Guatemalan Discoveries.
Bird News items
1. Let's begin with the first of three stories this week from the NYT: The first touches on a theme we've seen repeatedly - the study of birds to improve drone design: Hummingbirds zooming around the garden from flower to flower and sipping nectar probably don’t appear at first glance to be models for instruments of war. But the tiny thrumming birds are unparalleled aerial acrobats, power in miniature, instantly zipping forward and backward, diving quickly down and soaring back up, pitching, rolling and yawing, and even flying upside down. Their sophisticated flying abilities have captured the attention of robot designers, especially those studying the use of drones in modern warfare. (via The New York Times)
2. The second: Recalling "the Blob" - worth your time reading in full: A decade ago, sea surface temperatures in the Pacific shot up to 11 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than normal. A high pressure system parked over the ocean, and winds that churn cold, nutrient-rich water from the depths to the surface died down. Stagnant, warm water spread across the Northeast Pacific, in a marine heat wave that lasted for three years. Under the surface, the food web broke down and ecosystems convulsed, at first unseen to humans on shore. But soon, clues washed up. Researchers are still untangling the threads of what happened, and they caution against drawing universal conclusions from a single regional event. But the Blob fundamentally changed many scientists’ understanding of what climate change could do to life in the ocean; 10 years later, the disaster is one of our richest sources of information on what happens to marine life as the temperature rises. (via The New York Times)
By Hap Ellis, Bushy-crested Jay- Birding in Guatemala with friends.
3. And then the third - explaining Bird Flu: By now, you’ve probably seen some alarming headlines about bird flu, and you may be wondering how worried you should be. I understand the uncertainty. On the one hand, we have all spent decades hearing alarming stories about strange viruses — like MERS, Ebola, dengue and Zika — most of which don’t end up having a big effect on the U.S. On the other hand, one of those recent viruses turned into the life-altering Covid pandemic. In today’s newsletter, I want to help you make sense of bird flu, using four questions. (via The New York Times)
4. Which leads us to a question many ask and "Science" explores - will the H5N1 avian influenza virus be our next pandemic?: If the world finds itself amid a flu pandemic in a few months, it won’t be a big surprise. Birds have been spreading a new clade of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, 2.3.4.4b, around the world since 2021. That virus spilled over to cattle in Texas about a year ago and spread to hundreds of farms across the United States since. No clear human-to-human transmission of H5N1 has been documented yet, but “this feels the closest to an H5 pandemic that I’ve seen,” says Louise Moncla, a virologist at the University of Pennsylvania. “If H5 is ever going to be a pandemic, it’s going to be now,” adds Seema Lakdawala, a flu researcher at Emory University. (via Science)
5. On a lighter note - one cut at the best states for birding: The best US states for bird watching can help you take your love for birding up a notch or two. Maybe you've already learned how to attract birds into your garden. Or perhaps you've ticked off and spotted all the different types of birds you might see in your backyard, so figured it's time to go birding elsewhere? When it comes to watching these flying creatures in their natural habitat, we understand the importance of ensuring that you are in the right place at the right time. To help you secure the next winged species on your list, we've compiled a list of the best not-to-be-missed birding hot spots for you to explore. So keep reading to discover the best states in the USA for bird watching and then take your pick! (via AOL)
6. One of the local publications we like is from the Adirondacks. Given that Adirondack State Park is bigger than Glacier, Yellowstone, the Everglades and the Grand Canyon combined, it is an integral part of what some folks refer to as the Great North Woods, and thus birding news is always worth a look. This week we find the "Winter Finch Forecast": In the fall, when most Adirondack breeding birds are migrating south, birders begin to anticipate which species from the north will winter in our area. Migration, and movements of birds, including “irruptions” of northern wintering species to the south, are all about food sources. While we know which species will arrive in spring to nest, the northern birds that visit in winter are a different mix each year. To make predictions about which species we may encounter, an assessment of tree seed crops is taken during late summer. Observations are made in the Canadian provinces and across northern states by 50 contributors. Seed crops for coniferous and deciduous trees, including fruit trees, are rated on a scale from zero to 11 (no seeds to a bumper crop). (via Adirondack Explorer)
By Hap Ellis, Slate-throated Redstart - Birding in Guatemala with friends.
