Bird Feeders.
Bird News Items
1. Let's start with the Smithsonian Magazine's update on the "Search for Lost Birds": More than 120 species of birds are considered to be lost—not recorded or captured in the wild for more than ten years. Now, the Search for Lost Birds, a global partnership of conservancy organizations, is offering everyday people a database and encouraging them to gather and share information about the lost birds they might see in the wild. Even in an era of record-breaking species loss, the wild corners of the Earth may still harbor creatures long feared extinct. Collating data from experts and citizen scientists, the project has found 15 missing species since its founding in 2021, including these. (via Smithsonian Mag)
2. But then there is this: "...a wake-up call the conservation sector 'probably didn't need'...": For decades, the slender-billed curlew, a grayish-brown migratory wetland bird with a long, arched bill, has evaded detection, prompting speculation about whether the species is still out there. Now, a new study has confirmed that the species is indeed most likely extinct. “Speaking personally it’s a source of deep sadness,” Geoff Hilton, conservation scientist at U.K.-based charity Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, who wasn’t involved in the study, told Mongabay by email. While details of the slender-billed curlew’s exact population size and breeding sites have remained hazy, the species is known to have historically bred in Central Asia and migrated to Europe and North Africa. (via Mongabay)
By Hap Ellis, Black-capped Chickadee - Millenium Park, West Roxbury, MA.
3. A warming world is making things a bit easier for (unwanted) "stowaways" - read on: Migrating birds move incredible distances — and ticks that parasitize them travel for free. Historically, temperatures at the northern end of a migrating bird’s range have been too cold for ticks from the southern end to survive and reproduce, but the climate crisis is changing that. These ticks can carry pathogens not historically seen in those regions, which means that people could be infected with novel tick-borne diseases. To assess the threat, scientists trapped birds and sampled them for ticks, then tested those ticks for micro-organisms. (via Frontiers)
4. Bell's Vireo returns to the Los Angeles River: Along a gentle bend of the Los Angeles River, in a stretch of land called Taylor Yard, a sound like a high-pitched record scratch can just be heard above the cacophony of city life. This is the call of the least Bell’s vireo, an olive-gray songbird that is only five inches from tip to tail. The riparian species native to Southern California has lived an endangered existence for more than 40 years. Now, the small bird’s return here symbolizes a new future for one of the country’s most maligned waterways. (via Smithsonian Mag)
5. A "seventy-million-year gap" meets a "Rosetta Stone": In the evolutionary history of birds, there is a 70-million-year gap filled with questions. During this time, all the modern bird groups we know today emerged, but science has yet to fully explain how the transition from the ancient, more dinosaur-like birds to modern birds occurred. Now, an analysis of a fossil with an unprecedented degree of preservation — belonging to a previously unknown bird species that lived in what is now Brazil 80 million years ago — could help illuminate how this process occurred. The discovery is being hailed as a “Rosetta Stone” for the study of bird evolution, as it may unlock many of the mysteries surrounding their evolution. The research findings were published in Nature last Wednesday. (via El Pais)
6. "Bird cams" are a fabulous way to watch breeding birds - here is nice piece on an "EagleCam" hosted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: Bird lovers from around the world can look forward to some feathery reality TV drama — a wildlife camera in Minnesota is about to go live, giving an up-close-and-personal window into the nest of a pair of bald eagles as they navigate daily life and (hopefully) raise their babies. Starting Thursday, the camera, known as EagleCam and installed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, will go live on YouTube and the department’s website — and it’s expected to be popular, given that a previous EagleCam from the department attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers who followed the lives of their favorite eagles, including an eagle pair that became known as “Nancy and Beau.” (via The Washington Post)
You can check out the Cornell Lab's many bird cams from different parts of the world here: Cornell Lab Bird Cams | Cornell Lab Bird
7. Not clear how SpaceX ever got its launch site permitted in the Lower Rio Grande area of Texas, but ...they did, and noise effects are concerning: Last month’s SpaceX Starship test launch marked another milestone for the world’s largest and most powerful rocket. On October 13th, the launch and catch tower’s “chopstick arms” successfully recaptured the Super Heavy booster stage during its landing, an achievement SpaceX described as “fundamental” to its “fully and rapidly reusable design.” But additional data collected during the vehicle’s fifth flight indicates Starship may be even more damaging to local communities and wildlife than critics previously feared. (via Popular Science)
By Hap Ellis, Cooper's Hawk - Millenium Park, West Roxbury, MA.
