This week in birds

This week in birds - #346

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

The vanguard of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird migration has been passing through this week. The adult males, like the one above, arrive first. Later, the adult females and first-year birds will appear.

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There has already been severe flooding in the Midwest this spring, but scientists warn that this is likely only the beginning. They are predicting unprecedented levels of flooding in the coming months that could imperil as many as 200 million people. Scientists say that climate change is responsible for more intense and more frequent extreme weather that contributes to the surging flood waters.

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A new data analysis by the Associated Press shows that in the last twenty years the country has been twice as likely to have record-breaking heat in summers as it is to have record-breaking cold in winters.

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A new study of white-tailed deer numbers in the eastern U.S. indicates that the arrival and establishment of coyotes in the region has not caused an appreciable decline in the species.

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An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted last month shows that climate change is an issue of concern to the public. Nearly two-thirds of those polled indicated that the Republican attitude toward climate change was "outside the mainstream" and that Democratic positions are "in the mainstream."

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This week a federal judge ruled that the Interior Department violated federal law by failing to take into account the climate impact of its oil and gas leasing in the West. The ruling temporarily blocked drilling on 300,000 acres of leases.

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The hobby of birding is booming, but, unfortunately, it remains mainly a hobby of white people. Efforts are underway to encourage more diversity in birding and there have been promising results.

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The biggest spring migration in years of Monarch butterflies has been passing through Texas recently. Unfortunately, the milkweed has not yet gotten a growth spurt. The plants in my yard only have a few leaves and I watched one day this week as three migrating Monarchs hovered over them looking for a place to lay eggs. I need to visit the nursery and see if I can find some fully grown plants.

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Melting glaciers on Mount Everest have recently exposed the bodies of climbers who perished there and whose bodies were subsequently entombed in ice. I suppose that is one advantage of global warming.

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Elephants are increasingly coming into conflict with humans in agricultural areas. Often the problem is that the areas that are being farmed have minerals that are needed as a part of the elephants' diet, or else the fields lie on the animals' route to those minerals.

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First-year birds of some species are known to assist their parents in raising a new brood. This may happen more often when sufficient mates are not available. The Brown-headed Nuthatch is one such species.

Brown-headed Nuthatch at a feeder in my backyard.

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Canada clear cuts a million acres of its boreal forest every year, and a lot of that wood is used in the making of toilet paper.

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Thousands of fossils dating from over 500 million years ago during the huge burst of diversity of life on Earth known as the Cambrian Explosion have been unearthed in China.

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Illegal killing of Hen Harriers continues to be a big problem in the U.K., particularly around grouse moors. The harriers prey on the grouse and so do humans. Humans do not like the competition.

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A recent study suggests that global forests are absorbing more carbon dioxide as atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations increase, but they are unable to keep up with runaway CO2 emissions.

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A wet winter has resulted in a super bloom of poppies in Southern California. The remarkable bloom can actually be seen from space and it has drawn so many tourists that at least one town has been forced to bar access to one of the most popular areas for visitors.

Image courtesy of The Guardian.

All that yellow on the mountains is millions of poppies in bloom.

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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