7. From the Adirondacks to Andhra Pradesh - and Spot-billed Pelicans and Painted Storks: The soft golden light of dawn breaks through the winter mist at Telineelapuram, illuminating the sprawling tamarind trees that house the season’s most awaited guests from Siberia — spot-billed pelicans and painted storks. The crisp winter air carries the faint rustling of leaves, the gentle hum of crickets, and the distant resonant calls of birds. A bustling haven for migratory birds at Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, the quaint village of Telineelapuram stirs awake as groups of birders gather, armed with binoculars, cameras, and a sense of awe. They tread carefully along the narrow paths leading to the watch tower to get vantage views of the nesting grounds, their hushed conversations punctuated by excited whispers. (via The Hindu)
8. Cool pic of Sagittarius Serpentarius (aka a secretarybird): A bizarre photograph captures the moment a secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) closes its third eyelid as it catches a locust midflight. The image is one of the winners of the 2024 Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition, which is run in collaboration with the Royal Photographic Society, and recognizes images showing hidden scientific phenomena in the natural world. The secretary bird was captured by biologist and photographer Peter Hudson, who was named winner of the ecology and environmental science category. Can you spot these camouflaged animals? (via Live Science)
9. Bird tourism flourishing in Columbia: From the side of an old highway that cuts through the Andean foothills, Dora Alicia Londoño’s home looks unremarkable. Located in a rural area about two hours from Cali, the largest city in southern Colombia, it’s a simple, two-story concrete building with a sheet metal roof. A few potted plants hang from the rafters. The main attraction is in her backyard. There, you will find birds. So many birds. And these are not just your common backyard varieties, like robins and bluejays, but rare forest species that birdwatchers around the world yearn to see. Londoño, 63, has turned her home into a birdwatching lodge, a paradise. (via Vox)
By Hap Ellis, Emerald Toucanet - Birding in Guatemala with friends.
10. A "new DDT"?: A widely used pesticide in Connecticut is "the new DDT," devastating the state's birds, bees and butterflies, according to the Connecticut Audubon Society's annual report. Neonicitinoids, known as neonics, actually are far more toxic than DDT — the crystalline solid (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) that was banned in 1972 due to decimation of bald eagles, ospreys and other birds in the state and nation — the Audubon Society reported in its recently released 2024 Connecticut State of the Birds Report. (via CT Insider)
11. We're all in - The BBC suggests a trip to Grimsey where seabirds outnumber people by roughly 50,000-to-1: Even on a sunny day in late August, the wind on the island of Grímsey cut through our waterproof layers with so much force that one bad gust felt as if it could wipe us clean off the map for good. My husband and I arrived on Grímsey's beautiful, blustery shores carrying a couple of wooden walking sticks – not so much to help us keep our balance against the elements, but rather to ward off the Arctic terns that are notorious for dive-bombing unassuming tourists who wander too close to their nests along the craggy coastline. As we slowly walked around the island's dramatic basalt cliffs, we also noticed a few puffin stragglers who had yet to migrate out to sea before returning to Grímsey in full force come April. Grímsey is the country's northernmost inhabited point and the only sliver of Iceland located within the Arctic Circle. (via BBC)
By Hap Ellis, Band-backed Wren - Birding in Guatemala with friends.
12. "They'd be almost adorable, if they weren't such devastating killers" - inside New Zealand's radical conservation project: The trail was steep, overgrown, and slippery from rain. I had to grip tree trunks and clumps of leaves to keep from sliding down the mountainside. It was springtime, and in this forest reserve in northern New Zealand, chicks were hatching. My friend and I were part of a volunteer effort to help protect them from a ruthless invasive predator—and packed accordingly. Our backpacks contained bags of orange-scented rat poison. Except our target wasn’t rats at all. We were after stoats, small carnivorous mammals introduced to New Zealand in the 1870s that are especially deadly to native birds. (via National Geographic)
13. And speaking of bird-inspired drones, check out this quick video: Meet RAVEN, the Robotic Avian-inspired Vehicle for multiple ENvironments. Researchers took inspiration from avian anatomy to design this drone, equipped with lightweight, bird-like legs that allow it to walk, hop and even leap into the air and take flight. The team that built RAVEN think that the design principles behind the design could be used to make even more versatile robots, able to use multiple modes of travel. (via Nature)
14. Hmmm..."de-extinction" and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker: Beginning in 2004, a storm came over Brinkley. A distinctly ivory-billed one, that is. Hundreds of people flocked to the small town after a reported sighting of the critically-endangered ivory-billed woodpecker in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge just outside the city. Hotels were fully booked for months. Businesses sprang up to serve the mass of scientists and birders new to the city. There were ivory bill-themed burgers; ivory-bill haircuts; an ivory-bill festival. The state started issuing an ivory-bill license plate in 2005. "It just went crazy," said Brinkley resident Penny Childs. "Everybody thought we were going to get rich in some form or fashion.” (via Magnolia Banner News)
15. Finally, a shout-out to Wisdom - at 74, this Laysan Albatross is still breeding in the Midway Atoll: The world’s oldest known wild bird is an albatross named Wisdom. She’s around 74 years old, and has recently returned to her nesting place in the Midway Atoll. Wisdom may be old, but she’s still active. She has just laid her first egg in four years. The Midway Atoll is made of two small islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, about halfway between the US and Asia. The island is home to about 3 million seabirds, who return there every year to mate, lay their eggs, and raise their chicks. About 1.3 million of these birds are Laysan albatrosses like Wisdom. Albatrosses are huge birds that spend much of their life at sea. With their wings spread out, albatrosses measure around 6.5 feet (2 meters) from wingtip to wingtip. (via News for Kids)
Bird Videos of the Week
Video by Wildlife World, “Northern Lapwing. Birds during breeding season”.
Read more: “Young birder spots rare Northern Lapwing at Bartlett’s” (via The Inquirer and Mirror)
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Holiday Highlights.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Albatross 2024-2025 Season.