This week in birds - #12

The Carolina Wren, along with all the other permanent resident backyard birds, is singing its spring song to define its territory and attract its mate. Carolina Wren pairs often sing a duet of call and response. The tiny bird has a prodigious repertoire of different songs and sounds.

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You will perhaps not be surprised to learn that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has announced that the winter of 2011-2012 is the fourth warmest on record. A look at the maps which can be seen at the link paints an interesting picture of which states have had normal winter temperatures, which are above normal, and which are far above normal.  Texas is merely above normal. There is also a map there which shows rainfall for the winter, and, luckily, parched Texas has been above normal in that category as well.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking answers to the question of how an unusually warm winter affects the behavior of certain animals.

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The United Kingdom is seeing record numbers of colorful European Goldfinches in home gardens and backyards.

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The Obama Administration is considering a reinterpretation of language in the Endangered Species Act. The effect of that reinterpretation would be to reduce the number of animals that would qualify for endangered or threatened status.

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Scrub Jays are canny birds which hide and then constantly re-hide their food - acorns and the like. It is an activity that is called recaching. Scientists who have studied them believe that the behavior may be triggered when the bird observes that it has been seen hiding food by another jay. It seems there is little that a jay likes better than stealing food from a neighbor!

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Peru has undertaken a massive tree-planting program in the hope of providing appropriate habitat for and thus saving certain endangered endemic birds.

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The City of Los Angeles is creating a new park on land that was previously a brownfield, part of a bus storage area. The new park will include a 4.5 acre wetland. 

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An underwater oil seep off the coast of Santa Barbara is creating misery for seabirds in the area. Dozens of the birds have been coated in oil.

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The U.S. Senate has passed the RESTORE act which would require that at least 80% of fines levied against BP as a result of the Gulf oil disaster of two years ago would be used to restore ecosystems in the area. The  measure has yet to be taken up in the House of Representatives. 

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One country's native birds are another country's invasive species. The United Kingdom is in the process of culling Ruddy Ducks and Canada Geese, North American species that have expanded their ranges into that country.  

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The observations and documentation of citizen scientists are revealing the shifts in seasons and particularly the early arrival of spring in the migration of birds and the earlier flowering of plants.

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Around the backyard: I haven't seen or heard an American Goldfinch all week. I think they are completely gone now. I am still seeing plenty of Cedar Waxwings. Also, at least one of the Rufous Hummingbirds is still here. I haven't seen two at the same time in a few days so one of them may be gone.

According to the hummingbird migration website, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are crowding along the Gulf Coast now and should soon be in our area. Have you seen one yet?