1. Suspended, rotating devices known as "flappers" may be the key to fewer birds flying into power lines, a study by Oregon State University suggests. Research has documented more than 300 species of birds dying from hitting power lines, with one study estimating that more than 170 million perish annually in the United States and another estimating the global death toll to be 1 billion per year. There's also the problem of power outages that bird strikes can cause. The findings are important because around the globe both the number of power lines and concern over bird fatalities are on the rise. (via Phys Org)
2. Many Arctic-breeding shorebird species are thought to be declining based on migration and/or overwintering population surveys, but data are lacking to estimate the trends of some shorebird species. The Arctic Shorebird Demographics Network (ASDN) was conceived to research, document population trends, and identify the root causes of declines. The ASDN brought together an impressive team of over 20 partners, including ornithologists from government agencies, universities, and non-profit organizations. The team also includes Manomet’s Vice President for Shorebird Conservation Stephen Brown. Together they secured funding for new field sites, standardized methodology across existing projects, and compiled field data from 16 sites across Alaska, Canada, and Russia into a unified database. The broad-scale work of the ASDN culminated in their new paper found in The Condor. (via The Condor, Manomet)
By Philip Chang, “Flamingos fly over the alien-like landscape of Kenya’s Lake Magadi” (via New Scientist)
3. At the far end of the Alaska Peninsula, where land gives way to the Bering Sea, sits a little-known backwater that few Americans know exists, and even fewer visit: Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. Izembek has been recognized for half a century for the ecological value of its unique wetlands and their importance to migratory birds. More than two-thirds of Izembek’s 417,500 acres are designated as federally protected wilderness. It was the first place in the United States to be designated under the RAMSAR Convention as a Wetland of International Importance, and it is recognized as an Important Bird Area of global significance by Audubon and BirdLife International. (via All About Birds)
4. Among the geeky ranks of board-game designers, women are as rare as the blue-eyed ground dove, but Elizabeth Hargrave swooped in with her highflying game Wingspan. A health-policy consultant by profession and a bird-watcher by passion, she caught the attention of Stonemaier Games with her unusual ornithology theme. Up to five players compete to build the most impressive nature preserve, hoarding and relinquishing tiny eggs and food tokens as they go. The game, launched last year, revolves around 170 different gorgeously illustrated cards depicting North American birds—like the burrowing owl or the bronzed cowbird—and each delivers myriad facts about the species, so you might pick up some birding intel as you compete. (via Wall Street Journal)
5. It is the world’s most common farm animal as well as humanity’s largest single source of animal protein. Some 24 billion strong, it outnumbers all other birds by an order of magnitude. Yet for 2 centuries, biologists have struggled to explain how the chicken became the chicken. Now, the first extensive study of the bird’s full genome concludes that people in northern Southeast Asia or southern China domesticated a colorful pheasant sometime after about 7500 B.C.E. Migrants and traders then carried the bird across Asia and on to every continent except Antarctica. (via Science Mag)
6. The American Southwest provides a last stronghold for the yellow-billed cuckoo, which was officially listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened in 2014. This February, the US Fish and Wildlife Service published a list of proposed protected areas that trace the curls and curves of rivers and streams in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Texas, and Utah. Some say these new protections for the yellow-billed cuckoo’s future could extend to some of the West’s most threatened rivers. “This is a bird that depends on healthy rivers, and what may be turning out here is that the rivers also depend on saving this bird,” says Michael Robinson, a conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, which has long sought protections for the western population of yellow-billed cuckoo. (via Earth Island)
By Hap Ellis, Young Killdeer.
7. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and Audubon Texas are now accepting applications for the Bird City Texas Program’s (BCT) community certification. The BCT program, which recognizes the work communities are doing in the name of bird conservation, awards towns with the certification of “Bird City” based on accomplishments in three categories: community education and engagement, habitat management and improvement and threat removal to help birds. If your community cares about birds, habitat, conservation, and the community value (both in quality of life and the monetary value) that comes with certification, then this is the program for you! Apply now to be a certified Bird City Texas community! (via Bird City Texas, Colorado County Citizen)
8. The nation's first wind energy project on fresh water has big ambitions. It also has big bird problems. Known as Icebreaker Wind, it aspires to position as many as several hundred turbines on Lake Erie, where strong winds, shallow depths and the proximity of power stations would seem to be a winning trifecta. According to the project’s developer, the potential could meet 10 percent of the nation’s electricity needs by 2030. But a pilot with six turbines is facing strenuous opposition from wildlife activists and others because of the risk they say it would pose to the millions of warblers and waterfowl that migrate over this Great Lake every spring and fall. (via The Washington Post)
Bird Photo of the Week
By Hap Ellis, Cedar Waxwing.
Bird Videos of the Week
By Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Izembek”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam, “Royal Albatross”. June 19th was World Albatross Day, learn more about the celebration via Audubon Society.
Cornell Live Bird Cam, “Savannah Ospreys”.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Danielle Smaha, Marketing and Communications Director at Manomet, for sharing with us the wonderful research conducted by Stephen Brown and the Arctic Shorebird Demographics Network (ASDN).
Special thanks to Daniel Burstein for sharing with us the delightful Wall Street Journal article on Elizabeth Hargraves’ game Wingspan.