Turkey Vulture in flight / Photo by Garry Tucker (USFWS)
Birds and birding news
- The American Bird Conservancy and Fundación ProAves secured 13 new conservation easements to protect the Cerulean Warbler and several other neotropical migrants on the wintering areas in Colombia.
- Three Yellow-billed Cotingas were captured for the first time in Costa Rica; they were fitted with radio transmitters and released to learn more about the activities of this rare bird. The species is endemic to the Pacific slope of Costa Rica and Panama.
- The flock of Whooping Cranes that winters at Aransas NWR in Texas was at its largest size ever this winter, with 279 cranes.
- A Ruddy Turnstone migrated 27,000 km (round trip) last year, traveling from Australia to Siberia via Taiwan and then returning to Australia via the central Pacific (with a stop at the Gilbert Islands). The bird was tracked with a geolocator for two years in a row.
- National Geographic has a gallery of the best rare bird photos from a photography competition.
- A cull of 4,400 Ruddy Ducks in the U.K. has reduced their population to 120 ducks. The North American species is being culled to protect Spain's population of White-headed Ducks, which has been in decline.
- Environmental groups in Malaysia are upset by the killing of a protected Great Pied Hornbill, a photo of which turned up on Facebook.
- A case of mass bird deaths in Pennsylvania was a result of European Starlings being poisoned with Starlicide.
- About 80% of fledgling Gray Catbirds in suburban habitats are killed by predators before they reach adulthood. About half of those deaths are caused by domestic cats left outdoors and most of the deaths occurred within the first week of a catbird leaving the nest.
- Sibley Guides: Identifying Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers by drumming sounds
- Coffee and Conservation: Know your coffee birds: Wilson’s Warbler
- The Drinking Bird: The Rarity Radius
- Great Auk or Greatest Auk: Oh No, Thoreau!
- Audubon Guides: Winter Owls
- Tetrapod Zoology: Walter Rothschild and the rise and fall of Sclater's cassowary
- BirdWatching Field of View: An interview with Richard Crossley, author of the new ID guide
- The Freiday Bird Blog: I.D. Tip: Winter Shorebirds
- The US Fish and Wildlife Service declared the eastern cougar subspecies extinct, after a study of scientific literature and reported sightings from the past century. The subspecies has probably been extinct since the 1930s due to hunting.
- The Desert Protective Council suggests 10 desert plants in California that ought to have endangered species protections.
- Since the start of 2011, 80 dead baby dolphins have washed up along the Gulf coast of the U.S. Scientists are investigating whether the deaths were caused by residual toxins from BP's oil spill or some other cause.
- An analysis of recent mammal extinctions concluded that the Earth is currently undergoing its sixth mass extinction event.
- A new study reports that warmer temperatures have stunted the growth of white spruce trees in Alaska's boreal forest. The spruces may end up shifting northward as the Earth continues to warm. Lodgepole pines in western forests may likewise disappear thanks to climate change and invasive beetles.
- The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is starting a long-term study of how the oil spill affects the health of Gulf coast residents. They are contacting 100,000 people and hope at least 55,000 participate in the study.
- Meanwhile, the Interior Department has resumed issuing permits for deepwater drilling.
- What remains of Washington state's first wolf pack is unclear after several wolves were found dead under suspicious circumstances.
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