This week in birds - #627

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

This is the wonderful Whimbrel, a bird of the coasts of North, Central, and South American. It is a prodigious flyer that may travel as much as 2,500 miles in migration. I have frequently encountered it on autumn birding trips along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. It is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week. 

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When those NASA astronauts splashed down earlier this week, they had a special welcoming committee - a pod of curious dolphins. 

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Unfortunately, much of the news of the environment this week emanates from Washington and the new administration there as it continues its slash and burn takeover of government agencies. One action was to plan the closure of the Global Monitoring Laboratory in Hilo, Hawaii, that collects data on global carbon dioxide levels. (Because who need that, right?) The team there had also been posting regular updates on the eruption of the Kilauea volcano. 

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The man selected to head the Environmental Protection Agency seems intent on destroying it. The rollbacks at the EPA put people's lives at risk.

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The new administration also appears to be revoking the status of certain national monuments, especially if they were designated as such by the previous administration.

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Oil and gas producers will now be able to run rampant through millions of acres in Alaska that had previously been protected from their depredations.

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The last ten years on Earth have been its hottest on record. Last year was actually THE hottest on record and it saw an unexpected rise in sea levels which was likely related to all those high temperatures.

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As the U.S. government becomes more hostile to protections for the environment, other nations are looking to form alliances to counteract its policies.

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Cosmologists have found evidence that the universe that has been expanding from time immemorial may not always continue to do so.

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Plastic doesn't break down and that causes a very big problem for the environment.

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The new Health and Human Services secretary seems unconcerned about the effects of mercury pollution, even though he once suffered from mercury poisoning.

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An unexpected bright spot for the environment is China which has been a leader in water and soil conservation. As a result of those efforts, the birds have returned.

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Racism has affected and continues to affect science in some strange ways, including the science of geology.

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Some seeds found in bird seed mixes are just "fillers" and serve no useful purpose for birds.

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Sturgeons as a species have survived for about 160 million years. Researchers are hoping to extend that record into the future.

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Here's some good news from the world of the Monarch butterfly: Their eastern population has nearly doubled and they are now moving into Texas and the other Gulf states on their migration. I can confirm that, because I saw my first Monarch of the year in my backyard just this week. Hope is kindled.

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Avian flu is making a return and those who provide feeders for the use of birds need to be aware of precautions they can take to limit its effects.

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The cleanup of Agent Orange pollution in Vietnam has been halted by the new administration's cost-cutting.

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Reestablishing a coral reef can be hindered by the eating habits of fish that feed on coral.

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It turns out that animal poo can have some unique uses - including helping to save endangered species from extinction.

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Switzerland can teach us a lot about cleaning up rivers.

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The "cost-cutting" measures of the new administration could have catastrophic effects on the Great Lakes region. It also threatens the health and recovery of Chesapeake Bay.

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This Eastern Bluebird emerging from a nest hole is one of the Audubon photo awards of past years.

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Snow leopards are rarely ever seen as singletons in the wild but one lucky photographer recently saw FOUR together and managed to record the event for us.  

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Deer are becoming urban residents in many places. It's not always a smooth transition.

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It seems that an amazing variety of wildlife have lived their lives on the underside of icebergs.

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New Zealand is home to some very strange critters but a sharktopus? And it furthers that reputation by celebrating the "world's ugliest animal" as its Fish of the Year.

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It is hoped that a new agreement will protect colonies of endangered penguins off the coast of South Africa.

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I didn't stay up to see the Blood Worm Moon total eclipse, but Margaret Renkl tells us about it.