This week in birds

This week in birds - #422

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

A Red-tailed Hawk views the world from the top of a utility pole, backed by an October blue sky.

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Winter is the peak season for feeding birds in one's yard. Here are some hints about how to do that more effectively.

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Earth just recorded its hottest September on record since at least 1880. The year is now on track to possibly become the hottest year on record, breaking the previous record set in 2016.

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The Pantanal wetland in Brazil is still burning. Roughly a quarter of the ecosystem has been consumed by wildfires that have been exacerbated by climate change.

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A slow-motion ecological catastrophe is occurring at the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge on the California-Oregon border. A massive outbreak of avian botulism has killed 40,000 birds so far, mostly waterbirds that gather in the refuge is vast numbers during migration.

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Climate change is causing irreversible shifts in the Asian ecosystem. The Central Asian steppes are being transformed into a desert and perhaps permanently reducing the biodiversity of the region.

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When a whale collides with a fast-moving ship, it is generally very bad news for the whale. A new technology called Whale Safe aims to reduce such encounters and make the oceans just a bit safer for sea mammals.

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A study by a group of Harvard researchers has found increased radiation downwind of U.S. hydraulic fracturing drilling sites. The significantly higher radiation levels pose a potential health risk to nearby residents.

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Bar-tailed Godwit image courtesy of The Guardian.

A Bar-tailed Godwit flew 7,500 miles in a non-stop flight from Alaska to New Zealand breaking the previous record for such avian flights.

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The rapid intensification of hurricanes as they near landfall has been linked to the warming ocean currents that have accompanied climate change.

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Historically, smalltail shark populations had been among the most abundant of fishes in Brazil, but rampant overfishing over the past 40 years has transformed it into a critically endangered species. It is now perilously close to extinction.

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The Arctic region is unraveling faster had been predicted and could well be in an irreversible death spiral. Without drastic action to control climate change, it may be too late to save the Arctic as we know it.

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One of the helicopters making water drops over the huge Creek Fire in California had a close encounter with a Western Screech Owl. The owl actually flew into the cockpit of the copter and sat on the console looking at the crew, seemingly unconcerned. After resting for a few minutes, the bird flew out again.

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A global review has found that governments are falling far short of protecting enough of the right areas of their ecosystems to protect biodiversity.

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A mystery regarding the Bearded Vulture that has been causing a stir with its tour of the UK in the past few months has now been solved. A genetic analysis of some of the bird's feathers shows that it is a female bird that was hatched in the wild in the French Alps in 2019.

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A COVID-19 outbreak at Utah fur farms has killed 10,000 minks, but a state veterinarian says humans are not at risk from the eruption of the virus.

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Birds with large eyes that are adapted for seeing in the darker parts of forests are more affected by artificial lighting in human-altered landscapes and are less able to compensate for it.

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The International Energy Agency confirms that solar is now the cheapest electricity in history with technology cheaper than coal and gas in most countries.

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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