This week in birds - #653

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

The American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week for this week is a bird that spends its summers in the central part of the United States, continuing down into Mexico and Central America. It is the sweet little Bell's Vireo, a bird that prefers thick cover near water and thus is often heard more than seen. It has a large range and its population is increasing, but it is threatened by the loss of its preferred riparian habitat. 

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A team of over sixty international scientists published a report this week that indicates that climate change is accelerating.

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And in other bad news, in an average week in 2024, three environmental defenders were murdered or disappeared.

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                                                                         Spotted lanternfly on a leaf.

Last week, weather radars across the mid-Atlantic region lit up with great swarms of lanternflies, an invasive species that has been making its way across the United States at least since 2014 when they were found in Pennsylvania.

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We may be due (or overdue) for an extreme solar event that could adversely affect our electrical grid.

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There's a cold spot in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe. Scientists now think they have determined its cause.

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Be sure to go outside and look up on the night of September 21 when the giant planet Saturn will be at its brightest. 

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Scientists who study octopuses are finding that they favor using their front arms for tasks and the back arms to help with locomotion. (Octopuses are amazing. I think we still have so much to learn about them.)

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Our planet seems to be in the midst of an insect apocalypse and among the insects that are struggling to survive are Fiji's endemic ants. 

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Archaeologists continue to find more Mayan treasures in Central America, this time in Belize.

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This rare orchid exists only at two known sites. A Smithsonian ecologist is trying to restore the plant.

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In New Zealand, a rare left-coiling snail is in need of a mate and New Zealanders are trying to help him find one. 

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Mercury contamination from illegal gold mining and forest clearing that washes into the waterways is a major threat to endangered pink river dolphins in the Amazon.

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Samples of amber deposits from the time of the dinosaurs contain fragile insects and even a spider's web.

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If you live in an area where elk are found or have visited a national park where they are endemic, you are probably aware that they are currently in their annual rut.

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Mysterious white halos have appeared around metal barrels that were dumped in the ocean off the coast of Los Angeles. Scientists now think they know what causes them.

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Here are some marvelous images of birds from the sixteenth annual Audubon Photography Awards.

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And finally, this:

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