This week in birds - # 603

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

It's the cutest of the waterbirds - a Pied-billed Grebe enjoys a swim in the afternoon sun.

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Climate change is a reality that even the most adamant deniers must now admit. Some believe that polluting the atmosphere will help to slow it. Meanwhile, climate scientists warn that we have already breached seven of the nine boundaries of Earth's ecosystems.

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But some astronomers see a possibility that Earth may actually outlive its star.

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Methane emissions keep rising which is not a good omen for the continued survival of life on Earth.

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How can you help? Well, you could plant a garden.

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Another way to help may be to bury wood in the soil.

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This autumn will be an exciting time for skywatchers.

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Native American farming practices have evolved to deal with heat, drought, and water scarcity. 

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How can a lake the size of New York City simply disappear?

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Is it possible we are loving some endangered species to death?

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This is a Yellow-crested Helmetshrike, a "dream bird" from the cloud forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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It turns out that the invasive spotted lanternflies have not been so invasive in the Northeast this year.

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Greenland sharks are known to live up to 400 years. How do they do that?

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Nature's permutations are truly amazing. For example, there is a fish that tastes things with its legs!

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There was apparently a population of tyrannosaurs, relatives of Tyrannosaurus rex, that lived in South America. 

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How do you survey rare vegetation in inaccessible places? Determined botanists are using paragliders. 

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Archaeologists have found a new use for artificial intelligence. They are using it to discover previously unknown geoglyphs near the Nazca Lines in Peru, some of them dating as far back as 200 BCE.

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More proof that all things in Nature are connected: When the menhaden disappeared from Chesapeake Bay, the Ospreys also disappeared.

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Phoenix continues to swelter with record-breaking temperatures.

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The ecology of the Arctic is threatened because of climate change.

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Stephen Moss writes of birdwatching in Somerset for 32 years.

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Octopuses and fish form mutually beneficial hunting parties on the ocean's floor with octopuses as the leaders.

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There were fears for the survival of Africa's baobab trees in a world of climate change but many of them seem to be thriving.

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Here are some award-winning wildlife pictures from 2024.

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A First Nation in Canada is fighting to save old forests.

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Her name is Moo Deng which means "bouncy pork" and this baby pygmy hippo is the star of the show at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand, as well as an internet star.  



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