Loose Feathers #794

Song Sparrow / by me

Birds and birding news

• A Ring-billed Gull in Cleveland turned out to be the oldest Ring-billed Gull ever recorded after a partial band number was determined from photographs. It was 28 years old and had been banded at Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto.
  
• A new species of mihirung, Dromornis stirtoni, was found in Australia. The new species is the largest member of the extinct family Dromornithidae, which is related to modern waterfowl or gamebirds.
• Atlantic Puffins are in decline because of a lack of prey, which causes chicks to starve.
• Ornithologists split two new species, the Xingu Screech-Owl and Alagoas Screech-Owl, out of the Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl complex in Brazil. Both have small ranges and are threatened by fires and forest fragmentation.
• The Bald Eagle population in the Lower 48 states has quadrupled since 2009, with 316,700 individuals and 71,400 nesting pairs as of 2019.
• However, some Bald Eagles have been dying of a neurodegenerative disease caused by cyanobacteria growing on invasive Hydrilla. Herbicides used to control Hydrilla may contribute to the problem if they contain bromide.
  
• Three species were added to the ABA Checklist recently: Hooded Crane, Northern Giant-Petrel, and Mitred Parakeet.
• Irregular water releases from upstream dams along the Mekong River threaten birds that nest along the river, especially ground-nesting birds.
• The Iberá Seedeater does not interbreed with closely related species even though they share most of their neighbors' genomes and live in the same area.
  

Science and nature blogging

• Feathered Photography: A Massive Ferruginous Hawk Nest, Including A Chick
• Shorebirder: possible Sooty x Red Fox Sparrow in CT 
• Linda Murdock Photography: Spoonbills at Smith Oaks Rookery - 2021
• Avian Hybrids: Admixture in Amazonia: Reconstructing the evolutionary history of the Pectoral Sparrow
• Backyard and Beyond: Dog Park
  

Biodiversity and conservation

• An update to the IUCN Red List classifies the African Forest Elephant as critically endangered and the African Savanna Elephant as endangered. Both had previously been considered vulnerable in the previous update. The ivory trade is a major threat to both species.
• Patagonia is one of the most important breeding grounds for Blue Whales, but the whales there have to dodge numerous boats that tend the area's salmon industry.
  
• A survey in Hawaii found 13 new moth species as well as one that had been considered extinct.
  
• A pair of dolphins was filmed swimming in the East River in New York City.
• Every invasive tree in North America was introduced as an ornamental and many harm insects and the wildlife that depend on them.
• The history of whaling restrictions shows how empathy can be a motivating force for conservation even when it is seen as extreme or at odds with scientific standards.
  

Climate change and environmental politics

• The Biden administration will investigate political interference in the scientific research that supports regulations, especially at the EPA.
  
• Public lands protected as national monuments via the Antiquities Act may be threatened by the new Supreme Court majority.
• Making Black neighborhoods safer should include turning vacant lots into parks and green spaces.
• Several companies are preparing to extract lithium from the heated brine underneath the Salton Sea.
• Systemic changes are necessary to address the climate crisis, but wealthy people can make a difference by reducing their own carbon footprints because the richest 10% of households are responsible for about a third of global emissions and 1% of people are responsible for half of global air traffic emissions.
• The American Petroleum Institute endorsed carbon pricing for the first time, perhaps to stave off stricter regulations.
• The EPA blocked the expansion of an oil refinery in the US Virgin Islands because of its effects on nearby communities.
• Multiple states are working to criminalize protests against fossil fuel infrastructure, including changes misdemeanors into felonies for civil disobedience.
  

Loose Feathers #793

Wood Duck / Photo by T. Kersten/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• Regent Honeyeaters are losing their songs as their population dwindles. Young songbirds learn their songs from mature birds, so with fewer older birds to learn from, young honeyeaters are singing simpler songs or learning songs of the wrong species. 
• A major threat to Harpy Eagles is that many are shot, some because they are seen as a threat to livestock and others out of curiosity.
• One writer found birdwatching as a way to cope with the pandemic and a cancer diagnosis.
  
