1. Let’s start with some remarkable statistics from the Global Backyard Bird Count: More than 600,000 people from 209 countries or regions were out birding February 16-19, and found 7,842 species. We had more than 350 community birding events reported. Birds truly brought the world together for GBBC.
And then this from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a key organizer of the event: “And we were blown away by so many great photos—in four days you shared more than 130,000 images and sound recordings! Take a look at some of our favorite bird and people photos in this brief thank-you video.”
2. Wonderful article on “counting shorebirds” – Building off a historic count 30 years ago: Max Malmquist stares into the southern edge of Great Salt Lake, his dad at his side, eyes drawn in the same direction. That’s when they spot it: a Snowy Plover. Small and as sandy in color as the dry lakebed beneath it, the bird is difficult to see, but they’ve spotted it, nonetheless. Max’s dad, Mike, draws on a sheet of paper—a single mark for the single bird. It’s August at Great Salt Lake which means persistent bugs, rolling desert heat, and most importantly, migrating shorebirds. Max and his dad have been out since the early morning hours, early enough to catch the sunrise and the setting of a full moon. This, however, is what they’re here for: the count. (via Audubon)
3. Ancient patterns: According to an analysis of hundreds of preserved bird specimens from museum collections around the globe, there's a specific set of feather rules behind the power of flight. These newly discovered rules allow scientists to better predict which dinosaurs could fly too."Theropod dinosaurs, including birds, are one of the most successful vertebrate lineages on our planet," says Field Museum of Natural History paleontologist Jingmai O'Connor. "One of the reasons that they're so successful is their flight. One of the other reasons is probably their feathers, because there's such versatile structures." Their new data could settle some old paleontological debates over whether flight evolved in dinosaurs on more than one occasion. (via Science Alert)
4. Washington Post has a good article on a deeply concerning development: A deadly strain of bird flu has been found on mainland Antarctica for the first time, according to scientists, raising concerns over the risk of mass mortality of the continent’s huge colonies of penguins and other animals found nowhere else on Earth. Researchers on Saturday confirmed the presence of the H5 subtype of avian influenza in two dead seabirds, called skuas, near an Argentine base and scientific research station on the Antarctic Peninsula, according to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). (via The Washington Post)
5. Sadness in the Apple - Flaco RIP: The Eurasian eagle owl named Flaco, which escaped New York City’s Central Park Zoo last year, has died after crashing into a building in Manhattan, officials said late on Friday. Flaco went down after striking a building on West 89th Street and people reported the injured owl to the Wild Bird Fund (WBF), a statement from the Central Park Zoo said. WBF staffers soon found Flaco unresponsive and pronounced him dead at the scene. Central Park Zoo officials said they went to pick up Flaco’s remains after being notified of his death by the WBF. The remains were then taken to the Bronx Zoo to undergo a necropsy. (via The Guardian)
6. “Minimizing conflict”…at the feeder!: When hordes of chickadees, finches, and woodpeckers descend on a backyard bird feeder, squabbles are bound to erupt: Sometimes getting a choice morsel means muscling your way into position. Minimizing conflict in these situations is good for birds, says Cornell Lab of Ornithology Research Associate Eliot Miller: “It takes energy to fight, and it can be dangerous, so it usually makes sense to avoid it.” Now, other scientists are picking up where Miller left off, using an ever-growing set of FeederWatch data to dive deeper into the behaviors, social relationships, and physical traits that shape conflict at the bird feeder. (via Living Bird Magazine)
7. OK, maybe not for every bride and groom: When the time came to exchange rings at her wedding ceremony in San Diego last year, Jessica Huete donned a leather glove with a piece of quail meat attached. Moments later, a falcon swooped down, landing on the bride’s forearm to deliver the silver bands and devour the snack. “We were both fighting over who would catch the bird,” Huete said of her and her husband. “I said, ‘It was my idea. I win. I’m the wife.’” Adorable tots in tuxes have long held the inside track on ring-bearing responsibilities at weddings, but the use of hawks, falcons and other birds of prey has taken flight in recent years, fueled by animal-loving brides, renaissance fair buffs and a generation of Muggles who grew up reading J.K. Rowling books about wizards and their owls. Couples also see the birds as a way to distinguish their ceremonies. (via The Wall Street Journal)
8. Few cooler sounds at night than a Saw-whet Owl: Coming from the east we heard a single loud note being repeated over and over again. I sounded like a toy whistle going “too-too-too.” I gasped, looked at Susan and exclaimed, “That is a Saw-whet Owl!” We listened to the sound for a few more seconds, smiled again, and then finally returned to the coziness of the inside of our home. Slippers came off and we plopped back into our comfortable positions on the couch. I grabbed my phone and started looking for a recording of a Saw-whet Owl so that I could confirm what we had heard, but before I really had made any real progress I heard the song of the bird coming from Susan’s phone. (via Daily Hampshire Gazette)
