This week in birds - #3

Here's a round-up of stories about birds, Nature, and the world of science that were in the news this week. Click on the highlighted links to read the entire story.

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A gray wolf that has entered California from Oregon is the first wolf recorded in that state since 1924. The wolf is two-and-a-half years old and is wearing a tracking collar. Scientists are monitoring its movements.

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And speaking of gray wolves, since they were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in the 1990s, they have changed the ecology of the park. The elk and coyote populations in the park have declined while the beaver population has increased. Aspen, willow, and cottonwood trees also have benefited as the elk population has declined.

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In every political season, which seems to encompass 365 days of the year every year nowadays, we can expect to see some anti-science politician issuing his list of research projects which he thinks are a waste of taxpayers' money. On the face of it, the projects certainly may sound wasteful, but a Scientific American blogger explains why a Japanese Quail research project deserves support and should not be made fun of by know-nothing politicians like Sen. Coburn of Oklahoma.   

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The Red Knot, a small migratory shorebird, is in trouble in many areas. Scientists are now studying the population that winters on the Gulf Coast to determine if its numbers are stable.

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The Bureau of Land Management is working on proposals for establishing "wind development zones" around wind farms in order to protect birds and bats.

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A new study reveals that the centuries-old activities of beavers on the North American continent have had a major impact on shaping the landscape of the continent.

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The Rufous Hummingbird is a wanderer and, as winters continue to get warmer across the continent, they are turning up as "accidental tourists" in many unexpected places during winter.

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The California Fish and Game Commission recently voted to add the Black-backed Woodpecker to its list of species that need protection. The bird is threatened because of an ever-shrinking habitat due to logging of burned stands of timber in the Sierra Nevada.

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It is well-known that butterflies sometimes mimic other species that have toxicity in order to gain protection from predators. What is less well-known perhaps is that their caterpillars do it, too. 

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The Gambel's Quail is a lovely little quail that inhabits parts of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Scientists in Mexico are now studying patterns of hybridization between it and the Elegant Quail of Mexico.

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Around my backyard: Since doing my unofficial Christmas Bird Count on Tuesday, I have recorded a few more of the birds that I missed on that date:

Red-tailed Hawk - 1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet -1

Eastern Phoebe - 1

American Robin - 1 

Chipping Sparrow -1

Curiously, I still have not seen a Northern Mockingbird in my yard this week, but I did find a clump of feathers that might have come from a mockingbird. A predator of some kind had evidently captured the bird. Perhaps that explains the absence.