This week in birds - #46

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

American Pipit photographed at Big Bend National Park.

*~*~*~*

The American Bird Conservancy has asked Congress to ban the import of five snakes which pose a threat to native wildlife when they are released or escape into the wild. The snakes include the reticulated pythons, the green anaconda, and boa constrictor, as well as two other constricting snakes. Many such snakes already flourish in Florida where the Burmese Python has a breeding population which is estimated to be in the tens of thousands. A major part of the python's diet is birds, ranging in size all the way from tiny wrens to Great Blue Herons. If the spread of these snakes is not stopped, the potential for devastation to wildlife is almost unimaginable.

*~*~*~*

In both World War I and World War II, Carrier Pigeons were used to take messages behind enemy lines. Recently in Surrey, England, the dead body of a Carrier Pigeon from World War II was discovered in a chimney. The pigeon still had the message that it had been carrying attached to its leg. So far cryptographers have been unable to decipher it.

*~*~*~*

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services scientists have determined that eastern wolves, which used to live in the northeastern United States but now are found only in southeastern Canada, constitute a separate species from their western cousins.

*~*~*~*

A Berkeley undergraduate student has completed a bird survey that replicates a survey that was done in the same area almost 100 years ago. She found very many of the same birds that had appeared in the earlier survey.

*~*~*~*

The Habitat Restoration Project is continuing a long term rat eradication effort on the Atlantic island of South Georgia. The rats, which first arrived on sealing and whaling ships, have devastated ground-nesting bird populations of species such as the South Georgia Pipit and the South Georgia Pintail, both of which are unique to the island.

*~*~*~*

The choices that urban gardeners make across the country are having an effect on the environment of their areas. As the plants they plant tend to escape captivity and reproduce themselves in the wild, the flora of these areas is becoming more homogenized with less diversity. This happens with animals also to some extent but it is most pronounced in the plant kingdom.

*~*~*~*

Swans are huge birds and when they land wrong, all that weight may shift awkwardly to put unbearable stress on the birds' hips and legs. In fact, hip injuries are found to be quite common among the birds.

*~*~*~*

Scientists find that birds that live in areas that are lit with human-made lights will forage far later into the evening than birds living in areas that go dark when the sun goes down. Although artificial light has certain well-known detrimental effects on birds, this might actually be an advantage especially during winter when the normal light for feeding is cut short. 

*~*~*~*

Seven tagged research wolves have recently been killed in wolf hunts that occurred near Yellowstone National Park. The wolves' deaths has created another flashpoint in the long-running controversy about the reintroduction of wolves in the West.

*~*~*~*

Sea levels are rising at least 60 percent faster than projected by climate studies conducted by the U.N. This rapid rise threatens low-lying areas around the world from Miami to the Maldives.

*~*~*~*

Finally, the blog, As Many Exceptions As Rules, has an interesting post about the history of the bird of the season, the Wild Turkey.

*~*~*~*

Around the backyard:

I've had two hummers in the backyard this week - the female Rufous who has been here since late summer was joined at least for a few days by what I believe to be a juvenile male Black-chinned. I didn't see either bird today and it's possible that he has now moved on. I'm always hesitant about my identification of Black-chinneds unless it is a adult male in full glorious color. Otherwise, they are so similar to Ruby-throats that it is very hard to be sure of their identity unless you see them side by side. But in this case I was aided by the bird's behavior. It was very fidgety, frequently pumping its tail in a way that is characteristic of the Black-chinned but not the Ruby-throat. So I feel pretty confident of my identification. If he's still around, I'll try to get a picture to try to confirm the identification.

Elsewhere in the backyard, this was the week that a few cardinals drifted back. The BirdCam at the feeders captured the image of one male as he visited the platform feeder.

Welcome back, old friend! I've missed you.