1. Let’s start with a book review. In a 17th-century treatise, Rev. Charles Morton peremptorily stated that there was a very simple reason so many birds weren’t to be seen in the winter: they went to the moon! And he calculated they did so at a speed of 125 miles per hour, getting them to the moon in 60 days. We’ve come a long way, as Rebecca Heisman tells us in her new book “Flight Paths”. Birds, like humans, follow the rhythm of the seasons. Yet as the nights grow longer and the leaves begin to turn, many of them take off, reminding us that what is home for us was, to them, just a place to raise the kids. The questions that puzzled generations of observers—where these birds went, what they did there, why some migrated and others did not—have mostly been answered by modern science, as Rebecca Heisman’s illuminating new book “Flight Paths” suggests. But the mystique remains. (via The Wall Street Journal)
2. The Great Backyard Bird Count, February 17-20, was an astonishing global success. Half a million birders in 202 countries participated, finding 7,538 species. Check here for the full results: 2023 Final Results – Great Backyard Bird Count.
3. How do a prison, a pigeon, and a tiny, homemade backpack fit in a story? Read on: A second pigeon wearing a tiny makeshift backpack presumably meant for smuggling drugs has been found at a corrections facility in Abbotsford, B.C., nearly two months to the day after a bird carrying a package of crystal meth was found at the prison next door. Officers discovered the latest bird wearing its backpack inside Matsqui Institution during a routine search on the morning of Feb. 27. The backpack, possibly made from cut-up jeans, was empty — leading guards to believe the bird might have still been in training. "Where did it come from, and what was happening? That's kind of the big discussion right now." said John Randle, Pacific regional president of the Union for Canadian Correctional Officers. It's an old-school smuggling tactic that's challenging to investigate. (via CBC)
4. Challenging! A great story about protecting an iconic endangered crow (the ‘lo) in Hawaii, while also protecting its natural predator, the equally iconic Hawaiian Hawk (the ‘alala): Amy Durham wound the straps under the wing, over the wing, under the other wing, over the other wing, making sure the backpack-like GPS transmitter stays comfortably strapped to the Hawaiian hawk for many months. San Diego Zoo researchers are trekking around the mountainous jungles of Hawaii’s Big Island not just to understand the ‘io, one of the state’s only birds of prey, which is considered at risk. It’s crucial, too, for restoring an even more endangered bird species — the ‘alalā, or Hawaiian crow. The ‘alalā, whose name means to “yell” in the local language, is one of the only birds in the world known to naturally use — and even make — its own tools. (via The Washington Post)
5. Only birders would do this: A rarely sighted woodpecker made an appearance on Sunday and led to a frenzy of bird watchers around the Botanic Gardens. It was so rare that a couple left their wedding solemnisation nearby to take pictures of it right after their wedding speeches. With a bald head and grey clock of feather and size of up to 51 centimetres, the great slaty woodpecker is listed as “vulnerable” globally on the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The last time it was spotted was in 2018 near the summit of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Before that, it was spotted in 1899 and 1904, according to the Singapore Birds Project, which documents wild birds. (via Borneo Bulletin)
6. “Cue the non-native island apple snail” – and Snail Kites make a comeback: Invasive snails are helping an endangered bird make a comeback in Florida. Since island apple snails invaded the Florida Everglades, an endangered species of bird known as the snail kite has bounced back from the threat of extinction. It's a rare case of a destructive invasive species having a positive impact. The Everglade snail kite is a hawk-like raptor that relies on wetland ecosystems to feed almost exclusively on Florida apple snails. In the early 2000s, severe droughts in the Everglades caused the population of these local apple snails to dissipate. And since snail kites relied on them as their sole food source, their numbers plunged from more than 3,000 birds in the late '90s to approximately 700 in 2009, according to a 2022 report by the conservation organization Audubon Florida. (via CBC)
7. Another good initiative in the effort to reduce bird collisions with building glass: Each year, up to 1 billion birds in North America are killed in collisions with glass. Many of these collisions are with building windows, especially small buildings and low-rise residences. Luckily, human-caused sources of bird mortality, like collision hazards, are preventable with relatively quick and affordable solutions! In response to this alarming issue, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Migratory Bird Program has identified high priority actions that will have an immediate positive impact on reducing the number of bird collisions with buildings across the United States. One of the first steps has been to promote and implement bird-friendly glass treatments, facility design and construction at our buildings and with our federal partners. (via U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
