Flight Delay.
Bird News Items
1. What connects the Papuan Whipbird with the Luzon Buttonquail? Well, they are 2 of the 144 birds that have not been seen in the last ten years. And scientists want our help in finding them: In 2022, an ornithologist high in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains of northern Colombia spotted the shimmering emerald green and cobalt blue feathers of the Santa Marta sabrewing. A large hummingbird, it had only been documented twice since 1879. As the bird sat on a branch the ornithologist, Yurgen Vega, captured images. Once lost to science, it now was found. The bird was on the American Bird Conservancy’s 10 most wanted list, which sits atop a longer register of “lost birds,” which are formally defined as not having been documented by photographic, audio or genetic evidence in at least a decade. A major goal of the list is to persuade bird watchers and others to look for these birds as they go out into the field, and to bring back evidence the birds have not gone extinct. (via The New York Times)
2. Vultures at 37,000 feet!: Most impacts between birds and planes are at low altitude. The majority of collisions are below 150 meters (about 500 feet), research has shown. At a jetliner's cruising altitude, you're less likely to lock eyes with an avian and think, "Well, nevermore."If you do, the protagonist probably won't be some delicate hummingbird. The highest fliers are sizable, like vultures. Which raises the question of how a big bird like a vulture manages to generate aerodynamic lift and sustain altitude in the stratosphere, where the air is thin. The higher they fly, the thinner the air. Vultures have even been spotted above 11,000 meters (37,000 feet), where it's bitterly cold, too. (via Haaretz)
By Hap Ellis, Belted Kingfisher - Clarksburg, NY.
3. "What the ocean can still offer" - good news on Maine's Atlantic Puffin breeding season: From a bird blind on Seal Island, I watched as puffins zoomed in from the sea with a rainbow of fish drooping from their beaks. They carried copper and golden juvenile haddock, redfish and white hake. Others had pink krill from massive upwellings that created magenta blotches just offshore. Some even carried bright silver herring: juicy fish that were once key prey for puffins in Maine. Atlantic herring are also a prime commodity for humans, who have overfished the species so badly that the fishery in New England has routinely been shut down early in recent years. To see a number of puffins bringing herring to chicks was a stirring reminder of what the ocean can still offer. (via The Maine Monitor)
4. Not a dry eye in the house - check out this "magic moment": There wasn’t a dry eye among staff at Sydney’s Sea Life Aquarium as Magic and his fellow gentoo penguins cried out, mourning the loss of Sphen in an emotional scene never before witnessed by employees. Sphen, whose same-sex love story with Magic made the couple globally famous, appeared to die of natural causes as he approached his 12th birthday, the aquarium confirmed on Thursday morning. Penguin keeper Renee Howell witnessed the couple’s love story bloom from the beginning, and said the pair’s impact as a worldwide symbol of equality was “immeasurable”. (via The Guardian)
5. Even birds have accents says this study, or put more scientifically, "distinct geographic differences characteristic of dialects": While distinct languages and dialects are common to human societies, most people are unaware that other species may similarly have culturally significant dialects. New research conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and New Mexico State University has revealed the dialects of the yellow-naped amazon parrot in its natural range in Costa Rica over a 22-year span. (via Phys Org)
6. Distressing report from Kenya: Sub-Saharan Africa has a vast amount of uncultivated, arable land – about 2 million km², accounting for about 50% of the global total. This land is a critical habitat for many animal species, including birds. I was part of a team that carried out a study which assessed how changes to land use – including the expansion of settlements, livestock production, pest removal and cultivation – were affecting bird populations in the Lake Victoria Basin, in south-western Kenya. We found that these changes degraded and destroyed natural landscapes at all three of our study sites. This caused a significant loss of bird biodiversity, including rare, threatened or unique species. (via The Conversation)
By Hap Ellis, Baltimore Oriole- Clarksburg, NY.
7. More on a theme we touch on from time to time - birds and wind turbines: Estimates of annual bird deaths linked to wind turbines in the continental U.S. ranged between 230,000 birds and 600,000 birds per year in 2013 and 2014, according to a study published in the fall of 2019 by a researcher from the American Wind Wildlife Information Center and 12 other wind energy or wildlife experts. One study estimated that wind turbines in 2020 were linked to less than 0.01% of all estimated bird deaths from human activity, according to research from the Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute that the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy published online. In comparison, fossil fuel power plants kill about 14.5 million birds in the U.S. per year, a 2016 study found. The U.S. requires wind turbines to be located at least 2 miles from a golden eagle nest and at least 660 feet from a bald eagle nest. This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one. (via Colorado Sun)
8. Who knew there actually is a Miss Birding Manners? But birds can be an aggressive lot and manners matter when tracking rare birds to an area: Whether you're new to birding or have been around the mudflats a few times, navigating the unspoken nuances of birding etiquette is probably something you've had to learn on the wing. If only there were a resource to guide you toward more courteous interactions with the birds you seek — and the humans you meet along the way — like a Miss Birding Manners. (via North Coast Journal)
By Hap Ellis, Green Heron - Clarksburg, NY.