• Employees at Audubon are attempting to form a union, and so far management does not appear receptive to the idea. Other environmental organizations have unionized recently.
• A study connects the hum of a hummingbird's wings to pressure changes created by its wing motion.
• The European Court of Justice ruled that French hunters should stop glue-trapping birds.
• At a park in Calgary, wintering owls are being stressed by too many visitors. As in other places, it raises issues of birding ethics.
• A photographer filmed ravens playing in the snow.

Science and nature blogging

• Sibley Guides: Variation in eastern Fox Sparrows
  
• Celery Farm and Beyond: My Column: Rusty Blackbirds Need Our Help
• Chicago Ornithological Society: Dan's Feathursday Feature: Greater White-fronted Goose
• On The Wing Photography: Spring Wild Turkey Tom Displays 
• Avian Hybrids: Convergent evolution of immune proteins in tits, chickadees, and titmice
  

Biodiversity and conservation

• According to a new study using whaling records, Sperm Whales learned how to evade whalers and communicated the information with each other.
• At this time of year, many amphibians need to cross roads to find vernal pools for breeding, so volunteers try to keep them from getting crushed by cars.
• Researchers identified parts of central Arizona and New Mexico that could support up to 150 Jaguars. The area is not currently designated as critical habitat because the species has only been recorded south of I-10.
• A Sri Lankan tree species was considered extinct until one was discovered in 2019. Now that individual tree is threatened by a road project. Three of the five "extinct" plants on Sri Lanka's 2012 red list have since been rediscovered, but another 177 plant species are still threatened or possibly extinct.
• Saint Patrick did not drive the snakes out of Ireland. Instead they were eliminated in the last Ice Age and never made it back.
• Sea-level rise is killing forests along the Atlantic coast.
  

Climate change and environmental politics

• The Biden administration is considering a carbon tariff on goods coming from countries that are not doing enough to reduce carbon emissions.
• To be effective, the EPA needs to be restaffed and end arrangements that allow states and industry to block enforcement.
• Property owners in the Hamptons are fighting an offshore wind farm because the cable connecting it to a substation would pass through their town. Long Island is also the focus of a fight over flood insurance, which needs to be adjusted to account for sea-level rise.
• Bottom trawling releases a gigaton of carbon from the seabed each year, which is roughly equivalent to global aviation. The amount could be reduced by protecting more of the ocean.
• North America was the only continent whose air quality declined in 2020 due to western wildfires.
• One of the challenges in switching to carbon-free energy is obtaining necessary elements like lithium without causing additional environmental damage. One proposed lithium mine in Nevada would pollute local groundwater and disturb vulnerable species, while another would destroy 70% of a rare plant's range.
• Biofuels should not be part of a carbon-free transportation system because they are inefficient and stall the replacement of internal combustion with electric vehicles.
• Researchers found microplastics in 53 waterways that flow into the Delaware Estuary. Among the main contributors are plastic fibers from synthetic clothing.
• Deb Haaland was finally confirmed and sworn in as Interior secretary. She is the first Native American cabinet secretary and supports the 30x30 plan for biodiversity conservation.
• The Keystone XL pipeline might be dead, but activists are still trying to stop another cross-border pipeline known as Line 3.
  

Loose Feathers #792

Bufflehead / USFWS Photo

Birds and birding news

• Whooping Cranes avoid stopover sites near wind farms, so approval for new wind farms should take that into account when selecting sites.
• Bird watchers in California are urged to take down and clean their bird feeders to stop an outbreak of salmonellosis. The feeders should stay down for at least a month.
  
• Wing tags are often used to make individual banded birds easier to observe, but in the case of Cape Vultures, wing tags make it harder for them to fly.
• Tropical forest bird populations in Tanzania are declining as the climate warms. Many tropical birds disperse only short distances after leaving the nest, which makes it harder for them to move to places with an ideal climate.
  
• Researchers found the genetic basis for plumage variations in White Wagtails.
• A study of 23 bird species found that species with cooperative breeding live longer than other birds.
• An Irish photographer recorded a starling murmuration.
• Used PPE needs to be disposed properly so that birds and other wildlife do not get entangled in it. The pandemic has revived the use of single-use plastics, which activists had tried to phase out.
• A threatened Red-backed Button-quail recently showed up in an Australian coastal town, which is a sign of the bird's recent population boom.
• From April 1 to May 31, lights will be turned off on major buildings in Philadelphia's Center City to protect migrating birds, which can be disoriented by artificial light. The Bird Safe Philly initiative was spurred by an incident last fall when 1,000 to 1,500 birds struck buildings on a single night.
  

