This week in birds

This week in birds - #583

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

An American Goldfinch has a snack of crape myrtle seeds.

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You are not imagining it; winters are getting warmer. It's true of the oceans as well where the Great Barrier Reef has suffered a fatal heat wave.

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Humans share many characteristics with whales. It turns out that one of the things we share is menopause.

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For the first time in its documented history, Toronto has a pair of Bald Eagles nesting there.

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Size dimorphism of the sexes is a common trait of mammals but it isn't always the males that are bigger.

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Plant hardiness zones are changing as the climate changes.

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When England's famed "Sycamore Gap" tree was chopped down by vandals, scientists sprung into action to try to ensure that the tree would have a second life.

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The Biden administration has issued a draft proposal to provide protections for the imperiled Greater Sage Grouse.

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Some endangered bats are making a comeback, thanks to their friends, the scientists.

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Here are some winners of British wildlife photography awards.

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This is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week. It is the Green Parakeet, a native of Mexico and Central America.

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When it comes to the methane released by oil fields, it is even worse than we knew.

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It seems that business is booming for Australia's snake catchers.

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An African tree planting project is making a difference for the environment and for the people who live in it.

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There is an effort underway to reintroduce wolverines to the Colorado wilderness.

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Deforestation and climate change are putting many of North America's lizard species in peril.

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Playing thriving reef sounds can encourage coral larvae to settle on degraded reefs.

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The Oregon Outback is the largest Dark Sky Sanctuary in the world.

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This coral reef shouldn't really exist but Nature will find a way.

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Margaret Renkl writes of the wild intoxications of spring.

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This "Big Lister" has just documented his 10,000th bird species.

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You might be surprised by the number and variety of species that live side by side with humans in New York City.

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A deep-sea robot has discovered dozens of previously unknown species.

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See the lengths this wildlife worker goes to in order to save a single orphaned fox kit. It gives one hope that the human race might not be totally irredeemable.

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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