This week in birds

This week in birds - #547

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

A Snowy Egret searches for its meal while wading in the shallow waters at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico.

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The virus H5N1 is devastating the world's birds once again.

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And in Canada, leaks from tailings ponds at oil sands operations are also having a devastating effect on the environment.

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Lights Out, Texas is Audubon's campaign to have Texans turn off outside lights at night from March 1 through June 15 to avoid disorienting birds during their spring migration through the state.

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European countries are pledging to expand their use of "green power" by increasing their reliance on North Sea wind farms.

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You probably will not be surprised to read that 2022 was "nasty, deadly, costly and hot."

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Removing river barriers such as dams and weirs is allowing rivers in Europe to flow freely and migratory fish to reach their breeding areas.

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A bird of the prairies, the Horned Lark is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week.

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Solar power microgrids in Puerto Rico are boosting the island's ability to withstand the effects of hurricanes.

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Asia is experiencing record heat for the month of April which does not bode well for the coming summer months.

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Amazing as it sounds, it seems that elephant seals are able to nap during their deep ocean dives.

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Here's a link to Audubon's native plant database. These plants can help welcome birds to your yard.

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Chimney Swifts are among my favorite summer visitors so I'm happy to see that municipalities in Canada are working to protect swift habitats.

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As the climate heats up, trees are responding by moving farther north.

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Here's a report on a 15-day bird tour in the bird-rich environment of Ecuador.

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Coral reefs are in trouble. Can they be saved?

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Big cats are endangered as well, but there is some good news on that front.

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Hellbenders, the eastern salamander, are turning to cannibalism and that is a threat to the continued survival of the species.

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An April heat wave in Spain has seen temperatures in excess of one hundred degrees Fahrenheit.

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The climate crisis that is causing drought in the Horn of Africa has been caused in no small part by human actions.

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The Menominee tribe in Wisconsin has sustainably logged its forest for 160 years but it is now facing a crisis.

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It's good to know that my "elder generation" isn't leaving all the work to save the environment to the younger generation!

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Life in the ocean's twilight zones could be facing drastic declines.

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It's nesting season along the Texas coast and Audubon Texas is on the job protecting rookeries.

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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