This week in birds

This week in birds - #564

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

A Cooper's Hawk checks out my yard for a possible meal.

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Let's start with some good news: A new court settlement will allow the Environmental Protection Agency to more tightly regulate pesticides.

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But in much worse news, this has been Canada's worst wildfire season on record.

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calculates that 2023 is likely to become Earth's hottest year on record.

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And it seems that the heating up of the planet may mean that so-called "Forever" glaciers are not forever after all.

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Flamingos have recently turned up in some very unusual places across the continent. They were likely blown there by Hurricane Idalia.

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And speaking of hurricanes, the old aphorism may be true: "It's an ill wind that blows no good." Hurricanes help to keep the planet's energy in balance.

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This little bird is the 'Akeke'e or Hawaiian Crossbill and it is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week.

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Global warming may be reducing the volume of Antarctica's sea ice which could have repercussions for both local Antarctic ecosystems and the global climate system.

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Off Colombia's Pacific coast, humpback whales put on quite a show during their migration. Tourists flock there to watch.

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The Kākāpō is one of the native species of New Zealand that are being protected by eliminating invasive predators.

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I've long been fascinated by the Neanderthals and their place in the history of our species. Here's a man who may be the expert on all that.

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It may be that the meteor that ultimately caused the extinction of the dinosaurs also allowed flowers to bloom.

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A couple in Vermont decided to give up on having a neatly manicured lawn and planted wildflowers instead. May their tribe increase!

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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