1. This Thanksgiving, millions of birds are giving thanks for Dallas. That’s because the city protected their migratory flyway by dousing lights during the fall migration. More than a dozen large buildings participated, including Reunion Tower, Bank of America Plaza, City Hall, the Dallas Zoo, and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Ornithology researchers from Cornell University who have been tracking the migration say the effort likely saved thousands of birds. Former First Lady Laura Bush lent her influence to the campaign, posting on social media and praising the city’s efforts. Dallas has outpaced other Texas cities in this effort, but many are catching up quick. (via The Dallas Morning News)
2. It was late afternoon in the North Woods of Central Park, and the sun was setting fast. Joshua Kristal, a photographer with a penchant for birds, was starting to feel despondent as he searched along the creek, looking for any movement. This was the third time he’d traveled more than an hour from Brooklyn to see Manhattan’s newest celebrity bird: an ethereal and majestic barred owl. Currently known as Barry, the owl has intense black eyes and elegant poufs of white feathers streaked with brown and gray. Barry is also unusual. Though owls are typically nocturnal, he makes regular daytime appearances, and has become something of a performer. Practically vogueing, he stares, preens and swoops into the shallow stream to wash and flick his feathers. (via The New York Times)
3. If songbirds could appear on "The Masked Singer" reality TV competition, zebra finches would likely steal the show. That's because they can rapidly memorize the signature sounds of at least 50 different members of their flock, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley. These boisterous, red-beaked songbirds have been shown to pick one another out of a crowd (or flock) based on a particular peer's distinct song or contact call. Like humans who can instantly tell which friend or relative is calling by the timbre of the person's voice, zebra finches have a near-human capacity for language mapping. Moreover, they can remember each other's unique vocalizations for months and perhaps longer, the findings suggest. (via Science Daily)
4. Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines may end up having consequences few people realize; the surge in vaccine production and testing could affect migrating shorebirds, especially the threatened rufa Red Knot. That’s because both the birds and the pharmaceutical companies depend on the same animal: the horseshoe crabs of the Delaware Bay. Horseshoe crab eggs are vital fuel during the Red Knots’ annual 9,000-mile migration from Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America, to the Canadian Arctic every spring. For the drugmakers, horseshoe crab blood is a vital component in vaccine production. (via Climateer Investing)
5. U.S. pollution regulations meant to protect people from dirty air are also saving North America’s birds. Improved air quality under a federal program to reduce ozone pollution may have averted the loss of 1.5 billion birds during the past 40 years. That’s nearly 20% of bird life in the United States today. A new study, conducted by scientists at Cornell and the University of Oregon, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports, “Our research shows that the benefits of environmental regulation have likely been underestimated, reducing pollution has positive impacts in unexpected places and provides an additional policy lever for conservation efforts.” (via The Cornell Chronicle)
6. (Podcast) For centuries, composers have drawn inspiration from the oldest melody-makers in the world: birds. Take, for instance, the piece "Summer Has Arrived" from the mid-1200s. The song features musical references to the cuckoo bird, a species that would continue to inspire Handel, Beethoven and Mahler hundreds of years later. Nashville Public Radio's Kara McLeland has more on the history. (via WBUR)
7. During late fall 2020, Evening Grosbeaks have been in the news. All over eastern North America, they have been staging an irruption southward from their breeding range in Canada and the edges of the northeastern states, with small flocks in search of food showing up in parks and at backyard feeders from the Great Lakes south at least as far as Tennessee and the Carolinas. As birders have paid more attention to the Evening Grosbeak, many have asked: Why is it called that? “Grosbeak” comes from the French Gros for “thick” and Bec for “beak,” and these finches do have very thick beaks—some might say they’re grossly thick. But why “Evening?” That part of the name goes back to a coincidence and a misunderstanding almost 200 years ago. (via Audubon)
8. Lead shot is to be banned from all wetlands in the European Union, in a decision that is expected to pave the way for phasing out all toxic ammunition. The European parliament voted against objections lodged by far-right parties, allowing the European commission to introduce the new regulations by the end of the year. The ban will ensure that any wildfowl or waterbirds are shot with non-toxic steel ammunition after scientific studies found that 1 million waterbirds are killed by lead poisoning each year. Millions more wild birds, including raptors, are poisoned but do not die, with 40% of whooper swans found to have elevated blood lead levels. (via The Guardian)
9. The multi-billion-dollar wildlife trade is the primary reason for species extinction, according to a study by U.S. and British scientists. But Mr. Zillinger said that for him, it was never about the money. Rather, he wanted to breed some of the world’s most elusive birds. The birds are an addiction, “like smoking, like drinking coffee or alcohol.” His drive was undeterred by the four months he spent in a rural Brazilian jail cell after his arrest, his amenities reduced to a bucket. He returned to the infamous trade and said he had stopped only recently and was now busying himself with breeding rare species and building a zoo. (via The University of Sheffield, The New York Times)
Bonus: An amazing picture of a pelican in flight has won the top prize at the British Ecological Society photography competition - but check out all the winners featured by the BBC. (via The BBC)
Bird Photo of the Week
By Mike Hamilton, Short-eared Owl.
Bird Video of the Week
By PBS Iowa, “Ostrich Farmer Helen Wall, Alden, Iowa”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Thanksgiving Feast!
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Tropical Buffet!