This week in birds

This week in birds - #664

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

The American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week is the seven-colored Painted Bunting. Happily, this is a species that is still maintaining its population throughout its range which includes the southern tier of the United States and northern Mexico. Its greatest threats are being trapped for the illegal pet trade and, as for many other species, habitat loss. Despite its bright colors, the birds (especially the males) are difficult to see because they are very secretive and often hide in dense thickets and grasses.

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Research reveals that predators like alligators are our allies in protecting and preserving their habitats.

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It seems that melting ICE might have benefits for the natural environment as well as the human environment.

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Surveys of the overwintering population of Monarch butterflies in the West show a slight increase from last winter, but the numbers are still extremely low.

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Scientists say that vaccines could potentially help protect some vulnerable species.

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Archaeologists believe that a 430,000-year-old stick that has been unearthed in Greece may be the oldest wooden tool yet discovered.

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A young mountain lion that had wandered into a San Francisco neighborhood has been successfully captured and released in the wild.

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New research indicates that Tyrannosaurus rex may have taken as long as forty years to reach adulthood.

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Camels actually played an important role in the U.S. military's exploration of the Southwest.

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Paraquat-maker Syngenta has settled a case that would have explored the pesticide's link to Parkinson's disease. They didn't want to go to trial.

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Amsterdam has banned outdoor advertising for fossil fuels and meat products.

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It seems that snakes eating snakes in the wild is a fairly common thing.

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AI-generated images of animals are spreading disinformation that can distort the public's understanding.

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Here's a Tom Toro cartoon that sort of says it all:

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Admittedly it has nothing to do with birds and the environment (maybe the political environment) but here's the image that has broken the hearts of so many of us this week: five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos taken by ICE agents as he came home from preschool. Damn this administration!

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

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