Loose Feathers #799

Green Heron / Photo by Jerry Herman/USFWS volunteer

Birds and birding news

• Scientists are beginning to understand more about nocturnal bird migration thanks to technogical advances in weather radar and audio monitoring. Among other things, this has allowed scientists to predict peak migration nights in advance.
  
• Chaco Eagles are endangered, young adults struggle to reach adulthood because of a variety of threats related to infrastructure, including drowning and electrocution.
  
• The discovery of an Anna's Hummingbird nest in a tree felled for TransMountain pipeline construction has stopped work on the pipeline for the next few months.
• German scientists combed through Instagram posts to find the most popular birds, and frogmouths came out on top.
• Here is a summary of a recent panel on changing English bird names to remove eponyms.
  
• Artificial intelligence that can identify bird songs is making it possible to monitor birds remotely and sort through audio recordings more quickly.
  
• Aside from the threat of invasive species, Swift Parrots are declining partly because they produce more male than female chicks.
  

Science and nature blogging

• Ibycter: Finding and photographing spiders for the City Nature Challenge (A post for Nova Scotia)
• Linda Murdock Photography: Great Blue Herons at Texas City Dike
• Avian Hybrids: Where did all these penguins come from? 
• Corvid Research: Are ravens smarter than a___? 
• The Prairie Ecologist: The Darker Side of Tree Planting in the Great Plains 
• Sibley Guides: New illustrations of Cave Swallow subspecies
• On The Wing Photography: Dreaming Of Mountain Bluebirds  
• Dartford Waffler: Nesting White Storks
  

Biodiversity and conservation

• Brood X periodical cicadas are set to emerge in the next few weeks this spring after 17 years underground. Unfortunately the Brood X population on Long Island is disappearing. Here is more information about the cicadas.
  
• Mangroves help protect the southern end of Vietnam from sea-level rise, and a conservation project is trying restore parts that were lost to aquaculture or defoliation. 
• Native American legislators in Montana want the Biden administration to restore bison to Glacier National Park and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. 
• Bobcats are expanding their numbers in New Jersey, with a current population estimate of 106.
• Orcas are struggling to survive in Puget Sound because of a lack of salmon, but many other marine species are thriving because of conservation work.
  

Climate change and environmental politics

• Scientists found a massive dumping ground for DDT in the San Pedro Basin off the coast of California. The discarded pesticide still affects dolphins and sea lions in the area.
• Activists are skeptical of "net-zero" pledges by the United States, Canada, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar since the pledges do not include stopping fossil fuel extraction.
• Another obstacle to addressing climate change is that there is a huge gap — as much as 5.5 gigatons of CO2 — between the emissions countries report and what climate scientists measure. Any effective plan to address climate change is going to need to be based on accurate numbers.
  
• Biden's "American Jobs Plan" includes a provision to increase funding for Superfund, which has been underfunded foor decades and has trouble completing cleanups as a result.
  
• Governments around the world are raising the criminal penalties for climate protests.
• The US Senate used the Congressional Review Act to reinstate the Obama administration's limits on methane emissions.
• A refinery in the US Virgin Islands has repeatedly released sulphuric gases that sickened residents.
  
• The Supreme Court heard arguments over whether PennEast can seize state protected lands for its proposed pipeline. Unfortunately the Biden administration supports the fossil fuel company.
• The proposed construction of a BJ's in Staten Island would destroy a wetland that helped protect the neighborhood from Sandy's floodwaters.
• The cherry trees that line the Tidal Basin in DC are threatened by sea-level rise, which has started breaching the basin's sea walls. There is currently a competition for plans to remedy the problem.
  

Loose Feathers #798

Brant / my photo

Birds and birding news

• Bright reds and yellows are supposed to be a sign of breeding fitness, but some male tanagers are able to appear more colorful than they really are because of their feather structure.
  
• An Italian luncheon broken up for violating coronavirus regulations also had protected songbirds on its menu.
• At the time of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, there were questions about whether rescued and rehabilitated birds would survive. At least one rescued Brown Pelican has been photographed in its old breeding grounds in Louisiana, 11 years after the spill.
  

