Loose Feathers #800
A DC Birding Blog
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3y ago
White-crowned Sparrow / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS Birds and birding news Tomorrow is NJ Audubon's World Series of Birding, a big day tournament to raise money for conservation. Like last year, this year's tournament is following special rules due to the pandemic (pdf). As in the past, I will be part of the Middlesex Merlins; here is a link to our team page for fundraising.  Tomorrow is also World Migratory Bird Day and eBird's Global Big Day, and eBird is offering free access to its Birds of the World encyclopedia for the weekend. A rare Broad-billed Hummingbird made it all th ..read more
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Loose Feathers #799
A DC Birding Blog
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3y ago
Green Heron / Photo by Jerry Herman/USFWS volunteer Birds and birding news Scientists are beginning to understand more about nocturnal bird migration thanks to technogical advances in weather radar and audio monitoring. Among other things, this has allowed scientists to predict peak migration nights in advance. Chaco Eagles are endangered, young adults struggle to reach adulthood because of a variety of threats related to infrastructure, including drowning and electrocution. The discovery of an Anna's Hummingbird nest in a tree felled for TransMountain pipeline construction has stop ..read more
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Loose Feathers #798
A DC Birding Blog
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3y ago
Brant / my photo Birds and birding news Bright reds and yellows are supposed to be a sign of breeding fitness, but some male tanagers are able to appear more colorful than they really are because of their feather structure. An Italian luncheon broken up for violating coronavirus regulations also had protected songbirds on its menu. At the time of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, there were questions about whether rescued and rehabilitated birds would survive. At least one rescued Brown Pelican has been photographed in its old breeding grounds in Louisiana, 11 years after the spill ..read more
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Loose Feathers #797
A DC Birding Blog
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3y ago
Bald Eagle / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS Birds and birding news Shorebird Stewards received a grant to help protect beaches for breeding horseshoe crabs and the shorebirds like Red Knots that depend on them. Audubon has some suggested exercises for avoiding warbler neck.  Diclofenac was banned in India and elsewhere for pushing vultures close to extinction, but now it is killing vultures in Europe after it was approved for use in Italy and Spain. Murres are still hunted for food in parts of Newfoundland and Labrador. Here are some recommendations for places to watch spring migra ..read more
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Loose Feathers #796
A DC Birding Blog
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3y ago
Blue-winged Teal / Photo by Jim Hudgins/USFWS Birds and birding news Swift Parrots are endangered by deforestation, and new rules to protect their habitat may not be enough to save them. Here is an interview with the head of the USFWS migratory bird program. Piping Plovers are faring better on beaches in New England than in the Mid-Atlantic and South, which is probably linked to their selection of nest sites. Chicago added the stretch of beach preferred by its Piping Plovers to an adjacent natural area. Radar can be used to predict nights with heavy flights and encourage people to t ..read more
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Loose Feathers #795
A DC Birding Blog
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3y ago
Greater Sage-Grouse / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS Birds and birding news According to an analysis of CBC data, warerfowl are wintering farther north as winters become warmer, so that some duck species appear to be declining when their populations are stable or increasing. A mass mortality event that killed 3 million Short-tailed Shearwaters in 2013 may be linked to an underwater volcanic eruption since almost all of the necropsied shearwaters had eaten pumice. However the shearwaters may already have been starving before they encountered the volcano. Marbled Murrelets are more likely ..read more
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Loose Feathers #794
A DC Birding Blog
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3y ago
Song Sparrow / by me Birds and birding news A Ring-billed Gull in Cleveland turned out to be the oldest Ring-billed Gull ever recorded after a partial band number was determined from photographs. It was 28 years old and had been banded at Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto. A new species of mihirung, Dromornis stirtoni, was found in Australia. The new species is the largest member of the extinct family Dromornithidae, which is related to modern waterfowl or gamebirds. Atlantic Puffins are in decline because of a lack of prey, which causes chicks to starve. Ornithologists split two new s ..read more
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Loose Feathers #793
A DC Birding Blog
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3y ago
Wood Duck / Photo by T. Kersten/USFWS Birds and birding news Regent Honeyeaters are losing their songs as their population dwindles. Young songbirds learn their songs from mature birds, so with fewer older birds to learn from, young honeyeaters are singing simpler songs or learning songs of the wrong species.  A major threat to Harpy Eagles is that many are shot, some because they are seen as a threat to livestock and others out of curiosity. One writer found birdwatching as a way to cope with the pandemic and a cancer diagnosis. Employees at Audubon are attempting to form a un ..read more
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Loose Feathers #792
A DC Birding Blog
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3y ago
Bufflehead / USFWS Photo Birds and birding news Whooping Cranes avoid stopover sites near wind farms, so approval for new wind farms should take that into account when selecting sites. Bird watchers in California are urged to take down and clean their bird feeders to stop an outbreak of salmonellosis. The feeders should stay down for at least a month. Wing tags are often used to make individual banded birds easier to observe, but in the case of Cape Vultures, wing tags make it harder for them to fly. Tropical forest bird populations in Tanzania are declining as the climate warms. Ma ..read more
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Loose Feathers #791
A DC Birding Blog
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3y ago
Common Grackle / Photo by Diana Cosby/USFWS Birds and birding news The capture and selling of wild birds for their song is driving many Asian songbirds to extinction. Spring is a great time to start birding, and here are some recommendations for getting started. Here is another column on becoming a birder. A new book considers biodiversity loss in terms of diminished sound, especially bird songs.  Spotted Owls benefit from a mix of burned and old-growth habitats, and that balance is disturbed when timber companies do salvage logging or thin old-growth forests. British Columbia ..read more
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