Toco Toucan, Ramphastos toco / Flickr Photo by Lip KeeBird or birding news
- A long bill helps to keep a toucan cool. Thermal imaging reveals that when the ambient temperature is cool, the bill stays cold, but in warmer ambient temperatures, the bill radiates more heat than the rest of the body.
- A study around natural gas wells in New Mexico showed that while most bird species prefer quieter areas, Black-chinned Hummingbirds and House Finches flourished at the noisier sites. One reason may be that Steller's Jays, a nest predator, are less common at the noisy sites.
- Conservationists recently discovered a large colony of 161 White-shouldered Ibises, a Critically Endangered species, at a site in Cambodia. That colony is the largest known in the world.
- A coalition of 30 scientists have outlined research priorities to determine how wind turbines affect wildlife (principally birds and bats) and how those effects might be mitigated.
- The Minnesota DNR killed two adult Broad-winged Hawks that nested in a residential neighborhood and attacked residents that came near the nest. Their fledglings are already out of the nest and able to survive on their own.
- A marina in Sheldiac, New Brunswick, had placed a net over a barge that had been used for nesting by Common Terns to prevent terns from nesting and pooping on the boats. After protests the net was removed, and subsequently about 450 pairs nested on the barge. The Sheldiac colony numbers over 500 pairs.
- The UK's Breeding Bird Survey for 2008 showed continued declines for most long-distance migrants.
- Two Seattle state troopers are under investigation for clubbing to death juvenile gulls at a Seattle tollbooth. So far the story is that the gulls' parents were harassing toll booth workers near their nest site.
- The beach at Astoria, Oregon, has had its third attack on waterbirds within the past month. This time, it appears someone lured the gulls before running over them.
- Two Osprey chicks were banded at Cheesequake State Park in New Jersey last week. There are currently four active nests within the park.
- Earbirding: Macaulay’s Red Crossbill Types
- Net Results: More European Goldfinches
- Rob's Idaho Perspective: Talons versus Tilley
- BES Group: A nesting tailorbird encounters sunbirds… and a cat
- St Margaret's at Cliffe Photo Diary: Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
- The dark, mysterious blob floating off the coast of Alaska turned out to be a massive algae bloom.
- A new study shows that temperate forests store as much or more carbon as tropical forests. The finding should encourage efforts to preserve existing old growth forests in temperate zones.
- Meanwhile, the US Forest Service will allow logging of 381 acres of old-growth temperate rainforest in Alaska's Tongass National Forest.
- Climate change has a 25%-50% chance of depleting all the reservoirs along the Colorado River by 2050 under current management practices.
- Global ocean temperatures are currently the warmest on record.
- A new study shows that industrial air pollution is much worse for children's health than vehicle exhaust.
- The Washington Post published an interesting article on fireflies last week. Apparently the wet spring gave their numbers an extra boost. If you like watching fireflies, consider participating in Firefly Watch and reporting what you see.
- A rainy June in New Jersey encouraged the spread of a fungus that attacks gypsy moths, keeping the invasive moths largely in check this summer.
- It may be possible to control kudzu, another invasive plant, with a naturally occurring fungus that infects kudzu but not other woody plants. Lab tests show about a 90% success rate.
- The U.K. is considering importing a psyllid, a small insect, to control Japanese knotweed. In its native Japan, the psyllid specializes in drinking the sap of knotweed plants and appears not to attack other plants.
- New Jersey's government is being investigated for deals to remediate landfill sites and turn them into residential housing and golf courses in exchange for political donations. The agreements date to the Whitman and McGreevey administrations.
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