1. Sea Bird challenges mount: University College Cork (UCC) researchers have found that that cloudier waters, caused in part by climate change, is making it harder for seabirds to catch fish. On Little Saltee, a small island off the coast of Ireland, the researchers attached tiny trackers to the feathers of Manx shearwaters. The aim of the study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, was to understand how underwater visibility affects seabirds’ ability to forage for fish and other prey. It is the first study to examine the impact of ocean clarity on seabirds’ diving abilities. (via EurekaAlert)
2. Tiny trackers: In the dappled light beneath the forest canopy, ornithologist Shelly Eshleman pauses for a moment to listen. It is just after 6am on a humid July morning, and through the chorus of birdsong, she has detected the distinct chatter of an eastern towhee – the species we’re looking for. At the Rushton Woods Preserve outside of Philadelphia, birds are being outfitted with tiny radio trackers that give us unprecedented insight into their journeys across the globe. (via New Scientist)
3. Saving crucial Atlantic Flyway habitat: The half-mile stretch of Caven Point beach seems fairly ordinary, as beaches go. Birds fish in the flats and perch in the reeds, their calls the only sound breaking the silence of this nature preserve inside Liberty State Park. But Caven Point is far from ordinary. Its shoreline is the longest uninterrupted stretch of natural beach in the Upper New York Bay and Hudson River. Its location — along the Atlantic Flyway and within the harbor estuary — has made it a favorite stop for migrating birds, including several endangered species. And it is again at the center of a battle between preservationists, state lawmakers, and a billionaire golf course owner.Lorraine Freeney was among the first in line fighting to protect this ordinary, extraordinary beach. (via New Jersey Monitor)
4. Managing crucial Pacific Flyway habitat: In 2003, the multinational corporation Cargill sold more than 15,000 acres of its South Bay salt ponds — most but not all of its holdings — to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California State Coastal Conservancy, and the California Department of Fish and Game. This sale launched the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. In the decades since, a consortium of more than a dozen nonprofits and state and federal agencies have collaborated to return much of the area to tidal marsh by mid-century. In doing so, they hope to recreate habitat for beleaguered native species, restore the coastline’s natural flood resilience, and improve the overall quality of the South Bay’s coastal ecosystems. (via KOED News)
5. A nice piece on a wonderful songster: Gray catbirds are members of the Mimidae family, which also includes mockingbirds and thrashers. The whole family are talented mimics. The catbird’s repertoire includes its species’ own calls and songs, impersonations of other songbirds, and even imitations of frogs and man-made noises. In 2010, Greg Budney, a former audio curator at Cornell’s Macaulay Library, recorded a catbird in California adeptly copying the sounds of more than a dozen other bird species, as well as a tree frog. As its common name implies, the gray catbird is not the most colorful of birds, and a male’s ability to sing multiple songs may be related to its success in attracting a mate. Both males and females are gray with black caps and tails, and a rufous patch, often hidden, below their tails. Without bright feathers to flaunt, a male catbird may rely on its singing prowess instead. (via Concord Monitor)
6. Audubon on Western water crisis: The water crisis in the West is well documented—Audubon focused on this in a recent post—but they’re now in unchartered territory. Some have said the West is now in the bullseye of climate change impacts. What we need now are realistic, scalable solutions, some of which Audubon and partners have pursued or implemented. These approaches to addressing water resilience and river health need to be grown and used basinwide so that they can have a meaningful impact for key rivers, including the Colorado River and the Rio Grande, and the birds that rely on them. And while we need immediate actions to “stop the bleeding” of this emergency room crisis for rivers and our water supplies, we also need to plan for 5 years from now, 20 years from now, and beyond. (via Audubon)
