This week in birds - #573

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

Its call is its name - Chachalaca. They are endemic in South Texas.

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Here are those pesky scientists again! This time they are warning that Earth is on the verge of five catastrophic tipping points. 

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Here's some good news for a change: The wildfire season has been exceptionally quiet this year. But don't expect that to hold in the future. 

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Indigenous advocacy has led to the removal of four dams along the Klamath River in northern California.

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In the Southern Ocean, the world's biggest iceberg has broken free and is drifting with the steering wind and currents.

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Efforts are underway to try to save Brittany's rare Quimper snail before their habitat is destroyed by the construction of a tramway.

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This is the Prairie Falcon, a bird of the plains of North America. It is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week.

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2024 is expected to be a particularly bad year for coral, with unprecedented bleaching possible.

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Cuttings and seeds from the famed Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian's Wall that was felled by vandals are showing signs of growth. Hope is kindled.

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This wonderful creature is the axolotl, an endangered amphibian of Mexico which is
being introduced back into some of its former habitat.

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In the Yukon River, the salmon that were once plentiful no longer are and that is reason for concern.

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A giant rat indigenous to the Solomon Islands has been photographed alive, proving that it does still exist there.

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The Kelly Parcel, part of the Grand Teton National Park, where this pronghorn antelope was photographed, is facing multiple threats from development, recreation, and a warming climate.

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Every time I despair of the human race, I read a story like this about a chicken who lost his toes and has people sending him shoes to compensate. If we can muster such compassion for a disabled chicken perhaps there is hope for us.

Comments

  1. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzDecember 9, 2023 at 5:09 AM

    I wonder why it takes a story about a chicken who lost his toes to elicit such compassion from folks. I know people have lots of compassion for others. Why does it take such an unusual story to prompt people into taking action? Or is it simply that we do not hear about the small acts of compassion that people make every day?

    I remember reading a picture book a few years ago about an axolotl. Such a lovely creature!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersDecember 9, 2023 at 9:59 AM

      Maybe there is so much going on in the world and our personal lives that it takes something unusual, like a chicken who lost his toes, to break through the noise.

      Delete
    2. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzDecember 12, 2023 at 4:33 PM

      I think you might be right, Dorothy.

      Delete
  2. David M. Gascoigne,December 9, 2023 at 6:32 AM

    Thanks for the weekly roundup, Dorothy. I am visiting my daughter and family in Ottawa and I will make sure we have a great discussion around some of the points raised here. A friend of theirs who is an atmospheric scientist will be visiting and we’ll get him to weigh in too. And then we’ll open a bottle of wine and drink to what might have been. All the best - David

    ReplyDelete
  3. HarveeDecember 9, 2023 at 10:58 AM

    Love that Mexican amphibian. I'd make it into a plush toy, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sarah @ All The Book Blog Names Are TakenDecember 10, 2023 at 1:37 PM

    Axolotls are so freaking cute and I love them so much. My students are obsessed with them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. thecuecardDecember 12, 2023 at 2:02 PM

    Wasn't it awful that some nuts cut the tree near Hadrian's Wall ... what's wrong with people?! It just makes you ill.

    ReplyDelete

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