Science and nature blogging

• Avian Hybrids: Why the “Red-breasted Meidum Goose” is probably not an extinct species 
• Dakota Birder: South Dakota Species Highlight: Chestnut-collared Longspur
• FINCH RESEARCH NETWORK: Winter Finch Forecast Update: The Return Begins
  
• earthstar: When Coots attack
• Linda Murdock Photography: Smith Oaks Rookery at High Island - 2021
• Be Your Own Birder: The Most Versatile Birdseed  
• awkward botany: When Acorn Masts, Rodents, and Lyme Disease Collide
• Backyard and Beyond: Sparrow Fight
• Outside My Window: We Get Pretty By Wearing Out 
• Balloon Juice: Raptor Trapping and Banding 
• On The Wing Photography: Marsh Wren Nesting Season Begins In March
• Isabelle M. Vea: Insects found on dinosaur feathers are not that kind of parasites
• New Jersey Audubon: Cape May Springwatch: March 1-10, 2021  
• Feathered Photography: Mealworms – Are They Safe As Bird Food?
  

Biodiversity and conservation

• Brood X periodical cicadas will emerge en masse this spring for the first time since 2004. Unlike annual cicadas, which emerge every summer, periodical cicada broods emerge in massive numbers every 13 or 17 years. This brood is centered in the Mid-Atlantic, with another population in the Midwest.
  
• The pause in ecotourism due to COVID-19 and government budget cuts have hurt conservation efforts. Some preserves have been forced to close, while governments have opened protected areas to resource extraction.
• As a narwhal's tusk grows, it creates a record of the conditions in which the narwhal lived.
• Marine protected areas that still allow fishing and fossil fuel extraction do not protect much more biodiversity than unprotected sites.
  
• The Red Wolf is again on the brink of extinction as the number of wolves in the wild has crashed from 130 to 10 in the past decade. 
• A Gray Wolf with a GPS tracking collar from the Bow Valley pack in Banff National Park was shot and killed in Montana. The wolf had been tracked for about a year and was almost three years old. 
• Only a few remnants of Ireland's ancient temperate rainforest remain intact. The forest fragments support a rich diversity of mosses and liverworts but are missing the megafauna that used to live there.
  
• Entomologists found a new species of firefly in Singapore.
• Bangladesh is home to half of the carnivore species on the Indian subcontinent, but many are overlooked or understudied.
  
• Invasive zebra mussels are found in many pet stores, which serve as a potential point of new introductions.
• At least 403 manatees have died in the first two months this year, which is triple the normal rate.
• A new study calls for protecting Japan's remaining older grasslands as a basis for restoring new grasslands.
• Pennsylvania is home to a large herd of reintroduced elk.
  

Climate change and environmental politics

• Switching to electric vehicles is necessary to reduce carbon emissions, but mining the rare metals needed for batteries presents its own set of environmental risks. The seabed is a potential target for mining.
  
• Michael Regan was finally confirmed as EPA administrator. He will have a lot of clean-up to do. Deb Haaland is still waiting for a confirmation vote. Her vote should come on Monday.
  
• The Extinction Rebellion movement is popular in Europe but has been slow to gain support in the US, possibly because activists are putting their energy elsewhere.
  
• A oil company wants to drill in Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida even though it could harm a sensitive and unique ecosystem.
• The Biden administration revoked a legal opinion that formed the Trump administration's basis for modifying the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Interior Department will reverse the regulatory changes in the near future.
• The proposed large-scale wind farm off the coast of Martha's Vineyard should be approved soon as the Biden administration looks to increase offshore wind energy.
• Environmental groups are asking the Biden administration to remove 70 miles of border wall segments to restore natural areas and cultural sites.
  

Loose Feathers #791

Common Grackle / Photo by Diana Cosby/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• The capture and selling of wild birds for their song is driving many Asian songbirds to extinction.
• Spring is a great time to start birding, and here are some recommendations for getting started. Here is another column on becoming a birder.
  