Science and nature blogging

• Natural Newstead: Musk Ducks at Tullaroop
• Elev. 401: Woodpecker at work
• Avian Hybrids: Did sexual selection drive the evolution of Gallopheasants? 
• On The Wing Photography: Spring Swainson’s Hawk In Sage 
• Backyard and Beyond: Claytonia & Co.
• Feathered Photography: Western Grebe Weed Ceremony 
• Laura's Birding Blog: Earth Day 2021
  

Earth Day

• Individual actions are often overemphasized for addressing environmental problems, but one thing people can do is resist the urge to create manicured lawns and let native plants grow instead.
• The biggest issue on this and recent Earth Days is what to do about climate change. Here is an explainer on the climate crisis.
• Grist suggests how Earth Day can remain relevant despite the cynical greenwashing that comes with it.
• Monmouth County used Earth Day as the occasion to open a fish ladder that will allow migratory fish to spawn further upstream in the Wreck Pond watershed.
  

Biodiversity and conservation

• The Florida Reef Gecko is the most endangered native reptile in the US primarily due to sea-level rise but invasive species are also a factor.
• Narwhal tusks, like tree rings, record information about a narwhal's diet over its lifetime. A study of ten tusks found that narwhals are consuming an increasing amount of mercury and that they are feeding more in the open ocean than around sea ice.
• Brood X periodical cicadas will emerge for a month of so this spring for the first time in 17 years. The emergence will be an opportunity to learn how they interact with bird populations. Amateur naturalists are encouraged to document the emergence through the Cicada Safari app.
  
• If wolves are to resettle the eastern US, they will have to expand their range through the Midwest, but states like Wisconsin are already killing hundreds of wolves. That hunt is not nearly as egregious as the extermination plan in Idaho.
• Despite the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security, jaguars are still being seen on both sides of the border for now.
  
• A Vibrio bacteria outbreak is killing hundreds of menhaden around Raritan Bay this spring.
  

 Climate change and environmental politics

• This week Biden promised to cut US greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. There are two problems with this goal. One is that this pledge is based on emission levels from 2005 while most other countries base their pledges on the levels from 1990, which has more scientific support. The second is that any pledge is likely to be undone by future administrations since the Republican Party opposes any climate action, and even many Democrats owe their offices to support from fossil fuel companies.
• There are also questions about whether Biden's climate plan is ambitious enough to meet the scale of the climate crisis, given the lack of carbon pricing and the minimal funding for decarbonizing transportation in the American Jobs Plan.
• Decarbonization is also unlikely when the country is still building new fossil fuel infrastructure like Enbridge's Line 3. 
• Halving carbon emissions by 2030 will require eliminating energy generated from coal, which currently accounts for 19% of US emissions.
  
• There are seven potential climate tipping points that could cause irreversible changes.
• NOAA is updating what a "normal" temperature means to keep pace with climate change. In most of the US, the "normal" temperature has gotten hotter over the past several decades.
• The EPA announced a new plan to dredge dioxins and other toxic chemicals from a nine-mile stretch of the Passaic River.
• New Jersey's air pollution is rebounding after a drop due to restrictions on travel during the pandemic.
  

Loose Feathers #797

Bald Eagle / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• Shorebird Stewards received a grant to help protect beaches for breeding horseshoe crabs and the shorebirds like Red Knots that depend on them.
  
• Audubon has some suggested exercises for avoiding warbler neck. 
• Diclofenac was banned in India and elsewhere for pushing vultures close to extinction, but now it is killing vultures in Europe after it was approved for use in Italy and Spain.
• Murres are still hunted for food in parts of Newfoundland and Labrador.
  
• Here are some recommendations for places to watch spring migration around the US.
• Data entered into eBird helps Fish and Wildlife Service biologists track Bald Eagle populations.
• Blackcaps are increasingly spending the winter in Britain and Ireland, and many of those wintering birds migrate northwest from mainland Europe.
• Philadelphia has become the latest US city to join the Lights Out initiative to protect birds during nocturnal migration.
  

Science and nature blogging

• The Nature of Cities: Is Cali the City with the Most Birds in the World?
  
