1. Unless you study birds, it is almost impossible to grasp how complex bird songs are. Thus this news from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology heralds an astonishing accomplishment by the Merlin team at the Lab: What was that bird? The question just got much easier to answer. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s free Merlin Bird ID app can now identify bird sounds. Merlin can recognize the sounds of more than 400 species from the U.S. and Canada, with that number set to expand rapidly in future updates. As Merlin listens, it uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to identify each species, displaying in real time a list and photos of the birds that are singing or calling. Automatic song ID has been a dream for decades, but analyzing sound has always been extremely difficult. (via Cornell Chronicle)
2. About 20 miles south of Charleston, S.C., at the mouth of the North Edisto River, a small, horseshoe-shaped sandbar rises above the water. The claim of land is tenuous on Deveaux Bank, about a half-mile offshore. Deveaux’s sand is continually shifting as swirling currents build it up and wash it away. In some years, the island disappears altogether. This ephemeral spit of sand, about 250 acres, is a gathering place for tens of thousands of birds. It has been home to the largest population of brown pelicans on the East Coast and to large populations of terns. There are skimmers, gulls, oystercatchers, red knots and more. Of the 57 coastal water bird species that South Carolina has identified as of “greatest conservation need,” virtually all are found on Deveaux. (via The New York Times)
3. Outrageous: An official with President Putin’s ruling party has been accused of illegally slaughtering about 150 wild birds and posing with their bodies on Instagram. The photo, taken in Chukotka, one of Russia’s most remote northern regions, showed the bodies of the birds, including cranes, ducks and geese, spelling out “Chukotka 2021” in the snow-covered wilderness. The dead birds were also laid out to form a heart symbol. The images, posted to the Hunting in Siberia account, sparked outrage. Alexander Kramarenko, 59, is a city councillor with Putin’s United Russia party in Magadan, a neighbouring region. He also owns several businesses. (via The Times)
4. When you're as tiny as a European robin, crossing the continent for the winter is no small feat. We now know its secret to keeping on track over vast distances – an innate ability to harness the weirdness that sits at the heart of quantum physics. Long hypothesized as means by which animals might sense the tug of Earth's weak magnetic field, a non-classical response to light has been observed taking place within a protein expressed in the eyes of a night-migratory songbird. While it stops short of proving the small birds rely on a quantum quirk of chemistry to stay on course as they cross Europe, the finding provides crucial evidence in support of the theory of magnetoreception's role in navigation. (via Science Alert)
5. This story keeps popping up: A mysterious illness is killing birds across several states in the south and midwestern US, and wildlife scientists are rushing to try to find the cause, with many victims suffering from crusty eyes, swollen faces and the inability to fly. Wildlife managers in Washington, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia first began receiving reports of sick and dying birds with eye swelling and crusty discharge, as well as neurological signs in late May, according to a statement from the US Geological Survey.They say the species affected thus far have included blue jays, common grackles and European starlings, but other species may also be affected. More than 20 samples have been sent out for testing. (via The Guardian)
6. In May 1835 in Willamette Falls, Oregon, an eager young Philadelphia naturalist named John Kirk Townsend collected a female California condor. It’s one of the oldest specimens among the Smithsonian’s 625,000 preserved bird skins, the third-largest collection in the world. A bouquet of tags attached to the condor’s legs, along with the original label in Townsend’s copperplate handwriting, shows it has become only more valuable to science over the decades. Townsend’s condor, as well as more than 130 other bird specimens that he prepared and that are kept at the National Museum of Natural History, are part of a little-known American story of curiosity, bravery, wanderlust, bias and even tragedy. (via Smithsonian Mag)
7. Concerning to say the least: The northern spotted owl has long been one of the most prominent species of the Pacific Northwest. With white-speckled brown plumage, big brown eyes, and a wingspan of up to four feet, these nocturnal birds rely solely on old-growth forests. They swoop between ancient Douglas fir and ponderosa pine on the hunt for salamanders and small rodents. For decades, researchers and conservationists have spent enormous time, effort, and money trying to protect them. But the owls’ numbers are the lowest on record—their population has declined by somewhere between 50 and 75 percent since 1995, according to a study published in the journal Biological Conservation. (via National Geographic, Biological Conservation)
8. Talk about unintended consequences: An attempt to save the Tasmanian devil by shipping an “insurance population” to a tiny Australian island has come at a “catastrophic” cost to the birdlife there, including the complete elimination of little penguins, according to BirdLife Tasmania. Maria Island, a 116-square-kilometre island east of Tasmania, was home to 3,000 breeding pairs of little penguins around a decade ago. Their populations have dwindled since Tasmanian devils were introduced in 2012, but according to BirdLife Tasmania, the most recent survey conducted by the parks department showed penguins had completely disappeared from the island. (via The Guardian)
9. In April, biologists at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge—a 10,000-acre stretch of tallgrass prairie an hour west of Houston, Texas—went out into the meadows in search of prairie-chickens. The spring breeding season was in full swing. Male Attwater’s Prairie-Chickens gathered in makeshift arenas called leks, their inflatable airsacs vivid on their chests and their booming calls and stamping dances carrying over the brush to watching females. As the team counted birds, their surprise and delight grew. The count was an improvement of 18 males over the 71 tallied the year before. (via Audubon Magazine)
10. Mylene Mariette was studying zebra finch calls when she started to notice something strange: Sometimes a solo parent in the nest would produce a knocking sound. It soon became apparent that the sound only happened when it was hot outside. Mariette came up with an experiment, hatching the eggs with artificial incubators in two groups: one without the calls, and another group hearing a recorded call from the parents. She was surprised to find that the birds were physically different -- the birds who had heard the heat call were smaller than their siblings who had not. But even more surprising was that the birds who had heard the call had more babies over the course of their lives. (via Inside Science)
11. Magical sighting: The European bee-eaters were first spotted by landowner Leon Docwra in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, UK. He posted on social media, asking people to help identify the colourful birds "making an unusual sound". Since then, some 300 people have visited to see what the RSPB described as a "magical" sighting. He said he posted a photo on Facebook and followers helped him identify the birds. After he posted another photo showing eight of the birds, Mr Docwra said one birdwatcher got in touch to ask if he could come see the flock and "about 300 of them followed". (via BBC)
12. BNI loves this bird: Swallow-tailed kites are often referred to as the coolest birds on Earth. If you happen to spot one in Mississippi, biologists want to know in an effort to help protect and grow the population. Swallow-tailed kites were once found in some 21 states, but are now only found in the Gulf Coast states, Georgia and South Carolina. Couslon said prior to about 140 years ago the birds could be found all over the state, but the population began to decline. How to report a sighting: Email the date, time, location and number of birds to nick.winstead@mmns.ms.gov (via Clarion Ledger)
Bird Photo of the Week
Photo by Hap Ellis, Red-tailed Hawk.
Bird Videos of the Week
By National Geographic, “Tales of a Tailfeather”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Fledged Hawks!
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Hawk mealtime