Posts
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| Saltmarsh Sparrow / USFWS Photo |
- Like the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society is re-evaluating the life and legacy of its founder.
- There is also a push to rename the North American birds that are named after people. McCown's Longspur has already had its name challenged in a checklist committee proposal, but other names are problematic as well.
- A report from AOS found that beach closures at Cape Hatteras National Seashore had improved the breeding success of Piping Plovers.
- Eleven unknown colonies of Emperor Penguins were found with the help of higher-resolution satellite imagery.
- Blakiston's Fish Owl is the largest owl in the world but was relatively unknown and unprotected until recently.
- Research on Rivoli's Hummingbird found three distinct lineages that match geographically isolated populations.
- Conservationists calculated the cost of guano from gulls and other seabirds to show their value to humans.
- Negros Island in the Phillipines has a larger-than-expected population of rare Visayan Tarictic Hornbills.
- Warmer weather could make it harder for pygmy owls to survive the winter since they depend on frozen food hoards.
Science and nature blogging
- Vermont Center for Ecostudies: Field Guide to August 2020
- Backyard and Beyond: Cicada-Killers
- The Birdist: The Flying Polish Hare of Google Street View
- On The Wing Photography: An Adult Male And Immature Western Tanager
- Endangered New Jersey: New Jersey: Have You Seen Spotted Lanternflies?
Biodiversity and conservation
- Poorly-designed culverts reduce the breeding habitat for migratory fish by blocking their migration. Better design would mimic natural streambeds.
- Two more dams were removed on the Pilchuck River in Washington, which will open 37 miles of breeding habitat for salmon.
- Media coverage of Asian Giant Hornets, a.k.a. "murder hornets," misleads the public and puts other insects in danger.
- Researchers recently found a rare Mindo Glassfrog while doing a breeding survey of the rare Tandayapa Andes Toad in the new Río Manduriacu Reserve, which is threatened by pollution from mining.
- The berries of Viburnum shrubs appear blue because of structural color rather than pigment. Blue attracts birds that eat the berries and spread their seeds.
- With 13,634 plants, New Guinea has the highest plant diversity of any island. That includes 2,800 orchids and 3,900 trees. Many of the plants are endemic, and botanists think that 4,000 more species could be discovered in the next few decades.
Climate change and environmental politics
- The past week gave a glimpse of life under climate change with overlapping crises: a pandemic, a hurricane, and wildfires, all at the same time.
- An ocean heat wave off the East Coast is fueling an unusually active hurricane season and also driving fish into unusual places. For example, a houndfish, normally found in subtropical waters, was caught off the coast of Massachusetts.
- Without a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, extreme heat could become one of the leading causes of death.
- A new rule would limit what could be designated as critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act.
- Like the Trump administration, Brazil's authoritarian government is dismantling environmental laws through executive actions.
- Environmental groups are urging the EPA not to renew the registration for dicamba until they assess its effects on plants and wildlife.
- The proposed Pebble mine is causing some dissension within the Trump administration and Republican Party. Environmentalists and Native activists have long opposed the project because of its effect on fisheries.
- The new 11th Street Bridge in DC will include a greenway, and activists are trying to make sure it works to the benefit of Anacostia residents.
- Language used on Twitter shows that people are sadder than normal, but going out to parks helps them cope. Others have used iNaturalist to help deal with the stress of the pandemic.