• 10,000 Birds: A Survey of U.S. Birders
  
• awkward botany: Weeds of Boise: Awkward Botany Headquarters
• Feathered Photography: Pelican Surprise
• Avian Hybrids: The evolution of the genomic landscape in Silvereyes does not follow theoretical predictions
  
• On The Wing Photography: Red-naped Sapsucker Photos  
• New Jersey Audubon: Cape May Springwatch: Late March / Early April update
• Urban Hawks: End Of A 25 Year Run?
  

Biodiversity and conservation

• A new study finds that about 3% of the world's habitats remain intact, mainly in the tropics and boreal forests. and many in areas managed by indigenous peoples. Even protected areas are missing key species.
• The pandemic disrupted the normal regulation and monitoring of fisheries and reduced the ecotourism that helps fund protected areas.
  
• The new Valle de Oro NWR will become one of the few urban wildlife refuges.
• Common Foxglove plants introduced to the Americas evolved longer corolla tubes to match the long bills of hummingbirds.
• Butterflies like the Gray Hairstreak play a significant role pollinating cotton crops.
  
• Now is the time to find and destroy Spotted Lanternfly egg masses before they hatch.
• Early spring flowers have some unusual strategies for reproduction.
  

Climate change and environmental politics

• A new study finds that the overuse of DDT has had consequences over multiple generations, as the granddaughters of women exposed to DDT are more likely to have an array of medical conditions associated with the pesticide.
• DDT has also been in the news in California after a survey discovered hundreds of thousands of barrels dumped off the coast of Long Beach.
• Conservationists are trying to find ways to reduce the damage from border wall construction, potentially removing some barriers like the one blocking the San Pedro River. Tracking studies show animal movements being stopped by the wall in both the US and Mexico.
  
• Theoretically all new cars sold in the US could be electric by 2035.
• Abandoned, unplugged oil and gas wells emit greenhouse gases and threaten local groundwater, but it is difficult to get companies to take responsibility for fixing them.
• The American Jobs Plan can be more sustainable by following these suggestions, which include keeping new development within the existing footprint of the built environment and adding things like wildlife corridors and bird-safe glass to new or repaired infrastructure.
• Republican governors are already working to prevent any progress on climate change with delay tactics coordinated by the American Legislative Exchange Council.
• Pledges of "net-zero" emissions from fossil fuel companies are another delay tactic.
• Since greenhouse gases persist in the atmosphere, it could take several decades to see improvements from cutting emissions.
• The Southwest is likely to face a severe drought this year after a record-setting fire season last year.
• Microplastics can remain airborne long enough to be blown around the globe, even into the remotest areas.
• A new agreement seeks to reduce the massive carbon footprint of cryptocurrencies.
  

Loose Feathers #796

Blue-winged Teal / Photo by Jim Hudgins/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• Swift Parrots are endangered by deforestation, and new rules to protect their habitat may not be enough to save them.
  
• Here is an interview with the head of the USFWS migratory bird program.
• Piping Plovers are faring better on beaches in New England than in the Mid-Atlantic and South, which is probably linked to their selection of nest sites.
• Chicago added the stretch of beach preferred by its Piping Plovers to an adjacent natural area.
  
• Radar can be used to predict nights with heavy flights and encourage people to take actions like turning off lights to protect migratory birds.
• A Spanish energy company was accused of causing unnecessary electrocutions of raptors by not insulating its wires correctly.
• Salmonella has spread via bird feeders in at least 8 states; take down and wash feeders if you see sick or dead birds around them.
  

Science and nature blogging

• Avian Hybrids: A genomic perspective on the classic hybrid zone between Baltimore and Bullock’s Oriole
• In Defense of Plants: Twinspurs & Their Pollinators
• On The Wing Photography: Spotting A Short-eared Owl In The Distance 
  

Biodiversity and conservation

• Some writers see the Brood X cicada emergence as a metaphor for ending a year of social distancing. Entering sightings into the Cicada Safari app can help scientists track the emergence.
• Using imidacloprid to kill hemlock woolly adelgids may harm the salamanders that depend on hemlock forests in Appalachia.
• The Asian Small-clawed Otter has become endangered because too many individuals are being captured for the pet trade.
  

Climate change and environmental politics

• The Mauna Loa Observatory recorded carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at more than 420 parts per million for the first time ever. The new record means that the Earth is halfway to doubling pre-industrial carbon levels, which would cause a global temperature rise between 2.3 and 4.5°C.
  
