1. Let’s start with a beautiful essay on The Birds Of Teshekpuk Lake by Gerrit Vyn: Almost 30 years ago, as an aspiring 25-year-old wildlife photographer, I took my camera north along Alaska’s Dalton Highway to catch my first glimpse of muskox, Arctic tundra, and the region’s bountiful birdlife. Although I followed a corridor built in the 1970s to service the Prudhoe Bay oil fields and trans-Alaska pipeline, as I passed the last spruce tree and crossed the Brooks Range, I felt like I was entering a wilderness unknown. I was naive in many ways, but thrilled by the landscape, its inhabitants, and the beckoning horizons. In subsequent years, and more than 15 return visits to the coastal plain of Alaska, I’ve come to know the region as not just a wild place: it’s also a land of people, machines, and aggressive corporate ambition. (via All About Birds)
2. NPR-A - “arguably the most important wetland habitat complex in the Circumpolar Arctic”: The largest single tract of wild public land in America, a landscape so vast and diverse it defies superlatives, is known by a bland and somewhat misleading four-letter acronym: NPR-A. While the NPR-A, or National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska, does have oil beneath it, the 23-million-acre expanse is also arguably the most important wetland habitat complex in the Circumpolar Arctic for birds—the breeding, nesting, molting, and premigratory staging grounds for several million birds every year. Stan Senner, Audubon’s former vice president for bird conservation and the former director of Audubon Alaska, says it is undeniably spectacular. “They’re at densities and diversities that are not found anywhere else in the Alaskan Arctic, and very high relative to the entire global Arctic.” (via All About Birds)
By Hap Ellis, Summer Tanager - Leffis Key Preserve, Bradenton Beach, FL.
3. The House actually did something! And it might actually help birds: The U. S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill by voice vote reauthorizing and enhancing a program that provides funding throughout the Americas for partnerships to benefit migratory birds and their habitat. At a time when migratory birds are facing population declines due to habitat loss and climate threats, the Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act would reauthorize critical funding for the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) program and increase its accessibility for partners (via Audubon)
4. Latest on finding bird flu in cattle: The outbreak of bird flu in dairy cattle is still unfolding. Both North Carolina and South Dakota have detected the virus in dairy herds, bringing the total number of states affected to eight. The unlikely spread among cattle and one dairy worker has scientists looking through the data to better understand this spillover. They say the risk to humans hinges on whether the virus can evolve in key ways to better infect mammals. So far, there's some reassuring news: At a recent meeting, scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the virus is not presenting like a respiratory illness in cattle – meaning the animals don't appear to be shedding large amounts of virus from their nose or mouths. (via National Public Radio)
5. Then there’s the local NYC angle on H1N1 from the NY Times: New Yorkers, beware: If you come across a bird or animal that is sick, dead or behaving strangely, keep yourself and your pets at a safe distance. The bird flu virus, H5N1, is present in at least some small fraction of New York City birds, according to a new study. The finding is not entirely surprising, given that H5N1 has now been shown to affect migratory birds, a wide range of wild animals, poultry and, as of last month, dairy cows. Still, its discovery in the city is an unpleasant reminder that urban spaces are not exempt. People generally associate zoonotic diseases with rural settings, farms or the wilderness, said Florian Krammer, a flu expert at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York who led the study. (via New York Times)
6. And then some farmers turn to lasers to keep N1H1 at bay: When the human eye examines one of Craig Duhr’s lasers at a Wisconsin farm, only a green dot is visible. But to birds, a variety of green beams and shifting patterns appear. “They see it as a threat, like a stick coming at them or a predator moving in,” Duhr said. “As they see that, they just want to avoid the area altogether.” Duhr works for a company called Bird Control Group, which sells lasers to deter wild birds and limit the spread of avian influenza among livestock. Duhr recently appeared on WPR’s “The Morning Show” to discuss the technology amid Wisconsin’s spring bird migrations when the risk of spreading avian flu is higher. (via Wisconsin Public Radio)
By Hap Ellis, Western Cattle Egret, Longboat Key, FL
7. House sparrows? Really on top of the charts?: A friendly if slightly tuneless chirp is the most ubiquitous birdsong in British gardens with the house sparrow topping the Big Garden Birdwatch charts for the 21st consecutive year, according to the annual RSPB survey. Blue tits, starlings, wood pigeons and blackbirds were the next most-sighted birds by more than 600,000 participants in the world’s largest wildlife garden survey. The long-running citizen science project provides conservationists with invaluable data on how common species are faring. Although an average of four house sparrows were spotted in every garden when the survey was conducted in January, the number recorded has declined by nearly 60% since the survey began in 1979. (via The Guardian)
8. These are some seriously large flocks: Flocks of birds can be one of the most majestic sights in the natural world, ignoring all the squawks and chaotic flapping. Among certain species, these mesmerizing congregations of flight can reach sizes of unbelievable proportions. One of the largest recorded flocks of birds featured over 40 million red-winged blackbirds flying over Arkansas in December 1964. This group was observed in Pulaski County by the Arkansas Audubon Society during a Christmas Bird Count and appears to be the largest single flock recorded on eBird, an online database of bird observations used by scientists. There is another commonly cited report from the winter of 1951-52 that suggests a 70 million-strong flock of Bramblings flew over the Swiss town of Thun. However, modern researchers believe that assessment was based on “questionable methods.” (via IFL Science)
9. A follow-on to an earlier Items on bird dreams: Imagine a world where the soundtrack of your dreams could be downloaded and played back for all to hear. Well, for birds, it’s getting closer to reality. Scientists have figured out how to turn the fluttering brain signals of slumbering birds into actual audible songs. This is an incredible breakthrough, offering an unprecedented glimpse into the secret dream world of birds. (via Earth)
By Hap Ellis, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Longboat Key, FL.
