This week in birds - #66

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

Spring migration was in full swing this week, as several new birds arrived, including this first ever pair of  Rose-breasted Grosbeaks recorded in the yard.

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Did you know that the first actively conservationist president, Theodore Roosevelt, was a bird lister? Turns out he was, and, in 1908, he kept a list of the birds that he observed on the White House grounds.  His list contained 93 species and it was published in the March/April edition of Bird-Lore magazine in 1910. I was interested to see that his list contained many of the birds that I have in my yard. It was also interesting that the list had Mourning Doves but no Passenger Pigeons.

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A pair of  Bald Eagles have made their home in a tall cluster of cottonwood trees overlooking Overpeck Creek in the Meadowlands in New Jersey. Unfortunately, their nest tree sits on a state-designated toxic waste site that will soon be cleaned up and turned into a large-scale development. All of the vegetation on the site is to be removed as part of the clean-up and remediation, but it is illegal to mess with an eagle's nest site, so the agency charged with the clean-up must make some tough decisions regarding how to proceed.

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A new report from the Agriculture Department on the Colony Collapse Disorder which is devastating the honeybee population names several contributing factors but emphasizes mites as the likely prime cause. Interestingly, the report seems to soft-pedal the widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides as a major cause even though other reports have laid substantial blame on the pesticides. 

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The world's rarest duck is the Madagascar Pochard which was once thought to be extinct. It is making a comeback though, and its population is rebounding thanks to a captive breeding program.

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Big Basin State Park in Santa Cruz County, California, has the largest stand of old growth redwood south of San Francisco, and harbors the vast majority of the remaining  central coast Marbled Murrelets. The state's plans for the redwoods in the park threaten the existence of the murrelet population and the Audubon Society is attempting to rally opposition to the plan.

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The big oil company BP has been rebuked by the Norwegian oil and gas safety authority after a leak at one of its major North Sea platforms last year. The agency accused BP of poor maintenance and "serious breaches of regulations". This is the second such censure of the company in the last two years.

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Scientists have found that one of the best ways to track ocean pollution is through analyzing the feathers and blood of seabirds.

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The warming climate is allowing herds of elk to remain at higher elevations on the Colorado Plateau. This is threatening the habitat of the Red-faced Warbler and other migratory birds endemic to that area.

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Unlike our Agriculture Department, the agricultural commissioners of the European Union do believe that neonicotinoid pesticides are a major culprit in the decline of the honeybee population and they have moved to ban use of the pesticides for a two-year period. If this ban is upheld and imposed, it should give some further proof, one way or another, regarding the culpability of these pesticides. 

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Anyone who has closely observed hummingbirds and swifts must have noticed the similarities between the species. Now, a newly discovered fossil bird, Eocypselus rowei, discovered in Wyoming by commercial fossil hunters, gives further proof of their close relationship.   

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In what may be an unprecedented die-off, at least five varieties of rare butterflies have vanished from the pine forests and seaside jungles of the Florida Keys and southern Miami-Dade County, the only places some were known to exist. The reason for their disappearance has not been determined. (I suspect the pervasive use of neonicotinoid pesticides.)

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Around the backyard:

A young family of Carolina Chickadees has joined the Carolina Wren youngsters as they make their way around the backyard learning the tricks of survival. And in the bluebird box, the female Eastern Bluebird is busily brooding her five eggs. But the big news in the yard this week has not been these permanent residents but the migrants. Particularly the Baltimore Orioles.

Yesterday, I showed you pictures of one of the first arrivals. Today the whole backyard was alive with the brilliantly colored birds.

This young male was a constant presence at the feeder today. 

This pretty female in her colorful breeding dress dropped by several times.

 Some of the birds, like this one, were a bit wary, although most seemed to accept my and my camera's presence.

 This vividly colored male kept an eye on me as he moved in for a meal. 

 But once he got a taste of that orange, he forgot all about me!

Not to be displaced, this Ruby-throated Hummingbird was convinced that the nectar was actually meant for him!

It has been a pure joy to observe the beautiful orioles. I do hope they will stick around for a few days more.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/26/v-fullstory/3366251/butterflies-in-decline-in-south.html#storylink=cpy