This week in birds - #548

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

The warblers are passing through. This Black-throated Green stopped for a drink and a wash at my backyard fountain. 

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It seems if it's not one thing it's another when it comes to challenges to the continued survival of the endangered California Condor. The latest is an outbreak of avian flu.

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And speaking of condors, a place called Molok Luyuk, or "condor ridge" in the Patwin language, may soon become a federally protected area if California environmentalists and the Yocha Dehe Wintun tribal nation have their way.

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Climate change is contributing to the melting of glaciers in the Alps and that is a threat to the biodiversity of invertebrates in the alpine ecosystem.

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Partisanship has thwarted Congress's attempts to curb the use of "forever chemicals" but some states are attempting to fill the breech.

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The Wollemi pine is one of the world's oldest and rarest trees. It hovers continually on the brink of extinction. Can it be saved?

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Northern lights of the aurora borealis are being seen farther south than usual at the moment. Why is that?

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The United Nations is warning that the chance of an El Niño weather pattern developing in the next few months is rising and that could trigger higher global temperatures that break heat records.

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California's landscape has been transformed by a "super bloom" and that is drawing revelers from far and near who have come to witness it.

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Light pollution is a serious issue as Dana Milbank learned.

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A fossil-rich quarry in central Wales may help to plug some gaps in our understanding of how evolution proceeded after the Cambrian explosion.

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The western Mediterranean has been experiencing record-shattering temperatures that would not have occurred without climate change.

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The Loggerhead Shrike, or "butcherbird" as it is sometimes called, is a predatory songbird. It is known for its habit of skewering its prey on barbed wire or other sharp objects before devouring it. It is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week.

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The irises of Gannets that survive avian flu turn from blue to black. No one yet understands why but scientists are intrigued.

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Climate change is having an effect on farming practices - not surprising since it is an occupation largely dependent upon the influence of weather and climate.

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A concerning surge in ocean temperatures has the potential for shifting weather patterns and accelerating global warming.

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Conservationists in Mauritius are faced with a conundrum: how to eradicate an invasive plant, the traveler's tree, without harming the seriously endangered Mauritius Kestrel whose continued survival is aided by the tree.

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The Bi-state Sage Grouse, found only along the California-Nevada state line, is being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

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Another adverse effect of the climate crisis is the increase in damage being caused by crop-destroying fungi.

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The Anhinga is a very common water bird here in southeast Texas but the bird has now made its way to Brooklyn. Yes, that would be Brooklyn, New York where I'm sure it is thrilling birders.

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Why did the Vikings leave Greenland? A new theory points to rising seas as the primary cause.

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Why is the cannibalistic lancetfish that spends most of its time at the bottom of the ocean finding its way to West Coast shores?  

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Grizzly bears are a federally protected species and that has led to an investigation of one that was found dead, possibly killed by humans, near Yellowstone National Park.

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Cargill, the world's largest grain trader, faces a legal challenge in the United States over its failure to remove deforestation and human rights abuses in its supply chain of soya that comes from Brazil.

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Satellite cameras are catching methane emissions polluters in the act.

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Artificial intelligence cameras are helping to document how Australian animals survive bushfires. 

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Here are some pictures of birds of the Cayman Islands.

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And here's the week in wildlife pictures.

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And, of course, I couldn't resist including this picture of a phallic-shaped iceberg in my round-up. Needless to say, it has caused quite a bit of comment this week!