• Politicians have largely avoided the subject of how to manage the retreat from the coastlines made necessary by sea level rise, and some places are still developing vulnerable coastal real estate. 
• Because the national monument designation was stripped from most of Bears Ears early in the Trump administration, the site has had a boom in visitation without the resources to manage it.
  
• Hurricane Zeta nearly wrecked Transocean Deepwater Asgard, a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, which would have caused a spill larger than the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
  
• Japan has set a more ambitious goal under the Paris treaty of a 40% cut in carbon emissions by 2030 and being carbon neutral by 2050.
  
• One third of Antarctica's ice shelves could collapse if there is 4°C of warming.
  
• Beach Sweeps coordinated by Clean Ocean Action have been finding lots of discarded PPE in addition to the trash that they normally collect. Plastic makes up 72% of trash collected during cleanups.
  

Loose Feathers #795

Greater Sage-Grouse / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• According to an analysis of CBC data, warerfowl are wintering farther north as winters become warmer, so that some duck species appear to be declining when their populations are stable or increasing.
• A mass mortality event that killed 3 million Short-tailed Shearwaters in 2013 may be linked to an underwater volcanic eruption since almost all of the necropsied shearwaters had eaten pumice. However the shearwaters may already have been starving before they encountered the volcano.
  
• Marbled Murrelets are more likely to nest in forests where they hear other murrelets.
• The main threats to endangered Egyptian Vultures are in southeastern Europe and the Middle East rather than Sub-Saharan Africa.
• EBird has produced new status and trends graphics showing associations between birds and habitat types. One interesting thing is that some species are closely associated with roads and nighttime lights in the winter.
  
• A man was caught smuggling 29 birds into the US at JFK airport in New York.
• A sick Bald Eagle rescued on Ocracoke Island had a serious case of lead poisoning.
  

Science and nature blogging

• Vermont Center for Ecostudies: Field Guide to April 2021
  
• Portland Birder: PNW Sparrow ID Infographic
• Birds Korea Blog: A Tale of Two Larks: Horned Lark, January 17th, Taebaek
• Avithera: Flagged Red-necked Avocets  
• Backyard and Beyond: Ant Sex
• On The Wing Photography: Spring Turkey Vulture And A View From The Road 
• Avian Hybrids: Why do Robust Woodpecker, Lineated Woodpecker and Helmeted Woodpecker look alike?
  

Biodiversity and conservation

• A new report named tropical forests like those in Brazil, Indonesia, Madagascar and Colombia as the most likely to host the 80% of species that have not been described.
• Native oaks are the best trees for supporting wildlife, from insects to birds to mammals, so people should plant more of them instead of ornamental trees.
• Kelp forests are collapsing off the coast of California since they have been hit by a combination of marine heat waves and a boom in purple sea urchins that make it impossible for the forest to regenerate.
  
• Loss of forests continued at a high level in 2020. The loss of 4.2 million hectares of primary tropical forests is especially concerning since it released 2.64 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere.
• Fireflies are in decline, and many species have been studied so little that their status is unknown. Major causes include light pollution, loss of habitat, and poor water quality.
  
• Grizzly Bears often appear on hiking trails because they prefer a gradient and pace similar to those of humans.
• The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned BLM to protect the last remaining habitat for Tiehm’s Buckwheat from a proposed lithium mine.
  
• An interview with the person who runs the @PicPedant account describes how to spot fake or misleading wildlife images (some of which may involve animal abuse).
• Here are some tips on how to identify and kill invasive Spotted Lanternflies.
  

Climate change and environmental politics

• Pledges of net-zero emissions may not be that effective when calculating and offsetting emissions are voluntary and if there is not enough capacity to meet the demand for offsets. 
• Offset programs like the Trillion Trees initiative are also problematic when rainforests are turning into savannas in response to climate change.
• This year Kyoto had its earliest peak cherry bloom on record on March 26. Even though the previous record was set in 1409, the peak bloom date had been relatively stable until the past hundred years when they have steadily gotten earlier.
• The oil industry has a long history of supporting white supremacy, from segregating workplaces to racist violence. The discriminatory models from the US were then replicated in other countries.
• The Biden administration is planning a major expansion of offshore wind energy along the Atlantic Coast.