This week in birds - #7

Here is the round-up of this week's news about birds and the worlds of Nature and science. Follow the highlighted links to read the full story.

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The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has posted (via YouTube) some wonderful pictures, along with commentary, of Snowy Owls in honor of this winter's irruption by the Arctic birds. 

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I hope you are planning to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count which is coming up in less than a month now on Presidents' Day weekend. In Great Britain, their similar citizen science project is called the Big Garden Birdwatch and it is taking place this weekend.

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Songbirds that prey on caterpillars learn to focus their hunts on the species of  trees where the butterflies and moths lay their eggs.

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Since 1990, at lease 87 species of marine mammals have been served as food in 114 countries around the world. This is true in spite of greater environmental awareness of the importance and the intelligence of these mammals. In fact, the use of marine mammals for food has been growing in recent years.  

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The biggest trees in the world are declining due to human use of forests, pollution, and habitat invasion. Now they are under new threat as a result of global warming.

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A new forest management plan has been released by the Obama administration. It is designed to accept increased input from non-governmental sources and it is hoped that it will reduce litigation. Several conservation groups have praised the new rules.

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For the second year in a row, a pair of endangered Short-tailed Albatrosses have produced a chick on American soil on the island of Midway. Environmentalists are delighted and hope this means that the pair will continue to return to the island to breed each year.

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Scientists have discovered new strongholds and populations for another endangered seabird, the Japanese Murrelet.

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Another record "Big Year" has been reported for 2011, this time for the Washington, D.C. area. The new record-holder  is Jason Berry, a researcher for the American Bird Conservancy, and he recorded 218 bird species, beating the previous record of 214.

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Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig, which blew out in the Gulf of Mexico nearly two years ago, is not liable for some of the pollution claims arising from the fatal accident, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled on Thursday.  However, the judge further ruled that Transocean  would be subject to any pollution fines levied under the federal Clean Water Act, and its share of punitive damages, if any were assessed. Such costs could run into the billions of dollars.

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Archaeopteryx, the prehistoric flying dinosaur, had black wing feathers, a new study shows.

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The once-abundant mountain yellow-legged frogs of the Sierra Nevada may now be deemed endangered. They have lost as much as 90% of their population due to a fungal disease. Amphibians all around the world are being attacked by fungal diseases and are losing ground rapidly in the battle for survival.

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While restored wetlands may be better than no wetlands at all, they are not as successful in protecting and enhancing biodiversity in the environment. Just one more reason that we should fully protect the ones that are already in existence.

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Around my backyard:  On one of our morning walks this week, I was delighted to encounter a large flock of American Robins (maybe 50 of the birds) along with an even larger flock of Cedar Waxwings. Both species were devouring juniper berries.

In some winters, we hardly see robins here, but this winter, on most days, I can find one or two of the birds in my yard.

An American Robin looks around for a snack.

I haven't actually had much of a chance to observe the birds in my yard this week, but this afternoon, after refilling all the feeders, I sat down to watch for a while.

I didn't have long to wait until a beautiful Pine Warbler showed up.

While I was watching the warbler, my attention was drawn to the nearby hummingbird feeder where my wintering Rufous Hummingbird was having a meal. But while I was watching the little bird, I heard a chittering sound off to my left and I looked at my bare-limbed redbud tree to find a second hummingbird there! I had thought that the sugar syrup was disappearing pretty rapidly. Now I know why. I believe this second bird is also a Rufous, but I hope to get a better look at it to confirm its identification tomorrow.