This week in birds

This week in birds - #229

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

Pied-billed Grebe

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In a decision that was literally unbelievable and seemingly indefensible, a federal jury in Oregon found seven terrorists, who occupied and did inestimable damage to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge for forty-one days early this year, not guilty on all charges. The verdict sparked outrage in the county where the refuge is located and in supporters of the national wildlife refuge and national park system around the country, a group in which I count myself. So, no one is to be held accountable for the damage done to our public lands or for threatening and intimidating federal employees in the performance of their duties. The reaction of many, again including myself, to the verdict was summed up in this cartoon from The Buffalo News:

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In another trial, this one in Beaumont, Texas, a man was fined $25,815, sentenced to five years probation and 200 hours of community service, and forbidden from owning any firearms or hunting or fishing anywhere in the United States during the term of his probation because he shot two endangered Whooping Cranes in January of this year.

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The World Wildlife Fund has reported that total wildlife populations worldwide have plunged by almost 60 percent since 1970. This includes mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians, and the decrease is almost entirely directly attributable to human activity.

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Swifts are birds that live their lives on the wing. A new study reveals just how much time they spend in the air. It found that Common Swifts spend ten months of the year airborne.

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In August 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service abandoned plans to give protection to wolverines under the Endangered Species Act. The action went against the recommendations of the Service's own scientists. But now the giant weasel is getting another chance at protection. The action is a result of a suit by environmental groups requesting that protection be given.

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There has been a big irruption of Siberian Accentors into Europe this season. The little birds are appearing in places where they have never been seen before, driving birders mad with joy!

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The EU and 24 countries have signed a long-awaited landmark agreement to protect the world's largest marine park, located in the Ross Sea in Antarctica. The park will encompass 1.5 million square kilometers.

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Using geolocation technology to track them on their 10,000 kilometer migration, researchers have determined that many areas of importance to the Great Reed Warbler and other songbirds are not given any protection.

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Only a decade ago, crows and ravens were very rarely seen in and around New York City, but now these cosmopolitan and sociable birds are making a comeback in the area.

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The amount of methane in the atmosphere has more than doubled in the last 250 years. And why is that? The byproducts of the production of fossil fuels account for some, but, perhaps surprisingly, the greater amount of the increase seems to be due to agricultural practices. The cloud of gas is emanating primarily from the activities of microbes in wetlands, rice paddies, and the stomachs of ruminants.

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A parrot fossil dating from 16 to 18 million years ago has been found in the Baikal region of Siberia. It is the first time a parrot fossil has been found in Asia and indicates that the birds may have been more widespread in Eurasia than previously thought.

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And speaking of parrots, a new population of Night Parrots, a bird that was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 2013, has been found in Queensland, Australia. Finding this population of the elusive bird leads scientists to speculate that they may be more widespread than previously thought.

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And next door, in New Zealand, scientists are pioneering genetic research that could help protect many endangered species around the world. They are working with an endangered bird called the Kaki (a kind of stilt) to increase genetic diversity and give the bird a better chance at survival.

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John James Audubon never saw a Bachman Warbler alive and it seems that none of us ever will either. The elusive bird of canebrakes was probably never numerous, but the last potential sighting of one was in 2001. Apparently, it is no more; it is an ex-warbler.

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The removal of old and unused dams is a good thing. It is allowing fish to return to traditional breeding areas, making for healthier populations and increasing overall biodiversity.

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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