This week in birds - #98

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

One benefit of the exceptionally cold weather that has been experienced in some parts of the country this winter is that it may have helped to kill off some persistent insect pests. In particular, scientists are hoping that the cold will be an ally in their fight against the Southern pine beetle. Effects of the winter cold are being monitored in the New Jersey pinelands to ascertain its impact on the beetle population.

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Mute Swans are large and beautiful birds. Pairs of them are often used by artists to portray a symbol of love, but as we approach Valentine's Day, there is little love for the big birds in New York. The state is attempting to eradicate at least 2,000 of them in the wild. The problem is that the birds are not native; they are an introduced species, and they wreak havoc on the environment, often making it unusable for other water birds. Moreover, these very big birds are also very aggressive in protecting their territory. They do not hesitate to attack humans who come too close, as well as other birds. They also pose an extreme threat to any aircraft that ventures into their flight path. So, the state has decided that they have to go unless they are on private lands and/or their wings can be clipped so that they cannot fly.  

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Eastern Bluebirds seem to face severe challenges to their survival throughout their range. This extends also to the island of Bermuda, where the population of the birds is in decline.

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The migratory Monarch butterfly population continues to decline. The butterflies that reached Mexico for the winter are covering the smallest area of land since this has been tracked. It is true that the population can fluctuate a great deal from year to year, but from a high of 20.97 hectares in the winter of 1996-97, the population this winter is down to 0.67 hectares. The primary cause of this decline appears to be the use of pesticides and herbicides in farming, particularly the profligate use of the herbicide Round Up which has killed off much of the milkweed stands in the Midwest that the butterflies depended upon.

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A lawsuit by conservation groups over a planned wind farm along the Ohio shore of Lake Erie has stopped construction of the wind farm at least for the time being. The wind turbines would be in the flight path of many migratory birds including the most endangered songbird of North America, the Kirtland's Warbler.

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A rare and endangered Philippine Eagle was killed at a conservation group's breeding compound on the island of Mindanao when it was hit by a falling branch.

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Contrary to what you often hear from certain right-wing politicians, the use of solar power is actually booming in the United States. The biggest threat to its use seems to be those same politicians, who are generally allied with big oil and big coal and who apparently try to do everything in their power to impede the growth of solar energy.

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The Ecuadoran government has set aside 7,000 acres of prime habitat as a preserve for the protection of the Andean Condor.

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The most famous and, to our knowledge, the best-traveled Red Knot in the world has been sighted on Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America this winter. The bird, designated as Moonbird B95, is also the longest-lived Red Knot on record at 20 years. He was originally banded on February 20, 1995.

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It's not just Monarch butterflies whose existence is threatened. In Europe, almost a third of the butterfly species are in decline and fully one-tenth of them are in danger of extinction.

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Researchers have found that, on Chesapeake Bay, Great Blue Herons and Bald Eagles often nest in the same trees. Although the observation is confirmed, they can't really explain why it happens.

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Penguins are joining polar bears as poster animals to illustrate the dangers of global climate change. The existence of Adelie and Magellanic Penguins in particular is threatened by changing climatic conditions at the bottom of the planet.

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Around the backyard:

I was reminded once again this afternoon of the vital role that Blue Jays play in the backyard avian ecosystem. I was idly watching the backyard feeders where at least a hundred little birds, mostly American goldfinches, were busily feeding when suddenly a Blue Jay in a tree at the southwest corner of the yard gave an urgent warning screech. Sometimes the birds will ignore the jay's calls I've noticed, but something must have been different today and they didn't hesitate. Every single one of them, even the Chipping Sparrows, made a dive for the shrubbery. A few seconds later, a Sharp-shinned Hawk streaked through the yard, but he didn't find a meal this time. Thanks to that backyard sentinel, the loud and obnoxious Blue Jay.