This week in birds - #660

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

Since I didn't post a TWIB last weekend, we actually have two "Birds of the Week."

                              Canada Jay
The Canada Jay was the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week for last week. The Canada Jay is, of course, a cousin of the very familiar Blue Jay and is of approximately the same size. Like all jays they are clever and opportunistic and are generally very tame and bold around humans. They are residents of boreal and subalpine forests from Alaska all across Canada and in mountain forests of the western United States from Washington and Utah to New Mexico and California.


                                        Lewis's Woodpecker
Lewis's Woodpecker is the Bird of the Week for this week. It is a bird of the western United States and northward into Canada. Its habitat is generally open coniferous forests, mature riparian and oak forests, and burned areas. Its population is considered stable at this point.

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It's time for Project FeederWatch once again. You can sign up to participate here.

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Extreme weather fueled by climate change is contributing to the drop in bird populations worldwide.

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Here are some tips on how to make your backyard a haven for birds in winter.

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The lemurs of Madagascar seem to be experiencing a baby boom, but that is not necessarily a good thing.

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Meeting Lucy, the famous Australopithecus afarensis fossil, at the Houston Museum of Natural Science years ago, was an unforgettable experience for me, and she is still wowing visitors - this time at the National Museum in Prague.  

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There are bills in Congress that would remove endangered species protections from grizzly bears and gray wolves, but polling shows that the American public is very much opposed to that idea.

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Did you know that the first bound books were put together in ancient Rome? Very clever those Romans.

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CBS News, following its acquisition by Skydance Media, has gutted its climate team. Sad. When I was growing up, CBS was the gold standard for network news.

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Do American Robins migrate? It somewhat depends on how you define migration.

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Snapdragons in the valleys of the Pyrenees can show us how evolution happens.

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Global fisheries are driving manta rays toward extinction. The Manta Trust is calling for immediate global action to protect manta and devil rays.

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A new species of bee has been discovered in Australia. It has been named the "Lucifer" bee.

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A new report says that the social costs of plastics in the U.S. may total more than one trillion dollars per year. 

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There is some rare good news for the world's most endangered cetacean, the vaquita. Some new calves have been born, giving hope that the species may yet be saved from extinction.

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At least sixteen banks, including JP Morgan Chase and Citibank, continue to fund oil and gas extraction in the Amazon. 

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A rare Salvin's Albatross was rescued and underwent surgery to remove fishhooks from its stomach. The bird made a successful recovery and has now been returned to the wild.

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Archaeologists believe they have found a 3,000-year-old map of the cosmos at an ancient Maya site in Mexico.

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Hawaii has the unfortunate distinction of having more endangered species than all of the other states combined. 

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Here are forty of the finalists for this year's Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards. Enjoy!

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