Photo by Greg Lavaty, courtesy of American Bird Conservancy.
The Yellow-breasted Chat is classified as a warbler, but this is one weird warbler and the debate continues as to whether it is really something else altogether. The great ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson called it an "aberrant warbler" and that about sums it up. The chat is twice as big as most warblers and has a heavy beak more reminiscent of vireos than the long, thin beaks of other warblers. Moreover, its songs could hardly be called melodic in the sense that most warbler songs are. Instead, its voice is a bizarre collection of cackles, clucks, whistles, and hoots. Its voice and behavior have caused it to be called the "buffoon of the briar patch."
The Yellow-breasted Chat is a skulker that is more often heard than seen. It prefers deep thickets and underbrush. Its population is considered stable in the mid-section of the continent and in the west, but it is declining in the northeastern area. Threats to its existence include loss of habitat through human development and parasitism by cowbirds.
The chat is one of my favorite summer visitors and it is this week's Bird of the Week as designated by the American Bird Conservancy.
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Crazy ants are something that many people in the Houston area have become familiar with in recent years. Research on this new pest has lagged somewhat because of Americans' failure to see the value of and to support basic scientific research, according to blogger Myrmecos. This is a far more widespread problem than just those pesky little ants.
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Conservation groups, including the American Bird Conservancy, have expressed concerns that a new rule announced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will decrease protections for Bald and Golden Eagles and will result in more preventable eagle deaths.
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Reports of dolphin deaths along the East Coast have tapered off in recent weeks, but the virus that caused the spate of deaths this summer is still active and still killing the critters. It's just that it has moved farther south, along with the dolphins, into warmer waters for the winter.
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After it was revealed that the Port Authority in New York was killing Snowy Owls around the city's airports, there was such a public outcry that the agency announced that it would work with conservation groups to relocate the birds instead. In this, the Port Authority lagged behind Boston's Logan Airport which has long employed wildlife specialists to trap and relocate the birds.
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Lapland Longspurs were seen in Washington, D.C. at the Washington Monument this week. It was only the second record of the bird reported to eBird. The other record was from 1985.
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Twenty-two pilot whales from a pod that got stranded in the Everglades of Florida died. Veterinarians are trying to determine if disease was a factor in the strandings. The status of other members of the pod is unknown and it is hoped that they have escaped the death trap.
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The Chalk-browed Mockingbird of Argentina is a vigorous defender of its nest, just like its cousin, the Northern Mockingbird. Researchers reported this week their observations of the birds furiously attacking Shiny Cowbirds which, like our Brown-headed Cowbirds, lay eggs in the mockingbirds' nests. The researchers found that, even though the cowbirds still managed to lay some of their eggs, the mockingbirds' attacks kept them from destroying the mockers' eggs and so at least some of the mockingbird clutch of eggs survived.
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The Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo has been listed as a threatened species, but conservation groups argue that it should be listed as endangered instead and given more complete protection under the law.
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In other news of endangered species, a rare California shrub, the Indian Knob mountain balm (Eriodictyon altissimum) will remain on the endangered list, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It rejected a petition from a conservative group to reduce protection for the shrub.
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Remember that gray wolf called OR-7 that crossed the border from Oregon into California in 2011, thus becoming the first confirmed presence of a gray wolf in California in 90 years? Well, he just paid another brief visit and then crossed back into Oregon. His visits have impelled conservation groups to ask for the listing of the gray wolf as an endangered species in California so that future visitors can be protected.
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Eurasian Tree Sparrows are able to recognize eggs from other birds that are deposited in their nests, researchers find, and they will sometimes remove the eggs - although not always.
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One success story of the Endangered Species Act has been the recovery of grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone Park. In fact, the species has recovered so nicely that some are now calling for dropping it from endangered status.
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Around the backyard:
Can it be? When I stepped out my front door this morning, I could swear I heard Cedar Waxwings calling from down the street. I stopped and listened intently but could not definitely confirm that that is what I heard. It is just a bit early. I usually see the first waxwings of the season around Christmas. Come to think of it, Christmas is almost here...
The American Goldfinches are finally stopping in my yard and not just flying over, but so far I haven't seen any at the feeders. They seem to be concentrating on crape myrtle seeds which they love.
Activity at the feeders has picked up this week, including at the front yard feeder which had been almost completely abandoned for a while. I'm still not seeing that much variety at the feeders, but the long-absent White-winged Doves are beginning to turn up in ones or twos again. Can fifteens and twenties be far behind?
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