A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:
This little cutie is the Mountain Chickadee, a resident throughout much of western North America from Canada right down into Baja Mexico and it is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week. Much of its range overlaps with that of its close cousin, the Black-capped Chickadee. Its conservation status is currently of least concern although its population is decreasing. Climate change and loss of habitat pose the greatest threats to its continued survival.
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A new study has found that bird declines are accelerating.
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Livestock in many areas of Central Texas are protected from coyotes by dogs who live among the herds.
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The oldest state park in the country is the Niagara State Park in western New York and it is about to get much bigger.
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Most of us still have Neanderthal DNA as part of our genome and that actually highlights some interesting differences between them and modern humans such as why we have chins when they did not.
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Giant tortoises vanished from Floreana Island in the Galapagos more than 150 years ago but now conservationists are bringing them back.
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An 80-year-old disc at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution contains what is likely the oldest recording of a whale song.
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Symbols on 40,000-year-old artifacts found in caves in southwest Germany may be a precursor to the first written language.
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Scientists are still learning things about Archaeopteryx, the ancient dinosaur that is believed to have flown like a bird and there is likely still much more to learn.
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An image of the elusive southern sleeper shark had never been caught on film but now it has been.
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How do horses whinny? Scientists think they've figured it out.
Many of us who are lifelong birders don’t need the official statistics to tell us that bird populations are in steep decline. We see it with our own eyes. Many amateur naturalists have keep notebooks for years and can compare one period to another in the same location. Sadly, many of those locations have disappeared. There are many areas where I have birded that are now endless subdivisions with small backyards poisoned by chemicals. We seem to continue to set the baseline lower, too. We applaud recovery to what it was like just a few years ago, but it was already impoverished then. Thank you for your continuing dedication in providing the roundup, Dorothy.
ReplyDeleteI can confirm the decline even here in my own yard. For example it's been years since I've seen a Brown Thrasher (a particular favorite of mine) or a Red-bellied Woodpecker here. They are still around, just not in my own backyard anymore.
DeleteNot sure I've ever seen a Mountain Chickadee; I do love Black-capped Chickadees though. Just hearing their cute song makes me smile. :D
ReplyDeleteChickadees of all iterations are just the cutest!
DeleteI like your site's new design, bravo! The chickadees are in abundance here which we love. I think mostly they're Black-capped but I will keep on the lookout for Mountain ones. The Neanderthal article this past week was fascinating.
ReplyDeleteThe various species of chickadees can be hard to distinguish since they all do look somewhat similar. Not only do they all have those black caps but they tend to move quickly so it's often hard to get a really good look at them. As for the Neanderthals, I've been fascinated by them ever since I first learned they existed. I loved the series of novels by Jean Auel (several years ago) that featured Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons.
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