The Future of Birds
By Wm. Mueller - - Ornithology, ecology, environmentalism, and our life in the natural world
Friday, November 1, 2024
an old post, still germane
https://bluebirdslaugh.blogspot.com/search?q=owls
inner city owl
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In Milwaukee's inner city, there are many problems. Lots of these problems are related to human greed and indifference, racism, selfishness, and intolerance. To top all of that off, there isn't much space left for wildlife. That's not surprising - many major cities are no different. But Milwaukee (County) has a park system still having much to offer, and in some areas, wildlife still can find a place.
Today was the day for the Milwaukee Christmas Bird Count. (that was in 2007) My absolute good fortune led me to this Long-eared Owl, in dense brush and a row of trees along a creek, during a steady snowfall. While I've found this species in Milwaukee County before, I don't find one every year, and it is always a wonderful find - a gift, in fact.
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Long-eared owls may be in decline - there is much we don't know about their populations. It's a relatively cosmopolitan species, circumboreal in distribution (found around the northern hemisphere). The raptor trappers at Hawk Ridge have caught fewer in their banding nets as the years have passed - that seems ominous to me, but as I mentioned above, there is much we still have to learn about them, and about their numbers. They are secretive, not easily censused, and don't respond well to tapes. In fact, of the times I have heard them on nocturnal surveys, they have occasionally responded to a tape of a screech-owl - not to a tape of a long-ear vocalization. It has often seemed as though they are stimulated to call by the screech-owl tape, but that they seem to realize that they "made a mistake", and they immediately stop calling. This individual was found in the late morning, however - no tapes were used.
Friday, July 19, 2024
Bar-tailed Godwit migration
Learn about the Bar-tailed Godwit, its epic migration, and much more at:
https://wadertales.wordpress.com/2021/10/18/new-bar-tailed-godwit-subspecies/
Monday, May 27, 2024
Shade-grown coffee benefits birds, forests & people in Venezuela
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/shade-grown-coffee-benefits-birds-forests-people-in-venezuela/
The Aves y Cafe program in Venezuela aids rural communities by encouraging community-centered shade coffee agroforestry, while protecting rare and migrating birds.
The project has so far succeeded in protecting 415 hectares (1,025 acres) of montane forest, ensuring the survival of threatened endemic and migratory bird species.
Through empowering local smallholders, the program is enhancing livelihoods, promoting biodiversity conservation and safeguarding crucial ecological corridors, including carbon sequestration.
Monday, April 22, 2024
learn about the Midwest Migration Network
Go to https://midwestmigrationnetwork.org/ to learn about the Midwest Migration Network and its activities.
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Permits for Incidental Take of Eagles and Eagle Nests
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/02/12/2024-02182/permits-for-incidental-take-of-eagles-and-eagle-nests?fbclid=IwAR2B1F6v4soQ2fPfsHQo_DUBpygK7XpeWmGpyY0E7Txvgx2obq9ZIfwPBvw
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Sunday, October 1, 2023
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