9. A paean to the Semipalmated Sandpiper (the "shorebird in a tuxedo"): Semipalmated plovers are plump little shorebirds sporting a black-and-white face mask and a distinctive black band across the white chest––eye catching, one would think. But it is said that this plover’s bold, tuxedo-like markings actually help disguise it in their preferred, gravel habitat by breaking up the bird’s outline. And indeed, recently, as I walked along the edge of Salmon Lake, AK, amidst mixed flocks of small foraging shorebirds, the boldly patterned plovers were just as hard to spot against the beach gravel as were their plainly marked sandpiper companions. These plovers are a familiar sight along Nome area roads, which appear to offer great nesting opportunities but can be a fatal choice. (via The Nome Nugget)
10. The Black-bellied Whistling-Duck appears to here to stay in Ohio: Another rare bird has been spotted in Ohio, and state wildlife experts believe it's here to stay. In a Facebook post this week, the Ohio Division of Wildlife reports that black-bellied whistling-ducks have been spotted with ducklings at a wildlife area in Wayne County, southwest of Akron. Previously, a pair of the ducks were confirmed to have been nesting in a small pond on a Wayne County farm in 2022, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Those commenting on the post are sharing their sightings from around the state, posting photos and videos. Here's what you should know. (via Akron Beacon Journal)
11. Twitchers Alert for our friends in the UK: Whether you’re looking to spot geese, hawfinches or kingfishers, we have the ultimate guide for birdwatching in Scotland. The nature reserve at Loch Leven, located on the southern shores of the loch, is a haven for bird watchers. In spring and summer the reserve is home to swallows, ospreys, tufted duck and teal, while in autumn migratory geese and whopper swans are present. Scone Palace is renowned for its dense population of hawfinch. The elusive bird typically hides in the hornbeam trees at the southern end of the palace grounds. (via The Courier)
12. Bird flu story this week - from the NYT: Without a sharp pivot in state and federal policies, the bird flu virus that has bedeviled American farms is likely to find a firm foothold among dairy cattle, scientists are warning. And that means bird flu may soon pose a permanent threat to other animals and to people. So far, this virus, H5N1, does not easily infect humans, and the risk to the public remains low. But the longer the virus circulates in cattle, the more chances it gains to acquire the mutations necessary to set off an influenza pandemic. “I think the window is closing on our ability to contain the outbreak,” said Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious-disease physician who worked at the World Health Organization until April. “We’re so quick to blame China for what happened with SARS-CoV-2, but we’re not doing any better right now,” she added. “That’s how pandemics happen.” (via The New York Times)
By Hap Ellis, Young Broad-winged Hawk - Kennebunkport, ME.
13. And then there is this from southern Oregon: At least 5,000 birds have died so far this summer at a network of wildlife refuges on the Oregon-California border, sparking fears of another large outbreak of disease and calls for more water releases in a region roiled by drought and water uncertainty made worse by climate change. The deaths are likely caused by a rare combination of avian flu and botulism, said John Vradenburg, supervisory biologist at the refuge complex. Virus-caused avian was confirmed at one of the refuges in July, Vradenburg said. Avian flu has been on the rise in recent years, leading to die-offs in poultry and wild birds. Botulism, which paralyzes birds from the bottom up until they are unable to fly and then to breathe, is caused by a toxin produced by soil-dwelling bacteria. Tests are still pending for botulism at the refuge complex, but symptoms closely match past botulism outbreaks, Vradenburg said. (via Oregon Live)
14. An amusing piece from Audubon on bird movies (when all else fails with non -birders): It can be hard to go birding during the holidays. Maybe you’ve eaten too much and can’t get up off the couch. Maybe your weird cousin has cornered you in the living room and is telling you about his recent orthodontic surgery. Maybe it’s just too dang cold outside. Well, if you can’t get out birding, at least you might be able to watch some movies about birding. Birding and birders are often presented as butts of the joke on screen. We’re eccentrics at best, and downright lunatics (loonatics?) at worst. We’re used to it: I think most birders eventually recognize the fact that non-birders don’t really understand us. Indeed, what we really want in a birding movie isn’t hair-raising suspense or complex characters or a compelling plot; we require avian accuracy. For example, does the film show species that could actually be found in that setting? Do the birders use the right lingo? That’s the stuff that really matters in a film! (via Audubon)
15. Finally, we just have to run this story from China because it's a nice contrast to the macro news we get bombarded with, but also because you may otherwise never see the "ridiculously adorable panda-faced raptor" featured above the lead: Yu Zhibiao's three-story house may appear ordinary and slightly weathered, but its rooftop has become a hidden gem, attracting bird enthusiasts from around the world eager to observe rare species. Yu lives in Xiaoqi Village in Wuyuan County in east China's Jiangxi Province. Celebrated for its vibrant ecological environment, Wuyuan boasts a forest coverage rate of 83.67 percent and the vegetation coverage in grasslands exceeding 90 percent, creating an ideal habitat for wild birds. Official data shows that the number of wild bird species in the county has risen from 286 in 2012 to 356 in 2023. This includes the critically endangered blue-crowned Laughingthrush and the pied falconet, which is under second-class national protection. In 2005, a shutterbug from neighboring Zhejiang Province spotted several pied falconets nesting in a camphor tree near Yu's home. The pied falconet, often called the "flying panda" for its panda-like face, is a favorite among bird photographers. (via Xinhua Net)
Bird Videos of the Week
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Male Royal Albatross WYL touches down.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - A few bald-headed Blue Jays arrive to pick peanuts from the Cornell Feeders.