1. Much ado about a pigeon!: A pigeon that was to be put down by authorities in Australia after reportedly crossing the Pacific Ocean has been saved after officials found he was "highly likely" to be a local bird. Joe the pigeon made headlines around the world after he was found in a garden in Melbourne wearing what appeared to be a US identification. The bird was to be killed for breaching Australia's quarantine rules. But he was granted a reprieve amid doubts about the origin of his leg tag. (via The BBC)
2. Early last spring, when Bill Wilson caught sight of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak on his birdfeeder in South Dartmouth, then a Baltimore Oriole on his neighbor’s fence, it felt like the Bird God was whispering in his ear, “Keep doing what you’re doing for us.” Wilson manages Birds & Beans, a coffee company he cofounded in 2008. Birds & Beans’ coffee is certified Bird Friendly. To achieve this gold standard, available from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, coffee producers must pass a stringent set of criteria. (via The Boston Globe)
3. Excerpt: Recently the United Nations released a progress report on the goals set by almost 200 countries in the Convention on Biological Diversity—and the news was not good. In a nutshell, global biodiversity loss is a continuing catastrophe, and deforestation for agriculture is one of the biggest culprits. But we have a different vision for agriculture, which sees farming as part of a cure, instead of a cause, for biodiversity loss. Our regenerative agriculture projects on coffee farms in some of the world’s most biodiverse areas are providing proof that farming can restore biodiversity. And some of the most compelling early results are coming in the form of warblers and parrots—birds returning to reforested coffee farms as symbols of an ecosystem that’s healthy for wildlife and people alike. (via Living Bird Magazine)
4. In a new study, wildlife biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, combined GPS location data of tagged mule deer and pronghorn with satellite imagery of fences to find out just how often these animals encounter fences, and what happens when they do. The results, published on Jan. 7 in the Journal of Applied Ecology, help pinpoint which fences pose the biggest barrier to ungulates trying to access their ideal habitat. Along with the study, the team is also publishing a software package that will help wildlife managers around the world quickly analyze GPS tracking data to identify fences and other barriers that might be impeding the vital movements of animals. (via Science Daily)
5. Yikes!: For most people, the word “vampire” brings to mind Dracula or perhaps slayers such as Blade or Buffy; or maybe even the vampire bats of South America. Few will think of a small and rather lovely bird – the finch. But there are indeed “vampire finches” that feast on the blood of much larger birds, and they were introduced to the world in a fantastic segment of Perfect Planet. These birds are found on the Galápagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago located about 1,000 km (600 miles) off the coast of Ecuador. (via The Conversation)
6. In the summer of 1977, a group of fervent graduate students from Louisiana State University found themselves bouncing off the walls in Cusco, Peru, while they waited for transportation to the remote corners of the Madre de Dios region in the Amazon Basin for a field research expedition. To stop from driving each other crazy during the downtime, the gang headed farther up into the Andes to do a little birding. It was then that a 23-year-old Tom Schulenberg spotted his first tapaculo—a little grayish-brown wrenlike bird—at the edge of a cloud forest. Today Schulenberg is a gray-mustached veteran taxonomist and one of the editors for the Birds of the World online encyclopedia at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (via Living Bird Magazine)
7. Rare Bird Alert! A rare bird, typically found in Siberia and eastern Asia, was possibly spotted in Nova Scotia last week. Avid birder Angela MacDonald saw what she thinks is a Taimyr gull, otherwise known as the Siberian gull, in a New Glasgow parking lot last Monday. Surprised by the potential discovery, she snapped some photos. Its long legs were a bright orangey red, which she had never seen before, and the mantle — the top of the wings — was a dark grey that didn't match herring gulls or black back gulls typically found in Nova Scotia. (via CBC)
8. New research suggests that Purple Martins might be mis-timing their spring migration because of artificial lighting that illuminates the sky at night. They fly by day, catching insects on the wing as they go, and if they time their departure correctly, they’ll arrive at their breeding site just in time to find a smorgasbord of recently hatched insects. But when scientists analyzed the data from 155 light sensor-wearing Purple Martins between 2008 and 2015, they found that those exposed to bright night light at their wintering grounds left and arrived at their destination eight days early. The scientists speculate that such drastic shifts in migration timing could affect the birds' survival. (via Audubon)
9. A growing body of scientific evidence also shows that the joy delivered by birds isn’t just anecdotal. Research increasingly links exposure to nature—and specifically, exposure to birds—with improved wellbeing. In December, a new study by the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research connected greater bird biodiversity to increased life-satisfaction for more than 26,000 people in 26 European countries. It turns out the people who live near natural areas with a greater diversity of bird species were demonstrably happier. In fact, the study found that seeing 10 percent more bird species generates satisfaction on par with a comparable increase in income. (via Audubon)
Bonus: Choose your favorite photo from entrants in BirdLife Australia’s annual photography awards. From a hungry fairy tern to a thirsty corella, the best images from photographers across Australia have been entered into this year’s prize. Voting will run until Friday 22 January. (via The Guardian, Birdlife Australia)
Bird Photo of the Week
Photo By Mike Hamilton, Northern Harrier.
Bird Videos of the Week
By Jay the Ram, “Duckings vs. Stairs”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Bermuda Petrel Nest!
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Mottled Owl.