This week in birds

This week in birds - #112

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:

Black Skimmers gather at water's edge in the late afternoon.

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The long-awaited plan to cut carbon emissions from power plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 was finally announced by the EPA this week, with thoroughly predictable results. The deniers screamed loudly, saying that the rules would kill industry and really they are not necessary anyway since global warming doesn't exist. The most rabid environmentalists screamed their disappointment that the rules were not stringent enough. If both sides are dissatisfied, maybe that means that the agency is on the right track.

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The beautiful, rare, and endangered ocelot is making what is probably its last stand in a section of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. As if the little wild cat did not have enough troubles already, in recent years, the building of fences along the border between Texas and Mexico has interfered with its ability to wander freely and establish breeding territories. There are believed to be only 50 of the animals left in Texas.

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Do you ever worry about bed bugs when you travel and stay in hotels? Have you perhaps encountered the little bloodsuckers in your travels? Well, "Charismatic Minifauna" has detailed instructions about how to search your hotel room for bed bugs. Timely advice since we will be on the road in a few days.

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The Nene, or Hawaiian Goose, had not nested and raised a family on the island of Oahu since the 1700s, until this year. A pair have nested there and have successfully hatched three goslings. May they continue to thrive!

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So far in the United States, climate change has brought warmer temperatures fastest to the northeastern and southwestern states. But every state is experiencing rising temperatures.

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And speaking of climate change, it is creating a disaster for the Atlantic Puffins in the Gulf of Maine. The warming waters are hostile to the kinds of fish which the puffin chicks need to survive. Food which they can use is scarce with the result that many are starving to death.

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Two Black Vultures have been roosting on K Street in Washington, D.C. Seems appropriate somehow since this is the street where so many high-powered lobbyists have their offices. Maybe that thing about birds of a feather flocking together is true!

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The California Brown Pelican has had a disastrous breeding season. Many nests have failed to fledge chicks. It may be an indication that El Nino has arrived earlier than expected.

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It is expected that El Nino will be in full swing by summer and that could prove to be a catastrophe for the world's coral reefs.

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A new Guatemalan wildlife reserve will afford protection to several threatened bird species, as well as endangered frogs, and a blue viper.

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I often encounter scarab beetles around my yard as I go about my gardening activities. They can be very colorful and they are certainly interesting insects. "Bug Eric" has some information about them on his blog this week.

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Around the backyard:

The backyard continues to be a very busy place, full of avian activities. We continue to see lots of juvenile birds of several kinds coming to the feeders. The bluebirds are brooding four more eggs in their snug box in the vegetable garden. And almost every day sees a new young family spreading their wings for the first time. It's an exciting time to be a backyard birder.

Also, this week, a new spring migrant was heard in the neighborhood. I suspect the Great Crested Flycatcher has been around for a while, but I had not heard it before this week. I still haven't actually seen one in my yard, but I hear them all around the neighborhood now. I love the sound of their loud and distinctive Wheeep! Lovely bird.

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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