Loose Feathers #284 ~ FIRECROW

Common Raven / Photo by Hernan Vargas

Birds and birding news

The BBC has a gallery of oil-covered Rockhopper Penguins being rehabilitated in Tristan da Cunha.
Scientists are trying to develop a chemical complement to dispersants to prevent oil from sticking to birds' feathers in the first place.
The annual Big Garden Birdwatch reported an increase in the number of small birds reported, with particularly noticeable rises in the populations of Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits.
Conservationists are trying to eradicate rats from the Galapagos to protect native birds.
The oldest known breeding female Osprey has returned to its nest in the U.K. The bird has nested at the Loch of the Lowes reserve for 21 years.
A recent study found that Capercaillie breeding success declined from 1991 to 2009, and the decline may be linked to changes in weather conditions and increased predation.

Birds in the blogosphere

Environment and biodiversity

President Obama called for cutting oil imports by one-third by 2025 by increasing domestic production, shifting to other forms of energy (primarily natural gas, biofuels, and nuclear power), and increasing fuel efficiency standards.
Meanwhile, a British bank warns that there may be only 50 years of oil left.
Warmer waters offshore paradoxically make winters colder in eastern North America and eastern Asia.
The deaths of marine mammals during last summer's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico were probably underestimated.
Coral reefs appear to be moving northward in response to warmer ocean temperatures.
Invasive wasps in New Zealand carry ants away from food instead of fighting them.
Coyote Crossing: Environmentalism without the environment: Madrigal in The Atlantic

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