1. The world’s largest iceberg is on course to collide with the British wildlife refuge of South Georgia, threatening the South Atlantic feeding grounds of penguins and seals. If the iceberg, the size of Somerset and known to scientists as A68a, does hit South Georgia’s coast, it is likely to present grave difficulties for the island’s marine life. Their routes to ocean foraging grounds are liable to be blocked, preventing penguins and seals from feeding their young properly. Ecosystems will bounce back, but there;s a danger here that if the iceberg gets stuck, it could be there for ten years. (via The Times)
2. A research team from Osaka University has developed an innovative new animal-borne data-collection system that, guided by artificial intelligence (AI), has led to the witnessing of previously unreported foraging behaviors in seabirds. Bio-logging is a technique involving the mounting of small lightweight video cameras and/or other data-gathering devices onto the bodies of wild animals. The systems then allow researchers to observe various aspects of that animal's life, such as its behaviors and social interactions, with minimal disturbance. (via EurekaAlert)
By Hap Ellis, Greater Yellowlegs.
3. If we stop for a moment and lift our eyes to the bright blue skies above us, we will surely see the flocks of birds migrating overhead. Since Israel sits right smack in the middle of the Syrian-African fault line, the country is a popular resting stopfor thousands upon thousands of birds currently making their way to Africa for the winter. Areas in northern Israel are a popular rest stop for over 500 million birds each year, some dropping in for a quick visit, such as storks, pelicans and cormorants. Other birds, such as cranes – which adore the open spaces found in Agmon Hahula – tend to settle in and hang around for an extended visit. (via The Jerusalem Post)
4. When Ian Ausprey outfitted dozens of birds with photosensor-containing backpacks, the University of Florida graduate student was hoping to learn how light affected their behavior. The unusual study, which tracked 15 species in Peru’s cloud forest, has now found that eye size can help predict where birds breed and feed—the bigger the eye, the smaller the prey or the darker the environment. The study also suggests birds with big eyes are especially at risk as humans convert forests into farmland. (via Science Mag)
5. The Yurok Tribe is now on the eve of launching their own condors into flight next year, restoring one of the longest-living raptors to part of its historic range, which overlaps with the Yurok’s ancestral lands along the Klamath River. The program is a partnership with 16 different federal agencies, private companies, conservation and wildlife organizations, and the Yurok Tribe to bring condors back to the U.S. northwest. The Yurok Tribe is waiting on one final decision by the federal government before they’ll be in the clear to begin building condor-release facilities in Redwood National Park. (via Audubon)
By Hap Ellis, Northern Mockingbird.
6. Life listers take note: Scientists are calling for a shake-up of the penguin kingdom, saying the gentoo penguin is four species, not one. According to new evidence, the birds are slightly different in shape and size, and can be told apart by their DNA. Counting them as separate species will help in conservation, they argue, making it easier to monitor declines. The change would raise the tally of penguin species from 18 to 21. Dr Jane Younger of the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath told BBC News: "Superficially, these species look very similar to each other. But if we sequence their genomes we can see very clearly that they are different. We also can tell based on different measurements." (via BBC)
7. A new record has been set for the highest number of bird species recorded in a single day worldwide. An astonishing total of 7,093 was logged on Saturday 17 October – the first day of the inaugural Global Bird Weekend, a project curated by Tim Appleton MBE in partnership with BirdLife International, eBird and Swarovski Optik. This beats the previous daily high of 7,060, which was set in October 2018. Overall, more than 38,000 people took part in the event, which organizers claim makes it "the biggest birdwatching event in history". (via Bird Guides)
8. During the breeding season, the White-throated Sparrow’s voice echoes across Canada and the northern U.S. Many birders know their song by the mnemonic Old Sam Pea-bo-dy, Peabo-dy, Pea-body or Oh Sweet Ca-na-da, Ca-na-da, Ca-na-da—two whistles, followed by a repeated three-syllable phrase. Research published in the journal Current Biology in August reveals a surprising trend: a new White-throated Sparrow song—ending with a series of two-syllable phrases—originated in western Canada and spread across North America in the early 21st century. The new ending sounds more like Oh Sweet Cana-Cana-Cana. (via All About Birds)
9. Bird News Items was there: The common cuckoo is such a rare sight in this part of the world that it doesn’t show up in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s guide to birds in North America. The Audubon Society’s handbook says the bird – a native of Europe, Asia and Africa – is known to regularly stray to the western Alaskan islands in late spring and early summer, but makes no mention of it ever reaching the continental United States. So when a member of the species was spotted in Johnston, RI early this week, the news spread like wildfire among birders in Rhode Island and far beyond. Hundreds of people have flocked to Snake Den State Park, RI over the past few days, coming from as far away as upstate New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio to catch sight of a bird characterized by its bright yellow irises and a stout body covered in a gray and brown plumage. (via The Providence Journal)
By Hap Ellis, Common Cuckoo.
Bonus: A robot with wings that move like a hawk’s can fly more stably and nimbly than other flying robots – and it uses less power, extending flight time. Enrico Ajanic at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne and his colleagues borrowed from the biology of the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) to make a 284-gram drone with a maximum wingspan of 1.05 metres. The craft includes 27 feather-like plates – nine on each wing and a further nine on the tail – so that it moves through air as a goshawk does. The goal was to develop a drone that can fly long distances across cities, but maneuver around buildings and objects that it is likely to encounter. (via New Scientist)
Bird Photo of the Week
By Hap Ellis, Common Cuckoo.
Bird Video of the Week
By CBS, “Artist David Sibley: For the birds”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Pine Grosbeak.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - American Crow.