• A new book considers biodiversity loss in terms of diminished sound, especially bird songs. 
• Spotted Owls benefit from a mix of burned and old-growth habitats, and that balance is disturbed when timber companies do salvage logging or thin old-growth forests. British Columbia has deferred logging where Canada's last Spotted Owls are nesting.
  
• A wind energy company is funding the captive breeding program for California Condors to replace any that are killed by its turbines.
• A study using GPS trackers found that female Northern Gannets traveled farther than males in search of food for their chicks. Males and females also foraged in different places and at different times of day.
• Two Bald Eagles have hatched at Duke Farms in Somerset County, New Jersey.
• Powerful Owls will roost in urban areas but need more connection between habitats to stay there.
• Activists in Texas are building a Lights Out program in Austin. Turning out lights helps protect birds that migrate at night.
• A Common Eider colony in Nunavut developed herd immunity to avian cholera after an outbreak in 2006.
• A new book documents life in an Emperor Penguin colony with photos.
  

Science and nature blogging

• awkward botany: To Fruit or Not to Fruit – The Story of Mast Seeding
• Vermont Center for Ecostudies: Field Guide to March 2021
• Avian Hybrids: Splitting the Long-tailed Rosefinch into a Chinese and a Siberian species  
• Sibley Guides: Distinguishing the subspecies of Redwing
• The Urban Nature Enthusiast: Snow Crows
  

Biodiversity and conservation

• Hunters in Wisconsin killed at least 216 wolves over three days last week. The hunt was the first since the Trump administration removed the Gray Wolf from the Endangered Species List.
• Butterfly populations west of the Rockies have declined by 1.6% each year since 1977. According to the study, climate change was the primary cause.
  
• Another study reported that British moths have declined by one third over the past 50 years.
• North Carolina Candid Critters, a citizen-science project using camera traps, recorded 120,671 wildlife observations of 30 mammal and 3 bird species over three years. 
• A study argues that limiting the spread of invasive species is more important than trying to eradicate ones that are already established.
• This Twitter thread shows a battle between a Golden Eagle, Great Horned Owl, Mule Deer, and Coyote that was captured on a trail camera in Washington.
• Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs have been found in Great Britain for the first time.
• Deforestation is increasing in Indonesia as it moves east into the Papua region, which had been largely untouched until recently.
• Idaho is likely to remove limits on hunting mountain lions.
• Neonicotinoids have been found in deer across Minnesota.
  

Climate change and environmental politics

• Drilling in Area 1002 of the Arctic NWR threatens to disrupt caribou migration and grazing patterns that help keep carbon stored in the permafrost. 
• Carbon emissions must be cut in half by 2030, but pledges under the Paris agreement amount to less than 1% of emissions.
• The Biden administration is recalculating the social cost of carbon, which is the basis for cost-benefit analyses for climate-related regulations.
  
• An Indigenous land defender was sentenced to jail for protesting the Trans Mountain pipeline in British Columbia.
• The Sierra Club (like many other environmental organizations) is re-evaluating its history, particularly its exclusion of Native Americans.
• During Deb Haaland's confirmation hearing, Republican senators used a debunked study by the American Petroleum Institute to criticize her views on fossil fuel leases and climate change.
• Last year's wildfires were strongly connected to climate change, as explained by NASA.
  
• The Delaware River Basin Commission passed a ban on fracking within the Delaware watershed over heavy opposition from fossil fuel companies. The commission is still deciding what to do about water withdrawals.
• Electric vehicles are better for the environment than gas-powered vehicles, but how much better depends on factors like how electricity is generated and the sources for raw materials.
• Fossil fuel groups like the American Gas Association are lobbying state governments to prevent cities like Austin from switching to renewable energy.
• The House of Representatives passed a new public lands conservation bill that would create new wilderness areas and stop new mining around the Grand Canyon, among other things. It is unclear if the bill will pass the Senate.
• Environmental groups are asking the Biden administration to remove sections of the border wall that block wildlife migration routes or separate Indigenous cultural sites.
  
• There is a surprisingly high amount of microplastic in Raritan Bay and in the Raritan and Passaic Rivers; stormwater runoff seems to be the main source.
• Annapolis is suing two dozen fossil fuel companies because sea level rise is threatening the city.