This week in birds - #571

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

Next week is Thanksgiving and these guys should be on the alert! These Wild Turkeys were photographed in a field near Anahuac, Texas.

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Climate and climate change are a big part of the environmental news this week. A new report documented the toll of climate disasters but also had a bit of good news. Trees are our allies in the fight against climate change but can't do the job all on their own. The city of Phoenix offers a prime example of why we must win this fight. And now a strong El Niño waits in the wings.

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We think of the Amazon as being a lush green area but an extended drought is changing that.

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At a climate summit in Paris, French President Macron pledged a billion Euros to research the melting ice caps. (But do we really need a billion Euros to tell us why the ice caps are melting?)

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Plastic waste is a major environmental problem and it is spiraling out of control across Africa. Countries met in Kenya this week to try to come up with a global plastic pollution treaty. 

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An expedition in New Guinea has turned up a mammal that had been thought to be extinct. And in California, another kind of mammal, wolves, are returning to areas where they had been absent for nearly 150 years.

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In Iceland, people are waiting for and expecting a volcanic eruption. 

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The orcas are mad and some would say they have plenty to be mad about.

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Since there was no TWIB post last week, we have a bonanza of "Birds of the Week."

This is the Red-cockaded Woodpecker which I have extremely fond memories of first seeing in woods near where I live several years ago. It was Bird of the Week last week.

And this is the Wedge-tailed Shearwater, an oceanic species, which is Bird of the Week for this week.

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For now, it is still the Wilson's Warbler, named for Scottish ornithologist Alexander Wilson, but the American Ornithological Society will no longer name birds for humans and will be renaming those that currently are burdened with such monikers.

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The EU lawmakers and member states have reached an agreement intended to restore and protect Nature. 

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When a pond turns pink, there's a good chance that something is out of balance.

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In Minnesota, it's the beavers vs. the wolves. But it's not an athletic contest; it's a real-life Nature drama.

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In California, goats and sheep have been enlisted in the fight against wildfires.

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Viagra for crocodiles? It seems that helicopters do the trick!

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A great way to help birds get through winter is to plant native berries in your yard.

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A Georgia woman got quite a surprise when she discovered that a three-foot tegu lizard had taken up residence under her porch.

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When it comes to oil and gas production regulation, Texas is still pretty much the wild, wild unregulated West.

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Human activities are largely the cause of extreme droughts in the Middle East.

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Plans are being drafted to return grizzly bears to Washington's North Cascades.

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Seed-sowing drones could be an important tool in replanting ravaged landscapes. 

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Here are some amazing wildlife pictures from the 2023 Nature Conservancy photo contest.

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Even within members of a particular bird species, there are variations of color and color patterns.

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Wildfires don't just affect forests; grassland and shrubland fires are a major wildfire risk.

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Texas recently experienced its fourth-strongest earthquake. (I think I must have slept through it.)

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Parakeets in Europe? Thanks to the release of a small number of the birds in the 1970s, that is now a thing. They have thrived and increased there.

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What is now North Dakota was once undersea and a giant mosasaur prowled its waters.

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The Chilean Desert known as Atacama is the world's driest desert.

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Fiona, Britain's "loneliest sheep," has finally been rescued after two years at the foot of a Scottish cliff.

Comments

  1. Captivated ReaderNovember 18, 2023 at 3:07 PM

    Have you seen the wild turkeys in Texas, Dorothy? We have them here in the SF Bay Area. They roam around here in San Ramon where I live. My husband and I see them fairly frequently walking through our condo complex like they own the place. I'm sort of surprised the turkeys are in such a heavily populated urban setting. We have roughly 90,000 as population in San Ramon, yet the turkeys are bothered by the cityscape.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersNovember 18, 2023 at 3:31 PM

      I have seen them. I took that picture that is featured in the post. They are fairly common in the appropriate habitat in the state.

      Delete
  2. thecuecardNovember 22, 2023 at 4:34 PM

    Love the bird pics! We've put out more feeders this fall/winter. The article on the beavers and wolves in Minnesota was pretty interesting. thx for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzNovember 23, 2023 at 4:21 PM

    Interesting that the ornithological association will no longer be naming birds after people.

    I agree that trees are our allies. I hope to plant more trees next year, and I hope to encourage others to plan more trees next year.

    ReplyDelete

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