8. “This is about as good as it gets for me, not just as a birder, but in life.”: It was 8:15 on a Saturday morning when Woody Goss’ phone started buzzing. Annoyed, he checked the screen to find that one of his birding groups was puzzling over a small white gull with distinctive black markings. The bird looked like a Ross’s gull — a very rare visitor from the high Arctic that last stopped for an extended visit at Chicago-area beaches in 1978. But could it be? Goss — a “gull person” among birders — had no doubt. He ran out of the house and drove from Lakeview to Rainbow Beach on the South Side “faster than I’ll admit to a reporter.” And there it was, 2,000 miles from its icy home. The bird that drew crowds of up to 200 people Saturday, and reappeared to the delight of onlookers at nearby Steelworkers Park on Tuesday and Wednesday, is indeed the long-awaited Ross’s gull, according to John Bates, curator of birds at Chicago’s Field Museum. (via Chicago Tribune)
9. In case you look up at huge V-formations of geese or ducks and wonder why, this blog gives three likely reason while noting “we may never know the real reasons”: Birds fly in all sorts of formations. Many birds fly in formation at dusk in circles called murmurations to exchange information and get warm before settling in for the night. There is also a particular geese flying formation during migration: a big V shape in the sky. Many species like ibises or gulls also follow this pattern. But why that letter? Scientists offer three possible reasons why birds fly in V shape. First, flying in a V shape does make the activity more manageable. Second, ducks flying in V formation have a better line of sight of the horizon and each other. Third, it’s also possible the birds may simply be following their leader. (via Thayer Birding)
10. And speaking of huge flocks, murmurations aren’t just for starlings – check this out: The SE Michigan forecast called for a seasonably cold and breezy Saturday, warming up to just above freezing. That thaw signaled the end of the early February arctic blast. The most important draw was full sun, which has been rare this winter. I set out for a day of birding with my pal. We pretty much struck out on our first few stops, and decided to go to the Downriver area, as it’s known locally. That’s the southern part of the Detroit River, and where it empties into northwest Lake Erie. A last minute stop at Lake Erie Metropark made our day, with the unexpected drama of predator and prey. (via Daily Kos)
11. A fun podcast on what sometimes sparks a love for birding: Birds are some of nature’s most captivating creatures. You can encounter them almost anywhere you look. For many birders, connecting with them as a child leads to a greater interest in science and nature. Todd Moe took an early spring bird walk with two birders from Paul Smith's College - both with a passion for the outdoors and nature. (via NCPR News)
12. Any story about Merlins is a good story around here: No, not the 6th century magician… nor the 70’s Rolls-Royce car… and no, not the famed British fighter plan engine from WWII… although very powerful, sleek, and can fly… the Merlin, falco columbarius, is our second smallest falcon in the U.S. and Canada. They weigh in at less than a soda can, and have a wingspan from 15.5 to 29.5 inches, the female being larger than males (as in most raptors). Merlin are a most awesome flyer, and fly as with a purpose…always fast and powerful. They don’t mess around, and often keep a leisurely cruising speed of 30 mph, and much higher while hunting. Whether they are actually in a hurry or not… they seem to be. (via Victoria Advocate)
13. This week’s travel piece – Nevada may not be top of mind as a hotspot, but check this out: Nevada’s vast and diverse landscapes hold many secrets, not the least of which is its popularity with birds. While it may come as a surprise, the number of recorded bird species visiting, breeding, or living here in the Sagebrush State is a whopping 488. The operative word there: species. In addition, each year, hundreds of thousands of birds following the north-south path between Alaska and Patagonia — the Pacific Flyway — can be seen making a pitstop right here in Nevada. And yet, Nevada tends to remain far off most birders’ radar. In fact, according to the Great Basin Bird Observatory, our state is one of the most “under-birded” regions in the country. It’s time to change that. (via Reno Gazette Journal)
14. Finally, a lovely piece by an actor who finds her “tribe” as a birder…“I love being alone with birds, but there is something almost holy when you delight in something with others”: The other day, my daughter, who is 14, asked me, “Mom, why do you like birds so much?” I sighed. I get this question a lot. And even though I spend most of my time looking at and listening to birds, serve on the boards of the National Audubon Society and American Birding Association, and am constantly talking about birds, I still find it hard to explain. It feels like I’m being asked “Why do we breathe?” There was a point in time when this might have made me feel self-conscious. I used to be deeply embarrassed about being a birder. About 15 years ago, I took an emotional sabbatical from my work as an actor and retreated to my house in upstate New York, about two hours outside of the city. The house sits on 100 acres of working farmland. That year, the farmer was letting the fields go fallow. For the first time since I’d bought the home, four years prior, there were no big harvesting machines or trucks coming through the property. And there, in the stillness, I started to hear birds in a way that I hadn’t before. (via The Cut)
Bird Photo of the Week
Photo by Hap Ellis, Mallard, Millennium Park, Boston, MA 02130.
Bird Videos of the Week
By New Scientist, “Stunning Wild Isles footage reveals behavior of UK’s rarest birds”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Barred Owls are Back!
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Great Blue Heron Throwback!