Jersey. My team, the Middlesex Merlins, recorded 148 bird species in two Middlesex Counties (one in New Jersey and the other in Massachusetts). NJ Spotlight has a nice account of how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the annual tournament. It remains to be seen whether any of this year's rule changes will persist into future years.
- David Sibley has ideas about how to start watching birds during a pandemic.
- Museum specimens of the Variable Antshrike show how its geographical variation is shaped by local climates.
- Shorebird survey rely on the participation of volunteers, especially at migratory hotspots and wintering areas in Central and South America.
- A newly-unearthed fossil from France shows an extinct ancestor of jacamars and puffbirds.
- The glossy sheen of cassowaries is a result of structural colors, but the structures are formed in a different way than those of other birds. Similar structures have been found in the feathers of extinct fossil birds.
- Habitat management for sage grouse needs to be based on evidence and preserve enough habitat to ensure the bird's survival.
- Oyster aquaculture in the Delaware Bay would probably not harm migrating shorebirds, though the study did not measure how aquaculture would affect foraging habitat.
- A genetic study suggests that the Tawny Frogmouth is a descendant of frogmouths that left the Asian mainland 30 million years ago.
- An image shows 200 birds and other animals killed by outdoor cats in California.
- In 2019 there were over 300 Bald Eagle breeding pairs along the James River in Virginia; they are part of an estimated 3,000 breeding pairs in the Chesapeake watershed.
- Shorebirds banded around Mumbai have the highest recapture rate in India, as individuals return to the same spot year after year.
- Avian Hybrids: Figuring out the evolution of forked tails in Swallows and Swifts
- The Birdist: Best of Twitter: Recreating the St. Louis Cardinals Logo with a Real Bird
- 10,000 Birds: How Many Birders Are There, Really? (Updated)
- Bug Eric: The Problem With "Murder"....Anything
- Ask an Entomologist: The “Murder Hornets” AKA Asian Giant Hornet
- Arachnofiles: Arachnews: May 12, 2020
- The Urban Nature Enthusiast: Marvin and Mavis Nesting 2020
- The hype around Giant Hornets has gotten some pushback from entomologists. In addition to the blog posts linked above, there are articles at The Conversation, Entomology Today and the National Wildlife Federation to put the hornets in context.
- The coronavirus has largely shut down travel, which is bad for the places where conservation is funded by ecotourism, like the Rowe Sanctuary in Nebraska.
- Entomologists in California are going to revisit sites that were studied in the 1970s to see how the bee populations have changed since then.
- An ecologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society describes what Manhattan once looked like in an interview.
- A population of Mindo Harlequin Toads was rediscovered after the species had not been seen in 30 years.
- The EPA declined to restrict perchlorate, a chemical linked to fetal brain damage, despite a court order requiring them to do so. Regulation was opposed by the defense industry since the chemical is used in rocket fuel.
- The Trump administration approved permits for a large solar array that would destroy habitat for the endangered Desert Tortoise. While renewable energy is preferable, placing energy developments in intact desert habitat is counterproductive and could be avoided by building solar arrays in areas that are already disturbed.
- The crowding of public spaces during coronavirus lockdowns shows the need for preserving more parkland to allow people to spread out, especially in and near urban areas.
- A set of lawsuits is challenging the Trump administration's rules to weaken enforcement of the Endangered Species Act.
- The EPA is maintaining an outdated standard for air pollution despite the health risks.
- Most plastics collected in recycling bins are not recycled, and most of what is reused is actually downcycled. Fixing the waste problem will require more systemic changes, like bans on single-use plastics or requiring plastic manufacturers to be responsible for plastic waste.
- A review paper suggests ways to protect both wolves and livestock, by making sure wolves have enough wild prey and keeping livestock fenced-in and under supervision.
