1. More than 500 bird species in North America migrate in the fall, so it’s a great time to whip out the binoculars. Dr. Jill Deppe, the senior director of the National Audubon Society’s Migratory Bird Initiative, suggests five great species to look for. (via The New York Times)
2. Raccoon Island—about 160 acres of sand and marsh shaped like a scimitar blade—is the westernmost of the barrier chain known as Isles Dernieres, an hour’s boat ride from the nearest solid land in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. Ten years ago, the scene on Raccoon Island, and across the northern Gulf of Mexico, was very different. Oil from the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and subsequent well blowout washed across the Isles Dernieres and many of the other waterbird colonies, fouling beaches and marshes from southern Louisiana to western Florida. After a decade, researchers and wildlife managers are still grappling with the spill’s long-term impact—trying to document its overt and insidious effects even as billions of dollars in fines and criminal and civil settlements are being spent on what is perhaps the most ambitious ecological restoration undertaking in history. (via Living Bird)
By Christopher Ellis, Short-eared Owl.
3. A new Conservation Letters study co-led by Stanford Natural Capital Project postdoctoral researcher Alejandra Echeverri combines approaches from biology and psychology to link people's cultural connections to birds with environmental change for the first time. The researchers focused their study in Costa Rica, a premier destination for the multibillion-dollar birdwatching industry. They sought to understand which birds Costa Ricans love the most—and which birds people can't stand—and explored the potential cultural impact of losing those birds. Echeverri examines the many cultural benefits that birds provide to people and the ways in which the most vulnerable species are also those most deeply embedded in our cultures. (via Stanford News)
4. Two stories this week highlight the danger posed to migrating birds by the nighttime lighting of urban skyscrapers. From The Philadelphia Inquirer, up to 1,500 birds flew into some of Philly’s tallest skyscrapers one day last week. And from National Geographic comes a similar disturbing story of birds are crashing into NYC buildings. Luckily, there is a growing number of bird-rescuers ready to catch the fallen. Bird News Items has called attention to the work the mayor of Dallas is doing in his city, in conjunction with former First Lady Laura Bush. The Mayor’s letter to businesses is here. Laura Bush’s PSA is here. The Texas Conservation Alliance “Lights out Texas!” efforts highlighted here. (via The Philadelphia Inquirer, National Geographic, BirdCast)
5. That blue jay yawping “jaay” as it flies by — is it the same one that jawed at you a few weeks ago? Maybe not. It may be down from Quebec, while the azure flash you saw in July may be headed for the Carloinas. Ditto on a flock of birds we think of as constants in our yards and neighborhoods, including robins and bluebirds and black-capped chickadees. For, while we may be standing still, we live in a world of constant motion. We may hurry, binoculars in hand, to catch the spring warblers returning, or watch hawks leave the scene in one and twos and tens and hundreds in the fall. But within these grand migrations — from Canadian tundra to the West Indies and down to Argentina — there are shifts of birds moving shorter distances as the seasons change. (via The Connecticut Post)
By Hap Ellis, Mountain Bluebird.
6. After years of grit and determination, eight critically endangered white-rumped vultures, six of them captive-bred, were reintroduced into the wild on Thursday for the first time in India since the vulture conservation and breeding centre was set up in the lower Shivaliks near here Pinjore, Haryana in September 2001. For biologists, the release of the vultures is a landmark occasion after January 2007, when the first white-rumped chick was born in captivity in the centre. “The next crucial step is ensuring the safety of the environment in the vulture safe zone," an excited Vibhu Prakash, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) Principal Scientist and centre head, told IANS. (via Weather)
7. The pristine look of a forest carpeted in ferns can be deceiving, says Ron Rohrbaugh: “People perceive a natural environment, but in a situation like that, birds can’t meet their breeding-cycle needs.” Rohrbaugh coauthored a study showing how changes in forest structure caused by swelling deer populations may be affecting birds. The research tracked populations of 40 common bird species in Pennsylvania over 35 years (from 1981 to 2015) and categorized them based on where they make their livings, and whether they live primarily in the understory or canopy. Then the researchers looked at deer abundance across a corresponding timespan to see how deer populations related to trends in bird species. (via Living Bird)
8. While it is pleasant to listen to, could something bigger be going on inside our brains when we hear tweeting and singing from parks and gardens? Dr. Eleanor Ratcliffe, a lecturer in environmental psychology at the University of Surrey, looked at how bird sounds may restore attention and alleviate stress. Eleanor says, 'I was inspired to do this research because of an opinion piece in The Guardian by Pete Brash. He was speculating on how bird sounds might help people through the darkest days of winter.' (via Natural History Museum, The Guardian)
By Hap Ellis, American Avocet.
9. The Superb Lyrebird is already famous for its ornate tail feathers and beautiful songs. Now, a new study in Ecological Applications has given us another reason to admire this Australian specialty: It turns out that lyrebirds are one of nature’s best ecosystem engineers, too. When the ground-dwelling birds aren’t singing or shaking their ornate tail feathers to impress a potential mate, they spend their time foraging, using their powerful, rake-like feet to unearth insects and crustaceans. (via Audubon)
10. Black rails are experiencing dramatic population declines along the Atlantic Coast, and the coastal plain of South Carolina has emerged as one of their last strongholds. In their 2018 Species Status Assessment, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) concluded that without help, the subspecies found in our state is likely to face extinction in as few as 50 years. SCDNR staff recognized the urgency of the situation, but before they could help black rails in South Carolina, they needed to figure out what help the birds needed and when they needed it. (via Post and Courier)
Bird Photo of the Week
Submission by John Schmidt, A Moment of Zen.
Bird Videos of the Week
By CBS Boston, “Loose Emu Corralled in Haverhill”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam, Red-tailed Hawk dive.
Cornell Live Bird Cam, Red-tailed Squirrel takeaway.