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This week in birds - #608

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

I'm not adept at spider identification but I believe this is some kind of Argiope - possibly Argiope aurantia(?). Correct me if you know better. Whatever it is, I think it's beautiful. I believe I'll call her Charlotte.

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The planet-heating pollution of Earth's atmosphere hit its highest level in human history last year. And climate change is making extreme weather events even more deadly. 

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Scientists have documented Earth's climate over the last 485 million years, revealing a history of wild shifts and hotter temperatures than had previously been believed.

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An aim of the COP 16 conference is to have the nations create a unified pledge on climate and biodiversity.

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COP 16 created the "Tropical Forest Forever Facility," an innovative new fund to help tropical nations conserve their native forests. 

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Have you heard of the Doomsday Plant Vault? It is a storage facility in Norway meant to be humanity's last resort and it has recently received more than 30,000 samples to preserve. 

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Tadpoles the size of dogs? Based on a 161 million-year-old fossil, that seems to have once been the case.

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"Beeple" are master gardeners who collect bees for study and they are helping to transform our knowledge of these essential insects.

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There are less than 400 northern right whales left in Earth's seas and only about 70 of them are mothers. Can they save their species? 

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The cicadas of the late Jurassic Period were quite different from the ones we know today and, of course, there is an evolutionary reason for that.  

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It turns out there is quite a lot we can learn from bat guano.

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The American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week is actually something of a favorite of mine. It's the Black Vulture. Whenever I am in my yard, I can observe them patrolling the skies over the neighborhood, looking for their next meal. They are often in the company of their cousin, the Turkey Vulture. These two, along with the Crested Caracara, help to keep our streets and byways clean of carrion. 

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The mountainous Ulu Masen Ecosystem of Indonesia is home to a rich variety of animal life and it needs protection to ensure its survival.

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Gardeners in Kentucky have taken the idea of Little Free Libraries a step further by providing free fruit and vegetables that anyone can take. You could call them "Little Free Grocery Stores."

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How do animals understand death and dying?

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Moths are fascinating critters and an essential part of a healthy ecosystem.

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Sadly, the United States is lagging behind in the effort to negotiate a plan to save and protect Nature.

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Crows are very brainy birds and that large brain remembers things for a long time which means that they can hold grudges for wrongs done to them in the past. (Shades of Hitchcock's The Birds, one of my favorite movies!)

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Racing homing pigeons was once a very popular pastime and it lives on even today.


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Comments

  1. jabblogNovember 2, 2024 at 5:44 AM

    The scavengers of the world often receive a poor press, undeservedly. Without them we'd be knee-deep in festering rubbish .

    ReplyDelete
  2. David M. Gascoigne,November 2, 2024 at 8:06 AM

    Good morning, Dorothy: You know by now that I always appreciate, indeed look forward to, the weekly roundup, depressing though it often is. I do not wish to be a cynic, or a curmudgeon, or a naysayer or a disbeliever, but the Cop conferences prove themselves time and again to be a waste of time. They provide a forum for politicians to issue grand promises, for rhetoric to soar, for a commitment to remediation of past sins - and nothing happens. Targets are never met, CO2 emissions continue to rise, the permafrost continues to melt. And there are even candidates for high office who advocate, “Drill baby, drill,” with an opponent who conveniently abdicates her commitment to end fracking. Humans will do themselves in as sure as the sun rises each morning. All the best - David

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousNovember 2, 2024 at 6:32 PM

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    2. Dorothy BordersNovember 3, 2024 at 11:15 AM

      Thanks for your thoughtful comment as always.

      Delete
  3. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzNovember 3, 2024 at 10:48 AM

    I think you are right on the money in your identification of the beautiful spider. Common name (I think): Yellow Garden Spider.

    I can't remember when I was worried about hurricanes in October and November. Climate change is awful.

    Some of my naturalist friends can tell the difference between the Black Vultures and the Turkey Vultures when they are in the sky from their wing pattern. I wish I could.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 3, 2024 at 11:18 AM

      The way they hold their wings in flight is quite different and is the main "tell" if you can't see their heads clearly. The Turkey Vulture's head is reddish colored while the Black Vultures is plain black and the position of their wings is slightly forward rather than straight across like the Turkey Vulture.

      Delete
    2. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzNovember 8, 2024 at 1:10 PM

      I will watch the next time I see one in flight and see if I can tell the difference.

      Delete
  4. thecuecardNovember 3, 2024 at 5:34 PM

    That's a big spider! I always think of Charlotte when I see a spider in the house. I was curious and read the pigeon racing story. They go such long distances in these races.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sarah @ All The Book Blog Names Are TakenNovember 9, 2024 at 1:02 PM

    Crows are so cool. I wish when my friends and I gather, we'd be collectively called a murder.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 9, 2024 at 1:19 PM

      Crows fascinate me. There are two - I assume the same ones - who gather each day in my front yard just outside my office window. I love their "serenades" and enjoy watching them stalk around the yard. My daily entertainment!

      Delete

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