This week in birds - #520

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

Birds come and go through my yard throughout the year but the Northern Mockingbird we always have with us.

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The big environmental news on this continent this week has been Hurricane Ian which continues to wreak havoc as it passes up the eastern coast.

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Meanwhile, next door in New Mexico a huge wildfire has been raging causing many problems for residents, one of which is a severe shortage of drinking water.

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In California, one of the efforts involved in trying to prevent or control wildfires has been to remove drying and dying plants from the landscape.

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This may only be tangentially related to environmental news but is a very important story: In Zimbabwe more than 700 children have died of measles, a disease easily prevented by immunization. Why didn't their parents have them immunized? Because of the influence of an evangelical church that preaches against vaccinations.

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Urban "heat islands" put city residents at risk of injury to their health from the heat. 

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Human activities have imperiled waterways and the species that make their homes in and around them.

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The American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week is this little beauty, the Blue-headed Vireo. 

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Here's a story with a photo album of animals that have been added to the National Zoo in Washington since March 2020.

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The Department of Agriculture is encouraging climate-smart farming techniques and practices. They have $20 billion earmarked for the effort.

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And many gardeners across the country, like this couple in Los Angeles, are embracing the idea of drought-friendly gardens.

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The State of the World's Birds report warns that fully half of the world's avian species are in decline.

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Here are some incredible pictures from an animal sanctuary in Bolivia.

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In efforts to reach an agreement on a global plastics pollution treaty, the U.S. is reaching out to other countries in hopes of creating a coalition to drive negotiations. 

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And then there is noise pollution which is particularly deadly in the world's oceans.

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The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to address the disproportionate harm that climate change is doing in low-income areas and communities of people of color.

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Cephalopods are little known and understood by much of the public. One scientist is working to correct that.

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Rather than creating a manicured landscape around your house, how about creating a "wildscape" like this family in Connecticut?

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The sinking of a fishing boat off the shores of the state of Washington created potential dangers for the orcas that frequent those waters.

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Here are pictures from the bird paradise of Ghana.

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In Germany, this little wild boar piglet has been adopted by a herd of cows. Will he perhaps grow up to be bilingual?