1. Let’s start with a great essay by Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal, the authors of a BNI favorite 2023 book “A Wing and a Prayer: The Race to Save our Vanishing Birds”: Not far from Disney World, on a stretch of sprawling grasslands called the Florida Prairie, researchers are gradually rebuilding the population of a tiny, skittish sparrow that’s the most endangered bird on the continent. A band of wildlife scientists, nonprofits and universities are working together to nurture the Florida grasshopper sparrow back from just 22 remaining pairs, as we document in our new book, “A Wing and a Prayer: The Race to Save our Vanishing Birds.’’ They figured out how to breed chicks in captivity. They watched to make sure the fledglings knew how to behave like sparrows in the wild. Then they released a few at a time on the prairie to find mates and breed. Slowly, the sparrow’s numbers are inching up again. (via CNN)
2. This is interesting – certain tree-nesting birds and certain aggressive species of ants help each other - in Kenya: The remarkable partnership between East Africa’s whistling thorn trees and their resident ants is well known, but now a new study brings to light the trees’ relationship with birds. Acacia ants will swarm over branches and bite elephants or giraffes who try to eat the leaves of the whistling thorn (Acacia drepanolobium). As an incentive for this service, the tree provides the ants with food and shelter: nectar droplets that ooze from leaf glands, and a home inside the small hollow swellings at the base of some of the trees’ thorns (the trees get their name from the sound of wind passing through holes in these swellings). Superb starlings, gray-headed sparrows and gray-capped social-weaver birds in whistling-thorn savannas also get help from acacia ants. (via Mongabay)
3. Good news for American Oystercatchers – numbers are up!: Conservationists are reporting a 45% increase in the population of the American Oystercatcher, a shorebird found along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The rebound, measured from 2008, is a remarkable success story, given that most coastal birds are declining because of habitat loss, human disturbance and climate change. "This is really exciting because this is not the trend for most shorebird species," said Shiloh Schulte, senior shorebird scientist at the Plymouth-based nonprofit Manomet. The group has led a 15-year effort to protect the birds, in partnership with conservation groups across the East and Gulf coasts. (via WBUR News)
4. Not as benign as you think – wind energy & birds: Ten years ago, a historic first happened. It involved a huge utility company and a pair of wind farms in Wyoming. And birds. Wind farms are seemingly benign, reducing carbon emissions and getting the country to a cleaner future to wean Americans off oil and gas. But how benign are they? The U.S. Department of Justice did not think so in 2013, bringing for the first time criminal charges against Duke Renewable Energy under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for unpermitted avian takings at wind projects. The charges stemmed from the discovery of 14 dead golden eagles and 149 other protected birds — including hawks, blackbirds, larks, wrens and sparrows — by the company at its “Campbell Hill” and “Top of the World” wind projects in Converse County between 2009 and 2013. The two wind projects are comprised of 176 large wind turbines sited on private agricultural land. (via Deseret News)
5. For the birds, maybe skip the fireworks this New Year’s Eve: A study reveals that fireworks cause a surge in bird flight activity, with effects reaching up to 6 miles. Researchers recommend establishing fireworks-free zones and quieter light shows to protect bird populations. Birds are affected by the mass use of fireworks on New Year’s Eve up to a distance of 10 km (6 miles) away. With data from weather radars and bird counts an international team of researchers revealed how many birds take off immediately after the start of the fireworks, at what distance from fireworks this occurs and which species groups mainly react. (via SciTechDaily)
6. A nice shout out to another good 2023 book on birds - "Ten Birds That Changed the World" by Stephen Moss: Well, another Christmas has passed without me receiving my dream gift. However, I did get a very good book: "Ten Birds That Changed the World" by Stephen Moss. Snowy egrets make the list as symbols of bird conservation. At the turn of the 19th century, these pure white wading birds — along with their larger cousins, the great egrets — were being slaughtered for their breeding plumes in wetlands throughout southern states. Plumes from dead egrets were then sold in Europe as adornments on women’s hats. Unregulated killing ran rampant. As an example, during a three-month period in 1885, 750,000 egret skins were sold at an auction house in Paris. Fortunately — once again — humans managed to undo the damage. It occurs to me, after all this discussion, I’ve forgotten to mention the dream gift I keep not receiving. It’s a bird blind that looks like a beaver lodge. More on that in a future installment. (via PressConnects)
7. And speaking of books, New York Times has four short book reviews of note for you in this one article: In a recent essay, the writer and environmental activist Terry Tempest Williams, reflecting on the perils of climate change, wrote, “Before we can save this world we are losing, we must first learn how to savor what remains.” To savor something is to know you will lose it, and to cherish it all the more for that knowledge. That sense is the animating force behind Margaret Renkl’s astonishing The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year. Composed of 52 short chapters, this is a collection of Renkl’s meditations and observations over the course of a pandemic year. (via The New York Times)
8. If airplanes need vertical stabilizers to fly, why don’t birds? (Spoiler alert: they’re smarter): Over the last few decades, there have been significant advances in technology for aviation. Aircraft have been fitted with winglets and sharklets to cut down on fuel consumption, as well as state-of-the-art engines which reduce sound as well as wear and tear. However, one thing that has been constant is the tail of various airplanes, which includes one of the most critical flying systems - the vertical stabilizer. Almost all airplanes have vertical stabilizers as they provide a control mechanism for the aircraft. Yet, natural fliers - birds - don't require such systems. Why? (via Simply Flying)
