This week in birds - #561
A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:
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Summer's incredible heat continues to be the main news in Nature. All of the northern continents are basically broiling at the moment.
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In some good news for the planet, Ecuadorians have voted to halt drilling for oil in an Amazonian national park.
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In New Haven, Connecticut, an 82-year-old man is on a mission to convince his neighbors to plant more trees.
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The oldest yet fossil of a dicraeosaurid (plant-eating) dinosaur has been found in the Thar Desert of India.
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Is the warming ocean a threat to some of the fish that live in it? It seems that the damselfish may be in distress because of the heat.
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Massive winter downpours have resulted in unprecedented blooms in California which has been a boon to conservationists collecting seeds to preserve endangered plants.
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Crocodiles are very vocal reptiles and scientists are eager to try to understand what they are saying.
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An unprecedented flash flood in the Grand Canyon this week caused about 100 people to have to be evacuated from the area.
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A recent study found that mountain treelines are moving higher in response to climate change.
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The last two survivors of Brazil's Piripkura tribe have been found and now the question is what Brazil should do regarding them.
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Off the coast of California, female pearl octopuses are nesting, creating an "octopus garden" where they protect their eggs.
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A hot, wet summer is threatening to put a damper on the leaf-peeping season in the Northeast.
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Geckos are famous for their ability to camouflage themselves but this one from Madagascar may be the champion in that regard.
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Finally, here are a few bird pictures from a wonderful spot for viewing birds, the Bosque del Apache refuge in New Mexico.
Good Morning, Esteemed Bringer of Mostly Bad News! This morning, however, I will focus on just one of your snippets and the good feeling it engenders. Many years ago I spent a couple of days at Bosque del Apache NWR and I have wonderful memories of around 30,000 Snow Geese, 4,000 Sandhill Cranes and more Ferruginous Hawks in one place than I have ever seen in my life. And, back in the day I was still eating red meat and had a green chilli cheeseburger in San Antonio, that lived up to its reputation. Ah…..memories!
ReplyDeleteWe visited Bosque in October a few years ago and marveled at those flocks of Snow Geese, Sandhill Cranes and Ferruginous Hawks. What a sight! And sound!
DeleteLove the color of those berries...and that they bring more birds to your yard. :D Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite aspect of the beautyberries is their ability to attract birds!
DeleteLove your links to the environment and wildlife. We saw a red tailed hawk at the botanical garden today, which I've never seen before in that place. We were all intrigued.
ReplyDeleteRed-tailed and Red-shouldered are the hawks I most commonly see soaring over my yard, often in the company of Black or Turkey Vultures.
DeleteI wonder if I'm the only one who started hearing Ringo Starr singing about an octopus's garden when I saw the link about the female pearl octopuses?
ReplyDeleteHa! And now I'm going to have that song in my head all day!
DeleteI always like the photos you choose here. Not sure the brown giraffe knows what all the fuss is about. And I like to think of an octopus garden somewhere underwater.
ReplyDeleteI hope that all animals and plants will be able to evolve, like the Willow Flycatcher, to live in the new hot world we humans have created. In a perfect world, I suppose, all the animals and plants would adapt, except humans.
ReplyDeleteThe bird photos are lovely. One bird blogger I like to visit is Shiju Sugunan at Cranium Bolts. He lives in Bangalore.