Bird and birding news
- Insect-eating birds that winter in Africa and breed in the Netherlands have declined in number over the past 25 years. The decline is attributed to climate change, since insects have begun peaking earlier while migratory birds still arrive at the same time as before.
- A winter count of Bald Eagles found 84 pairs in New Jersey during the 2009 nesting season, a new state record. The previous high was 69, set last year.
- Meanwhile, Bobwhite have declined enough to spur the state to devise a new management plan to restore quail habitat, which may include a temporary suspension of quail hunting. [Thanks to WildNewJersey.tv for this and the previous link.]
- Here is an update on the Navy trainees who shot 21 waterbirds in Florida. Some criminal charges were dropped, but they still may face civil charges under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
- The first Christmas Bird Count in Antarctica, held last winter, recorded 270,885 Adélie penguins, 79 south polar skua, six snow petrel, two Emperor penguins, and one Wilson’s storm-petrel.
- One bird-like dinosaur was probably venomous.
- The Bergen Record has a nice article on local birder Rob Fanning, who found 200 bird species in Bergen County, New Jersey, this year.
- A MacGillivray's Warbler showed up in Falmouth, Maine.
- A Cooper's hawk flew into a hardware store and spent the night inside.
- Some Florida residents are upset about feral Indian Peafowl and want the birds to be culled.
- Great Auk or Greatest Auk: In the Midst of Life
- JournOwl: Burrowing Owls: No Homes for the Holidays?
- Mary Birds: Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Hidalgo County Texas!
- Picus Blog: Bloggerhead Kingbirds - We're back, baby!
- Green Birding: Becoming a Green Birder
- BES Group: Flight reaction of roosting birds
- A single summer of moth collecting in a Vancouver park yielded 190 species, including 2 species new to North America. The two new species for North America are Dichelia histrionana and Paraswammerdamia lutarea, both native to western Eurasia.
- North Carolina had its highest number of fish kills in thirteen years. Fish kills are usually caused by a lack of oxygen in the water due to excessive nutrient runoff.
- Unfortunately, similar events are likely to happen more often as the climate warms.
- Obama says that we are right to be disappointed with the results of the climate conference in Copenhagen.
Finally, Merry Christmas to everyone!
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