Hummingbirds and reflection / Photo by rainy city
Bird and birding news
- Some ornithologists are using sound recordings to estimate the density of bird populations. It is especially useful for loud but reclusive birds like Ovenbirds or bitterns.
- To drink nectar from a flower, a hummingbird curves its tongue into a straw and uses the liquid's surface tension to draw the fluid into its mouth.
- Over half of penguin species are threatened or endangered. Some of the threats include overfishing and climate, which affect penguins' food sources, and oil spills, which sicken and kill many birds.
- Here is an article on Wild Turkeys in New Jersey.
- A Wild Turkey (named Zelda) is still wandering in Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan.
- Thirty grackles were killed in Fort Lee, NJ, because they ingested Avitrol-laced seeds left out for pigeons. The town's mayor said the town had been told the seeds were too big for any bird but pigeons to eat.
- A Peregrine Falcon that had fathered 34 chicks in 12 years at its Cleveland nest died when it crashed into a building.
- Great Auk or Greatest Auk: Glen Chilton's The Case of the Labrador Duck
- Net Results: "Look what the cat dragged in"
- Bell Tower Birding: Is it GISS, or What?!
- Jersey Digiscoping: Barnegat Light Pipers Galore
- NaturalVisions Blog: 150 Years: On the Origin of Species
- Daily Kos: Dawn Chorus Birdblog: Meet some hawks
- Net Naturalist: 4 Online Communities A Wildlife Enthusiast Would Love
- Many restaurants serve sushi that includes endangered bluefin tuna without labeling it as such.
- So far 17,650 marine species have been catalogued at depths below 200 meters, beyond the reach of light. The link has images of some of the more unusual species to be found within the last year.
- This article from the BBC has some interesting graphics on the sources of carbon emissions and future projections. While China emits the most carbon dioxide, the U.S. and Europe still emit more per capita.
- According to recent measurements, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is now losing ice rather than gaining it. To this point, most melting had occurred on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, while the colder East Antarctic Ice Sheet was relatively stable and even gained some mass.
- This week a team of climate scientists issued The Copenhagen Diagnosis, a report summarizing recent research and changes since the last IPCC report. The main result is that recent changes have matched the IPCC report's worst-case scenarios. Rather than being alarmist, the report may have been too conservative.
- A new report estimates that Britain could absorb 10% of its emissions by planting 23,200 hectares of woodland a year for the next 40 years.
- Past climate anomalies such as the "Medieval Warm Period" and "Little Ice Age" are linked to changes in ocean temperature cycles (such as El Nino), solar output, and volcanic activity. During past warm eras, the planet often responded with a La Nina-like feedback that moderated temperatures. It is unclear if this will happen with the current warming trend.
- This week Obama committed to reducing U.S. emissions by 17% of 2005 levels by 2050. It is unclear if this will create sufficient momentum for an international agreement.
- The Union of Concerned Scientists catalogues problems with the climate chapter of Levitt and Dubner's Superfreakonomics.
- One biologist argues that not all invasive nonnative species are equally harmful and that eradication efforts should focus on the worst ones (like kudzu and emerald ash borer).
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