This week in birds - #600

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

The American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week is one that most of us have not seen and perhaps will never see. It is the largest of North America's auklet species, the Rhinoceros Auklet. It is a seabird that nests in burrows or deep crevices on rocky islands and cliffs and winters at sea and is decreasing in numbers.

*~*~*~*

Electricity generated by solar power is increasing across the country. Moreover, solar farms not only produce power, in many cases they produce habitats for pollinators and other wildlife.

*~*~*~*

Expeditions to the sunken RMS Titanic are still making discoveries.

*~*~*~*

More proof that everything is connected: New research has linked crashing bat populations and infant mortality.

*~*~*~*

Chimpanzees and other apes, just like humans, use meaningful gestures to help communicate and make their point.  

*~*~*~*

Flash floods can happen even in deserts.

*~*~*~*

According to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, extreme heat killed more Americans in 2023 than in any year in the past quarter century.

*~*~*~*

Cambodia is celebrating the return of artifacts that were looted from that country in previous decades.

*~*~*~*

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) has suspended Bangladesh due to its illegal trade in birds.

*~*~*~*

The Navajo Nation has adopted changes to tribal law that regulate the transportation of uranium across its lands.

*~*~*~*

Bats are sometimes victims in illegal wildlife trade.

*~*~*~*

The California coast has been suffering through excessive heat that extends all the way through midnight each day.

*~*~*~*

Researchers in Oregon are painting wind turbines partially black in order to try to reduce bird deaths from them.

*~*~*~*

The National Audubon Society explains what a songbird is.

*~*~*~*

Drought and heat are taking their toll on Nature, but Nature is nothing if not resilient.

Comments

  1. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzSeptember 7, 2024 at 4:42 AM

    It's wonderful that the solar farms are becoming habitats for polinators and wildflowers. That's something I did not expect.

    Our writing teacher is always encouraging her students to read the work of Margaret Renkl. Thank you for sending us the link to the resilience of Nature. The article offers me encouragement to continue to bring more and more native plants into my gardens.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 7, 2024 at 10:26 AM

      The growth of solar farms and the use of solar power is one of the more hopeful trends of the moment, I think, and the fact that they are also wildlife habitats is definitely a bonus!

      Delete
  2. David M. Gascoigne,September 7, 2024 at 5:37 AM

    Good morning, Dorothy. Thank you for the weekly roundup. First of all let me tell you of two great spots to see Rhinoceros Auklet. You are overdue for a nice vacation anyway, so get on a plane for Victoria, BC and go to either the Ogden Point Breakwater or Clover Point, preferably both. There you stand an excellent chance of seeing Rhinoceros Auklet! And so many other really interesting species too. Let me know before you leave and I will produce a customized checklist for you!
    In the meantime, I off to scan the news you present this weekend. All the best - David

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 7, 2024 at 10:28 AM

      If I am ever in that area, I will certainly make use of your list and I'll definitely be on the lookout for the wonderful Rhinoceros Auklet!

      Delete
  3. CathySeptember 10, 2024 at 2:37 AM

    That's such good news about solar farms aiding in pollination. Now I'm off to explore your other links!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersSeptember 10, 2024 at 7:59 AM

      Increase in the use of solar is certainly a hopeful bit of news.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...
Read more

The Investigator by John Sandford: A review

Image
  I have read a few of John Sandford's books in the Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport. This book is a literal offspring of that series. It's the first in a series featuring Davenport's adopted daughter Letty Davenport. Letty is in her mid-20s and a graduate of Stanford. She works for a U.S. senator named Christopher Colles in a desk job but she's bored with her assignments. Then the senator offers her a chance to go into the field as a liaison between his office and the Department of Homeland Security.  In her first assignment in that position, she is sent to Texas along with DHS investigator John Kaiser to try to find out what is happening in regard to thefts of crude oil. The senator is not so concerned about the lost oil but wants to know where the money from its sale is going. Who is selling the oil and what they are doing with the profits? The suspicion is that a particularly nasty militia group led by a woman is involved. Letty and Kaiser head out to Texas, de...
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...
Read more