9. The first – but not the last! – story about Piping Plovers returning this Spring: Bird watchers are cautiously optimistic about seeing endangered piping plovers again this spring in Presque Isle State Park. The small migratory shore birds are starting to rediscover the Gull Point natural area of the park. “The Great Lakes population is listed as endangered. So there are very few of them here in Erie,” said Mary Birdsong, co-founder of the Erie Bird Observatory (EBO) and the lead shorebird monitor. “(Piping plovers) used to nest at Gull Point (in Presque Isle) and they didn’t from the mid-1950s on until 2017, which is the first year we had nesting.” She’s been monitoring migrating birds since 2015 and remembers seeing the first piping plover in 2016 that was first leg banded in Michigan. He was named Jerry and returned to Erie each year through 2023, when he was lost to predation. (via Go Erie)
10. Skylarks, trials and the Red List – a quick piece from the BBC: The skylark's recent and dramatic population decline has made it a Red List speciesProtective fencing will again be installed in a field where endangered birds are known to nest and raise their young. Trials over the last three years at St Mary's Lands in Warwick show a rise in numbers of ground nesting birds, such as skylarks, returning to the fields each year. Warwick District Council will reinstate temporary protective fencing around an area known as the Lammas Field from 26 February until the end of August. The public right of way will be kept open throughout this period. All visitors and their dogs are being asked to stay out of the restricted areas. (via BBC)
11. For new birders among us, an old piece from the New York Times is helpful: As part of the New York Times birding project, The Times has a series of prompts to help readers learn how to get started birding. Begin with something foundational: Learn to identify a few of the birds most commonly seen near where you live. For beginner tips, The Times spoke with Alli Smith, the project coordinator for Merlin — a bird-identification app created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology — about learning to bird, and the joy of it. (via NYTimes)
12. But… “even experienced birders can learn”: You’re never too old to learn about birds — and humility. I just completed an online course from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, entitled “Be A Better Birder: Warbler Identification.” The Lab offers an extensive catalog of skill improvement webinars at Academy.AllAboutBirds.org. Some focus on birding basics. Others are appropriate for more experienced birders. There’s even a separate page of free learning games for kids. I chose warblers as my first course, because I was curious to see if there was anything in the lesson I didn’t already know. Arrogant attitude, I realize. (via Bangor Daily News)
13. A bit early for a Sandhill?: The distinctive, crackling call of sandhill cranes resonated Feb. 12 through the Wisconsin River valley in Sauk County. It's a sound Andy Radtke, marketing and communications manager of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, knows well and often hears outside his office in Baraboo. But it still surprised him when he heard it more than two weeks ago. Right place, wrong time. "We've never had them here this early," Radtke said. "We need to recalibrate our expectations, apparently." Flocks of sandhills gather prior to migration in fall near the Aldo Leopold Foundation headquarters. The birds spend the nights on the sandbars and in shallow water of the Wisconsin River and fly out to forage in fields during day. Most years the river freezes or snow covers the fields in December and the birds fly south for the winter. Then many return to nest in the Baraboo area in March. (via AOL)
14. “A birdwatcher’s paradise”…in India: While sparrows and crows are the common avian companions of our everyday lives, Telangana has been a popular destination for winter migratory birdsoriginating from Europe and Central Asia. The lakes of Hyderabad attract several birds from October to March, providing an abundance of food, water, and vegetation. During this time, the urban space turns into a home for a variety of birds, making it an ideal spot for birdwatchers.Recently, Hyderabad Times caught up with a few birdwatching enthusiasts from the city who are passionate about capturing the beauty of these feathered friends. (via The Times of India)
15. Finally Is A.I. “coming for our birds” too: Last week, a friend tagged me in a post about a weird bird. I’m used to it—as a known bird guy, friends are constantly making me aware when some new study comes out or a rare bird shows up. But this post was different. From a Facebook page called “Route 370—Newfoundland News & Weather,” the post had what appeared to be a photo of a red-and-white bird perched on a snowy branch. The text read: “A rare Red and White cardinal in it’s festive colors makes an appearance in Canada. It’s unusual look is caused by Gynandromorphy.” I’ve seen northern cardinals with gynandromorphism (meaning that an individual exhibits characteristics of both sexes), and they don’t have any of the same colors as the Facebook “Santa cardinal” bird. It also had a thin, yellow bill like a chicken instead of the thick, orange bill of our northern cardinal—a trait that gynandromorphism wouldn’t alter. This wasn’t a cardinal, clearly, but what was it? (via Slate Magazine)
Bird Video of the Week
By ABC 7, “Flaco the Owl Dies..”.