Loose Feathers #774

Golden-crowned Kinglet / my photo

Birds and birding news

• A new study proposes splitting the Gentoo Penguin into four species based on DNA and size.
• In the spring of 2021, there will be Spring Global Shorebird Counts in addition to the usual ones in the fall. The spring event will be May 7-9, to coincide with World Migratory Bird Day.
  
• A study using geolocators found that Eurasian Blackcaps migrate to different wintering grounds depending on where they breed. A small number migrate north and spend the winter in England.
• Restoration of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers to the Piney Grove Preserve in Virginia has succeeded to such an extent that woodpeckers from that site are being used to supplement populations elsewhere.
  
• Stronger immune systems do not affect reproduction in Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens.
  

Science and nature blogging

• The Meadowlands Nature Blog: Don Torino’s Life in the Meadowlands: Save the Rusty Blackbird
• Pioneer Birding: RI - COMMON CUCKOO!!
• The Freiday Bird Blog: How To Talk About Owls Without Talking About Them 
• Vermont Center for Ecostudies: Field Guide to November 2020
• Avian Hybrids: Following the Forests: How the Variable Antshrike spread around the Amazon
• The Urban Nature Enthusiast: Cedar Waxwing Extravaganza 
• On The Wing Photography: Male Cassin’s Finch Eating a Mountain Mahogany Seed
• Backyard and Beyond: The Cache 
  

Biodiversity and conservation

• Irruptions of winter finches is driven by mast seeding patterns by white spruce and other trees.
  
• Indigenous groups are working to protect rainforest in the Colombian Amazon. Threats include copper mining and cattle ranching.
• A scientist rediscovered the great fox-spider on a British military base.
• CBP is adding wildlife passages to parts of the border wall, but they are too small for most of the mammals that need to migrate.
  

Climate change and environmental politics

• This week was Election Day in the US. While the results are not finalized, as of now it appears that Joe Biden will win, which will at least stop some of the damage being done to the environment. However, how much he can accomplish will be limited if Republicans hold onto their Senate majority, as seems likely.
• Here are some takeaways from the election results. Here is a thread of positive climate news from the election.
  
• Nevada passed an amendment requiring that half of the state's energy come from renewable sources by 2030. Colorado voters approved the reintroduction of gray wolves to the state. Several localities in New Jersey voted in favor of raising taxes for open space preservation.
• On Wednesday, the US officially left the Paris Agreement on climate change. Joe Biden has promised to rejoin it, but taking concrete steps to meet its goals will be harder. Here are some ways that the US could meet its commitments.
  
• Phil Murphy signed New Jersey's single-use plastic bill into law. The ban on plastic and paper bags, styrofoam containers, and plastic straws will go into effect in 2022. The law also overrides municipal bans to create a single standard throughout the state. It will make a small dent in the massive amount of plastic pollution generated by the US.
  
• One piece of damage that will not be undone by a Biden administration is the destruction of the US-Mexican borderlands to build the border wall. Even if construction is stopped, the wall was built through protected areas and did long-term damage to the habitats in them.
• The Trump truck rallies show the link between fossil fuels and a particular sort of identity.
• At least four Supreme Court cases this term will deal with environmental issues.