8. Hawaii is sometimes referred to as the "endangered species capital of the world", and on the Big Island, there is a big task - Mapping 900 (!) feral cat colonies: The crowd-sourced map, which hasn't been made public yet, is bound to rankle many locals who regularly feed and care for free-roaming cats. Jordan Lerma has faced death threats for trying to persuade cat lovers around the Big Island to stop feeding feral colonies and for backing laws to discourage the practice.As co-founder of a new nonprofit group, Nene Research and Conservation, Lerma knows that feral cats threaten Hawaii’s nene geese as they do other native and endangered wildlife. They also live far shorter lives than their domestic counterparts, as little as two years on average. Now, Lerma is faced with an unusual dilemma. In recent months, he’s compiled a first-ever feral cat map for Hawaii pinpointing some 900 colonies across the state — valuable information that could help state land managers and conservation outfits get a handle on which colonies pose the biggest threat to the islands’ native birds and other species. (via Honolulu Civil Beat)
9. And it's not just feral cats that Hawaii's birds need worry about: The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) Friday received confirmation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was detected in a backyard flock of various birds in Central Oahu. HDOA received a report of at least 10 dead birds on the property on Nov. 12, 2024. The dead birds tested included ducks, goose and a zebra dove. This is the first confirmed detection of the virus in Hawaii. The virus detected here matches the strain that has infected dairy cows and domestic poultry on the U.S. mainland. (via Hawaii News Now)
10. Also on the avian flu front, avain flu hits Caspian Tern colony in Puget Sound: More than half a colony of Caspian terns on a small island near Port Townsend died last year amid an outbreak of bird flu, underscoring the harsh effects the disease can have on wildlife. Researchers say they directly counted 1,101 dead adult terns and 520 dead chicks, and that at least 53% to 56% of the adult birds in a colony on Rat Island, in northern Puget Sound, were wiped out. After factoring in Caspian tern deaths in other parts of the region, the researchers estimated about 10%-14% of the birds in the Pacific flyway were lost last year to bird flu. The researchers also studied harbor seals that died from the virus on or around Rat Island during the same time frame and found that the disease had attacked the animals differently than it did birds, causing severe inflammation in their brains. (via Seattle Times)
By Hap Ellis, Savanah Sparrow- Millenium Park, West Roxbury, MA.
11. They're coming for your bird feeders (in NJ): A provision in a new bill that would slap restrictions on when New Jerseyans can use bird feeders has bird enthusiasts and critics of governmental regulation fired up in opposition. Under the bill — a proposed change to the state’s ban on feeding black bears — New Jerseyans who want to keep bird feeders out between April 1 and November 30 would have to suspend them at least 10 feet above the ground, empty them and bring them indoors every night, and keep the area below them free from food and debris. If they don’t, they could be fined. The idea is to keep black bears away from humans. (via New Jersey Monitor)
12. Speaking of bird feeding, we came across this item from an unusual source - Chemical & Engineering News: Every year between spring and fall, many local governments and mosquito control districts in the US spray insecticides to kill adult and larval mosquitoes. Now researchers in California and Colorado are testing another approach to manage populations of these pesky and potentially disease-carrying insects. The research teams are filling bird feeders with ivermectin-coated seeds. Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug, but it can also paralyze and kill mosquitoes that ingest a blood meal laced with ivermectin. In many African countries where malaria is widespread, scientists have been mass administering ivermectin to humans to control malaria. “So it’s basically an extension of that same idea,” said Brian Foy, a vector-borne infectious diseases expert at Colorado State University. (via C&EN News)
13. In the news again, SCARs (second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide): A red-tailed hawk is fighting for its life in Massachusetts, the latest predatory bird to fall victim to ingesting a controversial rodenticide. The poison has been killing various birds for months, and prompted several pushes to ban the rat deterrent. "From information gathered from published studies, we assume that at some point in their life, every potential animal, bird of prey is exposed at some point," said Dr. Priya Patel, Medical Director for the New England Wildlife Center, where the hawk is being treated. (via CBS News)
By Hap Ellis, Mallard - Millenium Park, West Roxbury, MA.
14. From The Guardian's charming "Country Diary" - one way to flush a Barn Owl: Memories of our favourite open-fronted barn in Bedfordshire are forever tarnished by our final visit before moving. Prior to that, we always made a point of pausing in the doorway and checking no one was home before entering. On its concrete floor, there was a regular smattering of pellets – solid evidence that owls had been roosting in the rafters, though I never saw one there. On that last day, we walked in chattering and forgot to stop. We had barely crossed the threshold when a reproachful spirit flew at us and over our heads. Our daytime thoughtlessness had stolen a part of a barn owl’s night. And I confess that I gained a guilty thrill from the intimate encounter that this careless transgression had given us. (via The Guardian)
15. Finally, "Perhaps the most interesting 'crime lab' in D.C"? You be the judge: Have you ever wondered why planes don’t often hit birds while in the sky? Hidden behind a maze of “employees only” elevators, hallways and doors on the secluded sixth floor of the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, you’ll find what is perhaps the most interesting “crime lab” in D.C., dedicated to keeping you safe in the air. The Smithsonian “Feather Identification Lab” pinpoints species of birds that are hit by aircraft strikes — all in an effort to improve aviation and bird migration safety. You may not know anything about them, but their research is present in just about every trip you take onboard a plane. (via WTOP News)
Bird Videos of the Week
Video by Bob Duchesne, “This is the Worst way to identify a bird”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Evening Grosbecks.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Blue Jays.