This week in birds - #88

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

(I've missed several weeks of this regular post because of my recent illness. I'm glad to be able to do it once again.)

Photo by Jack Jeffrey, courtesy of ABC.

The diminutive Elepaio is one of many native Hawaiian birds that are seriously endangered. Many of them, including the Elepaio, have been decimated by invasive species like the black rat. This little insectivorous bird has only 1261 individuals remaining and the population is decreasing. It is endemic to the island of Oahu and its preferred habitat includes a variety of forests with tall canopies and well-developed understories.The Elepaio is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week.

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The results of a 14-year study of shorebird migration prove that, indeed, the early birds do get more worms and their chicks are more likely to survive. The study indicates that many birds of the northern hemisphere are shifting their migration patterns and arriving on their nesting grounds earlier in reaction to climate change. 

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has weighed in on the proposed Palen Solar Electric Generating System, and the foremost federal wildlife agency says it's concerned about the impacts the project would have on wildlife ranging from eagles to lizards to monarch butterflies. Their caution is spurred by the discovery of a mysterious "funnel effect" that is causing numerous deaths of birds at another similar solar facility.

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The Scientific American's "Extinction Countdown" blog explores the reasons that the western black rhino is now extinct.

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A study of deforested areas of the Amazon rainforest has proved that birds that are locally extinct in the areas will actually return there as the forest regrows. But it can take a decade or two for this to happen.

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There is an avian radar tracking device that is used in other countries to help planes avoid mid-air collisions with birds. Why has it not been adopted in this country? Instead, we continue killing birds or hazing them to drive them from areas around airports. Radar would certainly be a much more humane way of handling the problem.

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We know about Red-winged Blackbirds, but did you know that there is also a redwinged grasshopper? Apparently there is and it is a very interesting critter.

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What is more important - residents' views of the landscape or the safety of endangered California Condors? At least five of the endangered birds have died as a result of being electrocuted after landing on electrical power lines. Now, California's Pacific Gas and Electric Company, in response to conservationists' requests, are considering replacing the lines with insulated wires that would protect the birds, but some residents are objecting that the wires are ugly and would obstruct their views. Maybe those residents need to reexamine their priorities.

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A study indicates that at least 600,000 bats were killed in wind turbines in the continental United States last year. Conservationists and industry specialists are considering several alternatives which it is hoped will alleviate the problem.

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Ancient climate change some 11 to 16 million years ago featured a prolonged cooling period in the Antarctic which scientists believe may have helped to speed up penguin evolution to create the 18 different species which survive today.

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An interactive map from the University of Maryland illustrates the change in global forests during the period 2000 to 2012.

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The U.S. government crushed six tons of elephant ivory this week as a symbol of it commitment to stopping the trade in ivory and the slaughter of elephants that is necessary to obtain that ivory.

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One of the unexpected consequences of returning gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park is that there are now more berries for the grizzly bears to eat. The wolves prey on the elk which compete for the berries. Fewer elk mean more berries left for the threatened bears.

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Around the backyard:

The winter visitors continue to straggle in. This week I saw my first Pine Warbler of the season. Other birders in the area have reported the presence of our other two "winter warblers," the Yellow-rumped and the Orange-crowned, but I haven't seen either in my yard yet.

The beautiful Pine Warbler.