9. Can’t resist this local report on the Christmas Count on one small island in Alaska: Bonnie Demerjian and Claire Froehlich were ready to join the Christmas Bird Count in Wrangell on an early December morning. They’re met in Wrangell’s City Park where moss blankets the ground and surrounds the tall evergreens next to the Zimovia Strait. “So what we’re going to do is mark down every bird we see,” Demerjian said. “I have an extra pair of binoculars.” This is the 124th annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count in North America and people can count anytime between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5. It’s considered “citizen science” – or community science – because anyone can participate. Demerjian’s counted for about 20 years, but it’s Froehlich’s first ever bird count, though she said she studied science and knows all the birds in Arizona. (via KSTL News)
10. Year-end update on the state of Napal’s birds: As Nepal, one of the least industrialized countries in the world, invests in hydropower and roads to lift its people’s living standards, balancing public aspirations with conservation has proved to be a major challenge. That was the view of leading ornithologist Hem Sagar Baral when illustrating the hurdles to biodiversity conservation, especially when it comes to birds, during an interview with Mongabay this past year. Throughout 2023, Mongabay covered a wide range of issues related to Nepal’s avian diversity, highlighting the threats they face and the glimmers of hope that community-led conservation efforts have offered. Here are the top five stories Mongabay reported on in 2023 on the birds of Nepal. (via Mongabay)
11. You just knew this kind of thing was coming: 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. It also had a thin, yellow bill like a chicken instead of the thick, orange bill of our northern cardinal. This wasn’t a cardinal, clearly, but what was it? Reverse image search was no help, but when I looked closer, the answer was obvious. The bird appeared to have three feet, and the end of its tail was somehow covered in snow. This wasn’t a real photo at all—it was a photorealistic fantasy created by A.I. Ugh. (via Slate Magazine)
12. Omid, a Siberian Crane, goes missing during its migration to Iranian wintering grounds: Fears are growing among conservationists that the western population of Siberian Crane may now be extirpated following the failure of the last known individual to return to Iranian wintering grounds. The plight of 'Omid' has made headlines in recent years as the increasingly old-aged bird has completed its annual migration alone between breeding grounds in the Siberian wilderness and its winter home of Fereydoon Kenar in Iran. Omid typically arrives back in Iran during November but has failed to appear so far this winter, leading birders to suspect that he may have perished, therefore taking with him any remaining hope that the western population of this declining bird may be saved. (via BirdGuides)
13. As does “the Beast”, which happens to be a Peregrine Falcon in New Jersey – but not just any Peregrine Falcon: Local raptor lovers call her the Beast, and she has been the star attraction at the State Line Lookout in Alpine since she arrived seven years ago. But the charismatic peregrine falcon hasn’t been seen in more than a month, and her many admirers are worried. “My 8-year-old grandson and I are fans of the peregrines who live at State Line overlook, and we’re saddened to learn that the female hasn't been seen in several weeks,” Rhonda Hinkle Broyles of Norwood wrote to me. “She quickly became a part of our lives when I moved to the area recently.” Soon after the Beast arrived in 2016, she took up with the local male falcon, and both have been fixtures ever since. Like the other peregrines in this region, they have stayed on territory year-round. That’s why the Beast has been so conspicuous by her absence. (via North Jersey News)
14. One architect’s effort in Chicago to reduce birds strikes on buildings: Chicago’s 82-story Aqua Tower appears to flutter with the wind. Its unusual, undulating facade has made it one of the most unique features of Chicago’s skyline, distinct from the many right-angled glass towers that surround it. In designing it, the architect Jeanne Gang thought not only about how humans would see it, dancing against the sky, but also how it would look to the birds who fly past. The irregularity of the building’s face allows birds to see it more clearly and avoid fatal collisions. As awareness grows of the dangers posed by glistening towers and bright lights, architects are starting to reimagine city skylines to design buildings that are both aesthetically daring and bird-safe. (via The Guardian)
15. Finally, Audubon reviews the popular new animated movie “Migration”: Hot on the heels of fall migration comes Migration, a Universal Pictures animated film debuting this Christmas about a family of Mallard ducks. If you haven't seen a trailer yet, the basic plot goes like this: Though the dad, named Mack, is satisfied with his quiet, safe, and predictable life in a New England pond, the mom, Pam, is eager to show their kids, Dax and Gwen, more of the world. When the Mallards meet a group of migrating ducks with tales of far-off places, Pam persuades Mack to take off for their own family adventure to Jamaica. Their daring trip quickly goes awry, but the experience pushes them to broaden their horizons and make new connections—from street-smart pigeons to tropical macaws—along their way. (via Audubon)
Happy New Year! And many thanks for reading and supporting BNI this year. Onward into 2024!
Bird Videos of the Week
Video By Discovery, “Finding and Hatching a Rare Flightless Kiwi Bird..”
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Cooper’s Hawk.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Black-chested Jays.
Happy Mew Year! Happy birding!