This week in birds - #555

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

A female (or is it a juvenile?) Ruby-throated Hummingbird rests in a crape myrtle tree in my backyard.

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Six months ago the world's nations met in COP15 and agreed to a pledge to halt biodiversity loss. How's that working out?

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If those pledges are not met, Nature is at risk of a serious breakdown.

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The Atlantic Ocean is at risk both above and below the surface because of the climate crisis.

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This week a heat dome extended across the country and is expected to last throughout the July 4 weekend.

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The extreme heat has already claimed some victims in Texas.

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An emerging El Niño event is having its effect on heating up the planet. 

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The heat wave in the North Atlantic is the worst in at least 170 years.

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And in the Himalayas, the glaciers are melting.

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This heat dome event was made five times more likely because of human-caused climate change.

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The ecological tipping points may be much closer than we had expected.

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The Environmental Protection Agency is being sued over its recent approval of two toxic herbicides that contain an active ingredient used in Agent Orange.

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In California, hundreds of sick or dead dolphins and sea lions have washed ashore as a result of a toxic algae bloom.

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Confused about native, non-native, and invasive plants? Audubon breaks it all down for you. 

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The Mormon crickets are back in Nevada. The state is crawling with them.

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Christian Cooper, the Black Central Park birdwatcher who unfortunately became famous in 2020 because a White woman made a racialized threat against him, has a new book about birdwatching called Better Living Through Birding.

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Stonehenge has fascinated me ever since I learned about it in school. But who actually built it?

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In Scotland, the endangered Capercaillie is making a comeback.

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In fact, the jungle is alive, even in urban areas.

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The Department of the Interior has designated nearly $4 million to protect and restore wildlife migration paths and habitats.

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A study found that protecting marine life also benefitted humans living nearby, to which I can only say, "Well, duh!"

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Human activity may be actually affecting Earth's spin.

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Tree loss is up sharply in tropical forests in spite of human pledges to halt deforestation.

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Here are some pictures from Rough Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary in Massachusetts.

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The Biden administration has moved to restore Endangered Species protections that were dropped in the administration of the previous president.

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Why does the Monarch butterfly have white spots on its wings? Rest assured, in Nature, there is always a reason!

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The Arctic Ocean is being Atlanticified. 

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The beautiful Western Tanager is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week.

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Cuttlefish are remarkable creatures and they have an amazing ability to disappear right before your eyes as they blend with their surroundings so completely. 

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Rhynchosaurs were the dominant reptile on the planet for a while before the dinosaurs took over. And I admit I had never heard of them as far as I can remember.

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California's iconic Joshua trees have been given long-term protection.

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The giant African land snail has been spotted in Florida, yet another invasive species for a state that is overrun with them.

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Here's the week in wildlife pictures as presented by The Guardian.

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Looe Island is a tiny Cornish island where Nature is thriving.

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Rewetting England's lowland peat could help meet emissions targets according to a recent study. 

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Swapping a nation's debt burden for its spending on Nature is one idea to be discussed at a finance summit in Paris.

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Here's some good news: Some critically endangered Burmese Peacock softshell turtles have hatched and emerged from the mud of their nest in Myanmar.

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Finally, no, orcas have not declared war on humans.