10. Lights out Texas: For birds, Texas is a major flyover state: approximately two billion birds, or one in three birds migrating through the US, fly through the Lone Star State in the spring. It is snugly situated at the convergence of two major migratory flyways – the broad north-south routes that many different bird species all use to migrate. Both the Central Americas Flyway, which stretches from the Canadian Arctic to the southern tip of Argentina, and the waterway-rich Mississippi Flyway, beloved by migratory waterbirds, pass through Texas. Along the route, hazards abound – including bright city lights. Though the Galveston collision was a particularly dramatic example, birds hitting buildings is a common phenomenon. The first Lights Out for Birds program was formed soon after in the Houston area, which has now expanded into the statewide "Lights Out, Texas!" effort with Audubon Texas. (via BBC)
11. Speaking of the Lights Out efforts, not all colors of light are the same: Bird collisions with buildings are nothing new, but a new study by scientists at The University of New Mexico sheds light on a potential cause. The study, "Disentangling the biotic and abiotic drivers of bird-building collisions in a tropical Asian city using geological niche modeling," led by UNM scientists David Tan and Nicholas Freymueller, was recently published in the journal Conservation Biology. It presents a novel finding revealing that night-migrating birds are at greater risk of colliding with buildings lit up with high levels of blue light at night, a factor that has not been extensively studied before. (via Phys Org)
12. A paean to Turkey Vultures: Turkey vultures never seem to hurry. They glide silently above us, drawing circles in the air, calligraphers with quill pens. They tip and turn up there in the wind, rarely flapping those long willowy wings. They can be among the early returning migrants. My seasonal first this spring was March 15. And, why should vultures hurry? They're scavengers. The objects of their culinary affection are dead. These birds need not rush to the table. You probably have seen a turkey vulture. They are migrants in spring and fall and summer residents throughout the state, moving in and out at about the time of the equinoxes. Their coal-dark silhouette against a bright sky is not uncommon. Perhaps you thought the bird was an eagle or hawk. (via Star Tribune)
By Hap Ellis, Indigo Bunting, Longboat Key, FL.
13. A nice piece on Spring migrants (in New England) by a BNI favorite writer: I’d like to think that the nor’easter on April 4 was the final snowstorm of an otherwise lackluster winter. All it brought was a heavy, wet blanket of annoyance. Oh, and 50 dark-eyed juncos. It seems the storm did little to slow down early migration. I’ve had a dozen dark-eyed juncos sneaking around my yard all winter. Suddenly, there were 50 under the feeder. It was a fallout — an occasion when a migrating flock of birds decided to settle down in one spot for a little while. Weird things happen during migration. Some are routine, while others are extraordinary. A flock of juncos dropping in for a meal is a little unusual, but not much. Juncos often migrate in big groups. That’s the way they left the state last autumn and they’re returning in big flocks. Soon, the group will disperse, as each individual goes off in search of a territory and mate. (via Bangor Daily News)
14. Always good advice: It's a beautiful spring day, so you decide to go for a nice walk around your neighborhood. You are strolling along the sidewalk when suddenly you hear loud chirping near your feet. You look over and see a baby bird lying on the ground near a tree trunk. What should you do? The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has a few tips. It is not unusual to find a baby bird on the ground during this time of year. Many birds are hatching and often leave their nests before they are able to fly. Some may also be blown out of nests during spring thunderstorms. (via Utah Division of Wildlife Resources)
By Hap Ellis, Black-and-white Warbler, Longboat Key, FL.
15. Who you gonna call if you have a gull problem? Apparently, James (the Harris Hawk): James, a hawk, is being prepared by a member of the fauna management of Belo Horizonte International Airport to patrol the runways and airspace to scare away incursions of birds at Belo Horizonte International Airport in Confins, Minas Gerais, Brazil, on November 14, 2023. The BH Airport concessionaire reported that more than 340 wild animals were captured in 2022 by the fauna management professionals at Belo Horizonte International Airport. Six birds, including hawks and falcons, have been trained to patrol the skies around the terminal, and a pointer dog runs after the birds, chasing them away, which has reduced bird-aircraft collisions. Now, The city of Pacific Grove began an abatement effort to keep seagulls from public places within the city by using birds of prey. On Sunday, the city said they are using birds of prey to deter birds from "nesting on rooftops, rummaging through trash, littering, and leaving unwanted droppings.” (via KSBW)
16. Finally, remember the “Birds Aren’t Real” so-called conspiracy - he’s back with a second act: Peter McIndoe spent the first several years of his 20s traveling across the country, being insulted by strangers. In retrospect, it was fieldwork. Between 2018 and 2021, McIndoe, now 25, went from state to state, playacting the role of radicalized cult leader pushing an absurd conspiracy theory—that, as he put it, “birds aren’t real.” Avian creatures, McIndoe warned, were being systematically massacred and replaced by deep state–operated drones, designed for widespread surveillance of the populace. The conceit was satire: a metacommentary on the countless eccentric and convoluted conspiracy theories that were ripping through the country in the aftermath of Trump’s election and the dawn of the QAnon age. This June, Macmillan will publish his book about the movement, written entirely in character with his collaborator and friend Connor Gaydos, entitled: Birds Aren’t Real: The True Story of Mass Avian Murder and the Largest Surveillance Campaign in US History. (via Slate Magazine)
Bird Videos of the Week
Video by Sky News, “Crow Mimics Police Siren”.
Video by Woodfibrebirder, “Purple Finch”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Rameron pigeon.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Baby Robins.