This week in birds

This week in birds - #345

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

The Cedar Waxwings are still with us. They are generally the last of our winter visitors to head north and will likely be here for another month at least. The flock in our neighborhood is smaller than in recent years, numbering, at a guess, somewhat less than a hundred birds. The flocks do usually get bigger as spring progresses and birds from farther south join up with the ones who have spent their winter here.

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The Guardian has a guide to America's five new national monuments, one of which - the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home in Jackson, Mississippi - has particular meaning for me.

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An Interior Department official speaking to a group of companies in the oil exploration business last month lauded our president's skill at sowing "absolutely thrilling" distractions that keep the public's attention away from the administration's efforts to open up large portions of the Atlantic to oil and gas exploration. And so we trade our birthright for one shiny object after another.

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Costa Rica has a green new deal plan that could serve as a model for other countries and provide an example of a positive approach to the massive problem of human-caused global climate change.

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Male Painted Bunting image courtesy of Audubon.

The Painted Bunting is such a gaudy bird that one would think it would be easily tracked and monitored, but, in fact, its migration route and where it spends winters is a bit of a mystery. Scientists are employing tiny geolocators attached to the birds to try to solve that mystery.

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The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) is a treaty meant to ensure that trade does not imperil the survival of threatened and endangered species. However, over a quarter of the species threatened by commercial trade, including songbirds like the Black-winged Myna, are not protected by the treaty.

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The Prairie Ecologist writes about what we know about managing soil carbon in prairies. Apparently, it isn't enough.

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A lesser-known but rather spectacular migration of colorful butterflies is taking place in California. A massive swarm of a billion or so Painted Ladies has been passing through southern California. For most, the destination is Oregon but some go farther north.

A Painted Lady on lantana blossoms in my own backyard.

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The fight against encroaching invasive species of plants must be taken to each yard and garden. Many such plants are introduced to the ecosystem because they are planted in landscapes by householders and their landscapers.

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Vision is the most important sensory system for birds, and it is more highly developed in birds than any other vertebrate, including humans.

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More than 1,200 species of birds, mammals, and amphibians worldwide face almost certain extinction without conservation intervention, according to new research.

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Many Native American tribes do not have legal recognition by the federal government and must struggle to maintain their cultural heritage and to protect their lands and ecosystems. California is a leader in seeking to address the problem.

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On Friday, the government moved to allow more oil and gas drilling, mining, and other activities on land protected for the threatened Sage Grouse. Such activity would almost certainly disrupt the struggling species' breeding and further threaten its continued existence.

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Elizabeth Hargrave has a passion for birds and for game playing. She put the two together and invented a board game called Wingspan. The game was published Friday by Stonemaier Games and is available to the public. The game's scientific integrity is based on information collected by eBird.

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Mowing or pruning back milkweed during the growing season increases its bushiness and makes it more useful for Monarchs and other milkweed butterflies that depend on it.

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I gave up on broadcast news three years ago. I no longer listen or watch - I get my news through other trusted sources. And here's one of the reasons why I find broadcast news utterly useless: Climate change is an existential threat to this planet. You would think that a "news" organization might take note of that. In fact, the coverage of the problem by radio and television news is getting worse. Much worse. In 2018, climate change coverage decreased by 45 percent over the previous year! By this time next year, it won't even get a mention.

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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