This week in birds - #557

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

The perky and energetic Carolina Wren - always a constant in my backyard. 

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The environmental news this week has been dominated by stories of the extraordinary heat dome that continues to linger over the northern hemisphere. Three continents are in its grip. The heat is shattering records and there is no immediate relief in sight. Even in Siberia, the temperature has reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In some places, the heat has been near the limit for human survival. Here in Texas, all we can say is thank goodness (and science) for air conditioning!

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Al Gore warned us about all this 17 years ago.

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A core sample collected fifty years ago highlighted the Greenland ice sheet's vulnerability to a warming climate.

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In the world of Nature, beavers are heat wave heroes in helping other species.

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The best way we can help birds to survive this heat is to get a birdbath and keep it clean and filled with fresh water.

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A pond in a Manhattan park has been covered in toxic algae for years.

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As climate change increases the incidence of wildfires, there are at least five animals that have uniquely adapted to cope with that environment.

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Bison are wild and dangerous animals and tourists who get too close to them often learn that to their peril.

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Invasive snakes have been a plague in Florida for years but this Burmese python may have set a new record.

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And what is an invasive species? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has the definition right here.

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There have been several reports of orcas attacking boats recently but we need to beware of bogus narratives that have arisen about the events.

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A fossil found in China in 2012 appears to show a battle between two species.

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I remember the late summer evenings of my childhood being populated by swarms of fireflies but I seldom see that anymore. 

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In Italy, a brown bear that had fatally attacked a jogger has been given a reprieve from a death sentence by the courts.

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This little beauty is the Blue-eyed Ground Dove from eastern Brazil and there may be no more than sixteen like it left in the wild. It is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week. 

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Speaking of invasives in Florida, this may be the cutest one yet although some Floridians apparently disagree.

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A giant stingray caught in the Mekong River in Cambodia was tagged and released and is providing information to help the river and its ecosystem. 

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Conservationists are attempting to save Florida's reefs by planting coral gardens.

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The bog buck moth is a strikingly beautiful insect that has just been given Endangered Species protection but its habitat is still disappearing.

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It appears that the right whale of the North Atlantic may be in even worse decline than had previously been thought.

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In Borneo, linking patches of wilderness is helping to save wildlife.

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Is invasive Japanese knotweed taking over the world? 

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The geological entity that now calls itself Texas has been here for a very long time and its paleontological plenty could fill a museum.

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In California, a wildlife detective is striving to help ranchers and mountain lions coexist.

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Another potential victim of climate change and extreme weather is the art of the ancient Silk Road.

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To restore the Great Plains, the American Serengeti, it is necessary to restore its wildlife.