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Prairie Warbler / USFWS Photo
Birds and birding news
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology is ending its active search for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers due to the lack of evidence for a recoverable population in the areas they have searched for the past five years. A book on the searches will be released next year.
- A bird bander working in Jamaica found an apparent gynandromorph Black-throated Blue Warbler. A "gynandromorph" is a bird that shows both male and female plumage characteristics.
- Speaking of unusual birds, birdwatchers found a Blue Tit with an unusually long bill in the U.K.
- A satellite transmitter tracked a Whimbrel as it migrated 14,170 miles to and from Virginia's Eastern Shore. The bird spent the summer of 2009 near the mouth of the MacKenzie River in Canada and wintered on St. Croix.
- The BBC has a photo gallery of King Penguins returning to their nesting colony after sunset.
- The USDA has agreed to employ consistent conservation actions across the bird's range and will use existing voluntary programs to improve the bird's habitat.
- A pair of ospreys caused a blackout in Maine when one accidentally dropped a branch on electrical wires. The bird was carrying the branch to build its nest.
- The Coast Guard awarded $16.9 million to restore seabird habitat after oil leaked from a sunken vessel near the Golden Gate Bridge over several decades.
- Five men pled guilty to killing protected waterbirds in Florida; they will pay fines and perform community service.
- Two men who tried to smuggle birds into the U.S. in their pants pled guilty and will serve prison time.
- Volunteers had to rescue baby Barn Owls after workers cut down the tree they were nesting in. The nest was replaced by a nest box, and the parents seem to be tending the chicks again.
- Sixteen pelicans rehabilitated by Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research were released into the lower Chesapeake this week.
- Here is a tribute to the sweet songs of Hermit Thrushes.
- Garret Mountain in northeastern New Jersey is an excellent migration hotspot.
- An amateur naturalist describes the biodiversity he encountered while visiting Ecuador.
- Conservation Maven: Outlining the research needs for neotropical migratory birds
- Tetrapod Zoology: The Mesozoic birds with weird, plastic-strip-style tail structures
- BES Group: Birds learning from one another
- Lifehacker: eBird Gives You More Information About Birds Than You Ever Thought You'd Need
- Flickr Blog: Empire State Pigeons
- The Chesapeake Bay's blue crab population has doubled in the past two years and is now at its highest level since 1997. However, the population is still below historic levels.
- An independent investigation found that there was no intentional wrongdoing by the climate scientists at East Anglia University whose emails were hacked in the so-called "Climategate" controversy. However, the investigators suggested that the researchers use better statistical methods for their models.
- As a result of pressure from shareholders, BP has agreed not to use open pit mining at its oil sands operations in Alberta, Canada. Open pit mining is one of two methods used to extract oil from oil sands. The other, in situ drilling, is less damaging to the landscape but results in higher greenhouse gas and sulfur dioxide emissions.
- Weeds are becoming more resistant to glyphosate (a.k.a. Roundup) in areas where the herbicide is commonly used with "Roundup-ready" crops.
- While sugarcane ethanol in the abstract is less ecologically harmful than other biofuels, in practice the production of biofuels from sugarcane grown in Brazil leads to deforestation and higher carbon emissions.
- An agreement between Ottawa and native tribes will preserve 3.3 million hectares in the Northwest Territories as a national park.
- Lower sunspot activity will mean colder winters for Europe in the near future even though the global climate is warming.
