1. The Cherry-throated Tanager has been seen for the first time in almost a year, postponing fears that the Critically Endangered Brazilian species had slipped to extinction. A group of five individuals was seen and photographed on June 3, at its only known site, Águia Branca Private Reserve in the Brazillian state of Espírito Santo. For many decades the Cherry-throated Tanager was known only from a single shot specimen in 1870, before its dramatic rediscovery in the 1990s. However, the bird feared extinct for so long now teeters on the very edge of being lost again. (via Bird Guides)
2. The pandemic is drastically reducing the number of young whooping cranes to be released this fall to help bring back the world’s rarest cranes. Zoos and other places where the endangered birds are bred have had to cut not only staff size but use of two techniques to boost the birds’ numbers: artificial insemination and hand-rearing — or, rather, costume-rearing — chicks. Only about 825 exist. All are descended from 15 that had survived habitat loss and hunters in 1941, breeding in Canada’s largest national park and wintering in Aransas, Texas. Biologists are trying to establish two more flocks to mitigate disaster should anything happen to the original flock, now 500 strong. (via The Seattle Times)
By Hap Ellis, two Willets.
3. Sometime in the next week, the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on legislation that would fully fund important conservation work across all 50 states. As America turns to nature to recreate and find relief during this global pandemic, bipartisan support in Congress has grown for legislation that would benefit conservation, the economy, and nature-lovers. With full funding, the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) program can restore natural landscapes, enhance recreation, and protect wildlife while creating jobs and driving investment in local communities. In addition, it will promote conservation projects that protect birds like the Roseate Spoonbill, Bald Eagle, Golden-winged Warbler, and Brandt’s Cormorant. (via Audubon)
4. A tiny carving of a bird discovered in what is now modern China is one of the oldest known sculptures unearthed there. The find suggests sculpture was invented separately in Europe and Asia. “It’s quite possible that it is a tradition that originated in China or east Asia,” says Francesco d’Errico at the University of Bordeaux in France. The carving depicts a bird, probably a songbird. It is 1.9 centimetres long and 1.2 centimetres high and was carved from the bone of an unidentified animal. (via New Scientist)
5. A sudden drop in the number of red knots visiting the beaches of Delaware Bay during migration this spring has renewed concern among scientists about the survival of the threatened shore bird’s Atlantic Coast population. According to biologists, the number of knots that stayed to feed at the bay in May declined by about 80 percent from the same time last year. The Delaware Bay is one of the world’s most important sites for shorebird migration. The drastic reduction in migrant birds does not necessarily mean a decline in the species. That won’t be known until after this year’s breeding season, when the birds head south again toward their wintering grounds. (via The New York Times)
6. Researchers at Princeton University may have solved the long-standing puzzle of why migratory shorebirds around the world are plummeting several times faster than coastal ecosystems are being developed. They discovered that shorebirds overwhelmingly rely on tidal zones closest to dry land, which are most often lost to development. The findings suggest that protecting species requires a detailed understanding of how animals interact with the landscape so that preserved habitats best serve endangered species' needs. (via Science Daily)
By Hap Ellis, Willet in flight.
7. There is an obvious upside to the unnatural pall that has fallen over the city. Suddenly, in place of car horns, roaring planes, rattling trains and buses, New York City seems to be filled with bird song. The birds are not new to the city. It’s just that the pause in the urban soundtrack happens to coincide with the peak of the spring migration along the Atlantic coast. This spring, we can hear them. Here is a mix of the birds passing through New York right now. Some are easy to spot, and some offer more of a challenge; some are best found only in the mornings or at dusk. And some will probably only be heard, and never seen. (via New York Times)
8. Being called "bird-brained" isn't much of an insult when you're being compared to the highly intelligent Kiwi parrot, the kea. The kea is capable of predicting the likelihood of an event occurring — a trait only seen before in great apes such as humans. Despite the Kea’s ingenuity, the harsh living conditions in the alpine regions of New Zealand's South Island have led to the Kea becoming an endangered species. Luckily, artist and Bird News Items subscriber Tim Jeffs has partnered with the Kea Conservation Trust in New Zealand to support Kea preservation through an art sharing project. His hope is that people will purchase this project, learn more about Kea, color the print and then share their Kea creation so that others can encounter and fall in love with this wonderfully colorful bird. Proceeds will go directly to the Kea Conservation Trust to aid in their local support of the Kea. (via ABC News, Tim Jeffs, Kea Conservation Trust)
9. Recent trends in renewable energy development in the United States show that new installed capacity of utility-scale solar energy has exceeded 30% of total installed capacity of all sources per year since 2013. Photovoltaic solar energy provides benefits in that no emissions are produced; however, there are potential impacts from photovoltaic solar development on birds that include habitat loss and potential for collision mortality. New research provides an in-depth summary of bird mortality at photovoltaic utility scale solar facilities in the Southwestern U.S. (via Plos One)
Bird Photo of the Week
By Hap Ellis, Piping plover with chicks.
Bird Videos of the Week
By The Guardian, “White bellbird: listen to the world’s loudest bird call”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam, “Gray-headed Chachalacas”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam, “Tawny-crested Tanagers”.