This week in birds

This week in birds - # 603

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

It's the cutest of the waterbirds - a Pied-billed Grebe enjoys a swim in the afternoon sun.

*~*~*~*

Climate change is a reality that even the most adamant deniers must now admit. Some believe that polluting the atmosphere will help to slow it. Meanwhile, climate scientists warn that we have already breached seven of the nine boundaries of Earth's ecosystems.

*~*~*~*

But some astronomers see a possibility that Earth may actually outlive its star.

*~*~*~*

Methane emissions keep rising which is not a good omen for the continued survival of life on Earth.

*~*~*~*

How can you help? Well, you could plant a garden.

*~*~*~*

Another way to help may be to bury wood in the soil.

*~*~*~*

This autumn will be an exciting time for skywatchers.

*~*~*~*

Native American farming practices have evolved to deal with heat, drought, and water scarcity.

*~*~*~*

How can a lake the size of New York City simply disappear?

*~*~*~*

Is it possible we are loving some endangered species to death?

*~*~*~*

This is a Yellow-crested Helmetshrike, a "dream bird" from the cloud forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

*~*~*~*

It turns out that the invasive spotted lanternflies have not been so invasive in the Northeast this year.

*~*~*~*

Greenland sharks are known to live up to 400 years. How do they do that?

*~*~*~*

Nature's permutations are truly amazing. For example, there is a fish that tastes things with its legs!

*~*~*~*

There was apparently a population of tyrannosaurs, relatives of Tyrannosaurus rex, that lived in South America.

*~*~*~*

How do you survey rare vegetation in inaccessible places? Determined botanists are using paragliders.

*~*~*~*

Archaeologists have found a new use for artificial intelligence. They are using it to discover previously unknown geoglyphs near the Nazca Lines in Peru, some of them dating as far back as 200 BCE.

*~*~*~*

More proof that all things in Nature are connected: When the menhaden disappeared from Chesapeake Bay, the Ospreys also disappeared.

*~*~*~*

Phoenix continues to swelter with record-breaking temperatures.

*~*~*~*

The ecology of the Arctic is threatened because of climate change.

*~*~*~*

Stephen Moss writes of birdwatching in Somerset for 32 years.

*~*~*~*

Octopuses and fish form mutually beneficial hunting parties on the ocean's floor with octopuses as the leaders.

*~*~*~*

There were fears for the survival of Africa's baobab trees in a world of climate change but many of them seem to be thriving.

*~*~*~*

Here are some award-winning wildlife pictures from 2024.

*~*~*~*

A First Nation in Canada is fighting to save old forests.

*~*~*~*

Her name is Moo Deng which means "bouncy pork" and this baby pygmy hippo is the star of the show at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, as well as an internet star.

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

Search This Blog