This week in birds - #652

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

Is there any bird that is more adorable than the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher?  I always look forward to my first sighting of these little sprites in the spring. They spend their winters south of us, all the way down to Central America. Some supposedly even spend their winters around here (in Southeast Texas) although I've never actually seen one until early spring. Their population is increasing and, goodness knows, the world could always use more Blue-gray Gnatcatchers! This little bird is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week.

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From a list of monumentally bad ideas, the EPA has chosen to approve four new pesticides that qualify as PFAS ("forever chemicals").

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The U. S. has banned some foreign fish imports and that could help conserve marine mammals worldwide.

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Maybe we need to think differently about animal intelligence and acknowledge that there is much we don't know.

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It turns out spiders don't like noisy neighbors either.

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Mother Nature seems to really like crabs. Why else would she keep evolving more of them?

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Are hawks a problem at your bird feeders? Here are some suggestions of ways to discourage them.

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Scientists now think the dwarf planet, Ceres, may have once had life on it.

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A fish with teeth on its forehead? Nature truly is mysterious in her ways.

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The pretty little Golden-winged Warbler has an interesting migration strategy. 

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Chlamydia has been a problem among the koala population of Australia, but a new vaccine offers hope.

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Could Americans' love of RVs be causing problems for orangutans of Borneo? The connection is in the plywood used in the RVs' construction.

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We're very familiar with the alligators that live across the southern coast of the United States, but we are less familiar with their cousin, the American crocodile, that lives along the coast of Florida.

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Sea turtle hatchlings face many hazards as they try to make their way to the sea. Seaweed is just one of them.

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Want to make your garden a bird-friendly place? Here are some tips for that. 

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Here are some wonderful pictures of lions in Kenya.

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There are currently seventeen kinds of hawks to be found in the United States. Here is information about each of them, including where they can be found. 

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Far out in space, scientists have discovered seven planets that may be habitable for life as we know it.

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Is the Endangered Species List like the "Hotel California" - once a species enters it never leaves? No, that's not the way it works but the new Interior Secretary would have you believe it is.

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Things do not look good for the protection of the environment over the next four years.

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And finally, here is the bumpy snailfish, which is without a doubt the cutest thing to be found 10,000 feet down off the coast of California.

Comments

  1. David M. Gascoigne,September 13, 2025 at 5:05 AM

    Good morning, Dorothy. Thank you for the weekly round up, primarily containing news of doom and despair, but necessary reading, nonetheless. To say that the protection of the environment does not look good over the next four years is an understatement! It is under active, deliberate and sustained threat. Witness only the approval of these four new chemical poisons containing forever chemicals. Here in Canada, too, we are no longer as aggressive as we once were in climate remediation. It seems to have fallen off the radar with our politicians and, sadly, with the electorate, too. Despite all this awful news - have a great weekend! Best wishes - David

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 13, 2025 at 11:54 AM

      Climate remediation does seem to be very low on the public's list of concerns, but we must keep banging away at the topic and reminding people of the danger we are in.

      Delete
  2. jabblogSeptember 13, 2025 at 8:12 AM

    Pretty little birds, and a very attractive bumpy snailfish help to offset the awfulness of global life currently.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 13, 2025 at 11:56 AM

      Birds always raise my spirits and that little snailfish makes me smile.

      Delete
  3. Lark September 13, 2025 at 9:44 AM

    I love those little blue-gray gnatcatchers! We have them here where I live and I love spotting them when I'm out hiking. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 13, 2025 at 11:58 AM

      It always makes me happy when I encounter one. I find comfort in knowing that they are doing well and their numbers are increasing.

      Delete
  4. thecuecardSeptember 15, 2025 at 6:56 PM

    We don't seem to get the gnatcatchers here ... but they look adorable. I have not seen a Golden-winged warbler either. I want to get a bird bath here for birds that are drinking out of my planters. I think the environment is sadly doomed under this administration. Scary to see.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 15, 2025 at 9:07 PM

      Gnatcatchers might pass through on migration but you might not see them because they tend to stay high up in the trees. I agree that this administration is a disaster for the environment and, in fact, a disaster full stop. The next four years will be a trial.

      Delete
  5. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzSeptember 17, 2025 at 6:20 AM

    One of the things I like about iNaturalist is the ability to look back and see what observations I have put into the app in the past. I see that I've taken photos of three gnatcatchers, in three different locations, one in January, one in September, and one in May.

    And thank you for reminding me about Hawk Watch. I would like to go spend a day there this year while the scientists count hawks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 17, 2025 at 10:25 AM

      There are so many useful apps and organized activities for bird lovers and counters. How did those in previous centuries ever manage! We owe it all (or at least a lot of it) to Roger Tory Peterson. May he rest in peace.

      Delete

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