7. Let’s hear it for the Cooper’s Hawk: Cooper’s hawks (Accipiter cooperii), the second-most-common hawks in Massachusetts, eat mostly medium-sized birds such as starlings, pigeons, robins and blue jays. Historically, they also ate chickens (which made these hawks an enemy of farmers) and quail and pheasants (which made these hawks an enemy of game hunters) and songbirds (which made these hawks the enemy of birders). They sometimes also eat small mammals or other vertebrates, including chipmunks, rabbits, mice and squirrels; but birds make up about 70 percent of their diet. This much-maligned hawk, like any other bird, is just trying to survive in the manner for which it has evolved. Its habits, even if distasteful to some, help to maintain a healthy, balanced ecosystem. (via Cambridge Day)
8. Hard work, but worth it: July is nearly through, and so is the piping plover’s nesting season. It’s make-or-break time for these small, endangered shorebirds. There are roughly 8,000 piping plovers in the entire world. To put that in context, birders often get really excited to see a rare bird like a snowy owl. But there are about 28,000 snowy owls in the world, three times the number of piping plovers. Since piping plovers make their nests along the water and out in the open, their chicks are very vulnerable to being gobbled up by predators. And a major reason for their decline in numbers is human development along the beaches, lakes, and rivers where piping plovers lay their eggs. Science Friday radio producer Shoshannah Buxbaum went out to Fort Tilden in Queens, NY to report on a volunteer-run conservation effort along the New York City coastline. (via Science Friday)
9. Saving grassland habitat one field at a time: On a bright July day, Laura Lecker is standing next to a hay field in Penobscot. She’s about to walk out into the tall grass to make sure that fledgling bobolinks and other grass-nesting birds are able to fly. The birds she’s most interested in are bobolinks and Savannah sparrows, both of which are known to nest in this field. Lecker is the founder of Ag Allies, a new field management program in Maine that aims to help protect young nesting birds. Birds that nest in grasslands are in decline nationwide, facing challenges including seasonal changes brought by climate change, including earlier harvests of hayfields. (via Maine Public Radio)
10. Backyard birders take note: Chad Witko, an outreach biologist in Vernon, Vt., has been a birder since he was 3. His father was a waterfowl hunter and would bring birds home for him to examine. His mother helped him put homemade feeders in the yard. Birdwatching boomed during the pandemic, with almost 9,000 new people joining the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s annual Global Big Day to appreciate birds in 2020, according to the Cornell team. If you’re interested in joining the growing ranks of ornithophiles, all you need is a feeder, seed and a guide to the birds in your area. (via The Washington Post)
11. Martha Stewart on birds and gardens: Local birds and your backyard landscaping are closely connected: Birds help your yard by controlling insect populations and pollinating plants, and, in turn, it provides them with their favorite foods, water, and a safe environment that supports the health of their populations. If sitting in your backyard (with a pair of binoculars in hand!) and watching these avians work and play brings you peace and joy, you're likely interested in identifying them. To help, Martha Stewart Magazine has tapped National Audubon Society bird experts across the United States to spotlight three garden-friendly birds—each one beautiful, helpful, and a sign of a thriving landscape—to look (and listen!) for in the gardens of each region of the country. (via Martha Stewart)
12. And finally a music update: The third volume of the massive, ambitious, and unique project, For the Birds — in which hundreds of artists created new recordings inspired by birdsongs — has arrived today, July 29, with music from artists like the Beastie Boys’ AdRock and Wild Belle singer-songwriter Natalie Bergman. AdRock’s contribution “Pasadena Parrots” clocks in at just under a minute and begins with some screeching and squawking that gives way to a rush of hardcore guitars peppered with some laser-like synths. Bergman, meanwhile, has turned in a sweet and charming tune, “The Little Bird,” that feels like a long-lost bit of children’s music finally unearthed (the song’s music video also captures that old-school children’s entertainment vibe). (via Rolling Stone)
Bird Photo of the Week
Photo by Hap Ellis, Common Tern, Kennebunkport, ME.
Bird Videos of the Week
By Lucinox, “The Surprising Life of a Cardinal”
Cornell Live Bird Cam - New Nesters.
Cornell Live bird Cam - Albatross Viewpoint.