This week in birds - #60

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

Photo courtesy of ABC

The American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week is the Gunnison Sage-Grouse. Until 2000, this  bird was thought to be the Greater Sage-Grouse, but it has now been determined that it is a distinct species, characterized by a smaller body size, unique plumage, and low genetic variation. There are also differences in the mating displays and vocalizations the grouse are noted for. Some 5,000 of the birds are known to exist and they are found only in six counties of Colorado and one in Utah.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a long list of species that are waiting for a determination of their status under the Endangered Species Act. Some of the species have been waiting for more than twenty years, but under terms of a  2011 settlement of two lawsuits by conservation activists, the wildlife service has pledged to decide the fates of all the backlogged species by 2018. Moreover, they plan to announce decisions on 97 species by September of this year. 

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Plants evolve sometimes complicated symbiotic relationships with their pollinators. Now, new research has shown that certain Australian native flowers have shifted away from using insects as pollinators and, over time, have changed their flower color to the red hues favored by birds.

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This week, President Obama announced that he is nominating Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency. She has been serving in the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, where she oversaw implementation of stricter emissions standards.

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When different species of birds flock together - such as various blackbirds and starlings - how is their flight behavior governed? Scientists have noted that their flight formations are determined by social dynamics both between and within species. European scientists are studying mixed flocks of Rooks and Jackdaws to gain more information about how these dynamics work.  

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The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) celebrated its 40th birthday on March 3. It has often been hailed as one of the most effective of international environmental agreements, a model for others.

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The future of the ecosystem of southwestern Australia hangs in the balance due to a combination of forces including fires, logging, dieback, decreased rainfall, invasive species, and climate change. Conservation groups are trying to save and protect the many unique species endemic in the area, including several kinds of cockatoos.

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Solar energy is a promising source of renewable energy for the planet, but one problem related to building the solar energy facilities is that it takes a lot of concrete to construct them, and concrete, itself, carries a heavy load of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas.  

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"Dead as a Dodo" is a phrase meant to imply the irrevocability of extinction. The last of those giant, flightless pigeons died on the island of Mauritius sometime in the 1600s. There is a smaller version of the bird that is still alive, though. A few of them survive on Samoa. The local name for the bird is Manumea, but it is often just referred to as the "Little Dodo." Scientists and conservationists are trying to prevent it going the way of the Dodo.

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Would it be possible to bring the Dodo or the Passenger Pigeon or the Carolina Parakeet or the woolly mammoth back through cloning? Would it be right to do so? These are questions which scientists struggle with now that cloning methods are within the realm of possibility.

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The Falkland Islands wolf was an uncommonly tame dog-like creature that met sailors and visitors to the Falkland Islands as late as the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, its friendliness spelled its doom as it was easy prey for humans who knifed, clubbed, and shot it into extinction, but not before it was seen by Charles Darwin on a trip to the islands in 1834. He puzzled over its presence there and how it came to be on the islands. DNA analysis may now be able to answer the puzzle.

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Around the backyard:

The baby bluebirds have hatched. I haven't checked the box to see how many there are, but there were five eggs in the nest. I'm hoping they all hatched successfully. The parents are now two very, very busy birds.

I've seen a few goldfinches in the yard this week, after the mass exodus of the flock last week. I saw two at the feeders today, among the Pine Siskins that continue to dominate the feeders. 

When one walks into the yard these days, the first thing you notice is the constant buzz of the chattering of the large number of siskins. When they, too, inevitably head north, the yard is going to seem very empty and quiet, indeed.