Loose Feathers #772

Western Meadowlark / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• A study spurred by deaths at a solar energy plant found that the Yuma Ridgway's Rail migrates even though it was thought to be sedentary. It spends the winter in coastal saltmarshes, unlike its freshwater breeding habitat.
• A study using eBird data showed that protected areas provide important habitat for rare or threatened species.
  
• Here are eight things to know about Tawny Frogmouths, a well-camouflaged Australian species.
• Corvids that nest in close proximity and raise young cooperatively are more likely to show generosity to other birds.
• Scientists recaptured five Hawaiian Crows ('Alala) that had been released since the wild population was doing poorly.
  

Science and nature blogging

• Avian Hybrids: A common species with a complex history: The evolutionary story of the Great Tit
  
• Outside My Window: They Eat Poison Ivy
• earthstar: 296/366 A gull’s history
• Endangered New Jersey: No Mountain Lions in New Jersey. So Far
• Costa Rica Living and Birding: Sunday Merlin Surprise 
  

Biodiversity and conservation

• Bowfishing is largely unregulated and may be unsustainable for long-lived native fish species.
• Scientists in New Zealand sequenced the genomes for three yellowjackets in the genus Vespula.
• The beetle Phloeodes diabolicus can withstand heavy pressure because its wings can shed layers without breaking.
• Slow lorises are among the few venomous mammals, and they use their venom for fighting each other.
• Rope bridges may help Hainan Gibbons to survive in fragmented habitats.
  

Climate change and environmental politics

• Climate change is finally getting the attention it deserves in this presidential campaign, including at debates, which had shunned the topic in previous election cycles.
• Election Day is in a week-and-a-half. Here is a guide to the environmental issues.
  
• What happens with climate change will depend on whether the US, Europe, and China can cooperate on emissions reductions in the near term. 
• Enviromental groups are suing the Department of Homeland Security over the excessive use of tear gas during protests in Portland over the summer. High levels of cyanide and heavy metals have been found in the drainage systems around protest sites.
  
• King tides are becoming an increasing problem along the East Coast because of sea level rise.
  
• Here are some of the animals endangered by Trump administration policies.
  
• The new border wall now blocks the San Pedro River, which had been the only free-flowing river in Arizona. The higher wall increases the risk of flooding in the border region in addition to blocking wildlife migration.
• Fossil fuel infrastructure in the Arctic is threatened by melting permafrost, so oil companies are looking for ways to cool the ground around their equipment.
• The Trump administration is weakening air pollution regulations even though air pollution makes COVID-19 infections worse.
• Deregulation is facilitated by staffing the EPA with industry lobbyists.
  
• New Jersey's DEP is creating a plan for remediating and opening the interior of Liberty State Park with community input.
• NJ Transit is giving up on building a natural gas power plant in the Meadowlands to power its new microgrid. The agency will look for clean alternatives instead.
• Plastic pollution in the ocean interrupts the oxygen cycle.
• Oil spilled in Delaware Bay is washing up on nearby beaches. The source is currently unknown.