This week in birds - #24

The top of a fence post seems a good spot for this Mourning Dove to rest. 

*~*~*~*

A birder in Alaska witnessed and photographed a group of Sandhill Cranes chasing a red fox that had caught a small shorebird in the refuge where the cranes were resting and feeding. The cranes evidently objected to one of their feathered brethren being turned into dinner for the fox.

*~*~*~*

A Spanish study of butterfly species indicates that those which emerge from pupation late in the year and those which reside at higher altitudes may have a more difficult time adjusting to a warmer climate, probably because they have evolved to deal with a more narrow window of opportunity for feeding.

*~*~*~*

There's good news this week concerning the Red Knots which stop to feed at Delaware Bay on their long migration. A count of the birds indicates that the population has doubled over last year's numbers. This is evidence of improving health for the bay and for the horseshoe crab on whose eggs the knots feed.

*~*~*~*

The Dominican Republican is setting aside a Nature reserve that will serve the twin purpose of protecting part of the country's trees from deforestation and will help to protect the elusive Bicknell's Thrush, a North American migrant that winters in the area. In addition to the thrush, it is hoped that the protected land will assist several other threatened bird species in their struggle to survive.

*~*~*~*

A new paper published in Nature by 22 scientists warns that unsustainable human pressures on the planet's environment may be quickly reaching the point of no return, the point where it will be impossible to reverse the damage done.

*~*~*~*

BirdLife International has updated its red list of threatened species. They have added more than a hundred bird species in the Amazon to the endangered list.

*~*~*~*

Want to get rid of some of those pesky weeds in your yard? How about eating them?

*~*~*~*

City Hall in Philadelphia has been a favored nesting spot for Peregrine Falcons. The pair that nested there this year successfully raised four chicks which have now safely fledged, much to the dismay of local pigeons!

*~*~*~*

Trail cameras that were set up in a palm oil plantation in Colombia have photographed jaguars and other felines. Palm oil plantations are in many ways very destructive to the environment, but at least this indicates that some of the predators at the top of the food chain have been able to adapt and survive.

*~*~*~*

There seem to be no end to the threats to survival of native birds on the Hawaiian Islands. Recently, a mongoose, a deadly avian predator, was captured on the island of Kaua'i which had previously been thought to be free of this introduced species. One more thing for the conservationists trying to save the birds to worry about.

*~*~*~*

Around the backyard: 

Babies, babies everywhere! The fledglings are the big news in the yard again this week. I've seen baby Northern Mockingbirds, American Robins, Northern Cardinals, and today I saw a baby Red-bellied Woodpecker at the feeders in the backyard.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Bluebirds that successfully fledged their four babies a couple of weeks ago seem to be interested in raising another family. I caught the male checking out a couple of the boxes in the backyard this week. Good thing I thoroughly cleaned them out after their use by the bluebirds and by a family of Carolina Chickadees earlier in the year.

I also noticed that a pair of Carolina Wrens appears to be building a nest in the third (currently) unoccupied bluebird box. I tell you there's never a dull moment around here!