No, I can't spell it out, because then I can't post it on the Birdnet.
Just take a chance and click to learn about_________:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/22/opinion/sunday/the-evil-of-the-outdoor-cat.html?ref=opinion
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Thursday, March 20, 2014
oil in the arctic?
It's almost beyond belief that the global oil industry expects anyone to have confidence in their ability to safely drill for oil in the arctic. Please read a new report from the World Wildlife Fund:
Drilling for Oil in the Arctic:Too Soon, Too Risky - at this link: http://assets.worldwildlife.org/publications/393/files/original/Drilling_for_Oil_in_the_Arctic_Too_Soon_Too_Risky.pdf?1345753131
Judge for yourself if you think their chances of success are reasonable.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
WGLBBO Waterbird Watch early March 2014 - Harrington Beach State Park
Waterbird Watch Technician Jonathan Stein reports:
The watch's first week has been a slow one with limited movement occurring mostly during the early morning hours. Monday March 10 was by far the most active day when warmer temperatures, favorable winds, clear skies and melting ice led to more species up and moving. The species with the highest counts so far have been Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser and Greater Scaup. Common Goldeneye are right behind them, then Herring and Ring-billed Gulls as well as Canada Goose, Common Merganser, White-winged Scoter and Mallard. Small numbers of Bufflehead, Horned Grebe, Common Loon, Hooded Merganser, Bald Eagle and Great Black-backed Gull have also been noted.
The watch's first week has been a slow one with limited movement occurring mostly during the early morning hours. Monday March 10 was by far the most active day when warmer temperatures, favorable winds, clear skies and melting ice led to more species up and moving. The species with the highest counts so far have been Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser and Greater Scaup. Common Goldeneye are right behind them, then Herring and Ring-billed Gulls as well as Canada Goose, Common Merganser, White-winged Scoter and Mallard. Small numbers of Bufflehead, Horned Grebe, Common Loon, Hooded Merganser, Bald Eagle and Great Black-backed Gull have also been noted.
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| WGLBBO Waterbird Watch technician Jonathan Stein |
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| WGLBBO Intern Tim Demers |
Saturday, March 8, 2014
get ready for migration: prevent bird collisions
As we enter the season of many returning migrating birds, prevent one of the biggest sources of mortality around your home and business - collisions with window glass.
Read more at:
http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/140207.html
More on perils to migratory birds:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_migration_perils
Read more at:
http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/140207.html
More on perils to migratory birds:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_migration_perils
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
abstract of a new paper published in the journal Ecology - the effects of exotic plants on a songbird
Invasive plant erodes local song diversity in a migratory passerine
YVETTE K. ORTEGA,1,4 AUBREE BENSON,2
AND ERICK GREENE 3
Ecology, 95(2), 2014, pp. 458–465
by the Ecological Society of America
1Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 800 East Beckwith Avenue, Missoula, