This week in birds - #562

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

I feel you, Bro! It's hot in Texas. My husband informed me earlier that the forecast is for continued high temperatures in the triple digits (Fahrenheit) at least through the middle of September. Perhaps we'll get some relief in October.

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Profligate use of groundwater is damaging aquifers throughout the nation an investigation has found.

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The global avian flu outbreak is devastating wild birds and poultry and is threatening to make the jump to humans.

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"Blue Moon" photographed over Texas' Big Bend this week.

Did you witness the "Blue Moon" this week? If not, you won't have another chance until 2037.

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Tracking songbirds on migration is a daunting task, but thank goodness there are dedicated scientists who do it.

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The summer evenings of my childhood were lit by fireflies but now those fireflies are disappearing. 

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Climate scientists continue to warn us, as they have for years, that drastic action is needed if we are to keep the "crazy" extreme weather we are seeing from becoming the norm of the future. 

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People have been searching for a Loch Ness monster for 1,300 years and they are doing it again this weekend.

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A growing number of countries are considering passing laws to make environmental destruction a punishable crime.

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The Least Tern is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week.

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Following the Supreme Court's decision weakening the protections for waters under the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency has announced new rules regarding such protections.

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It turns out you can learn quite a lot from jaguar poop without ever having to capture the big cats.

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There was a bee emergency in Ontario this week when boxes containing the bees fell off a truck, but beekeepers were soon on the job corralling the angry fliers.

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As the climate changes, birds are moving into new territories and suddenly birders in places like New York City are getting a chance to see birds they never expected to be there. 

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The recent wildfires in Maui may have been caused by bare power lines and obsolete poles.

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Margaret Renkl writes in praise of "ruined flowers."

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The beloved wild horses of North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park may be removed. That does not appear to be a popular idea.

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A large-scale study of Indian birds found 178 species needing immediate priority for conservation.

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Reefs made from sunken trees could help some marine habitats recover.

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Migrating birds face many hazards and protecting them requires working and cooperating across international boundaries.

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Fungi are important to ecosystem health and should be protected alongside flora and fauna.

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North American grassland birds are in significant peril but in order to protect them we must protect and preserve their habitat.

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Ancient bird calls were often made from bird bones.

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"Nemesis birds" are a familiar and frustrating concept for devoted birders.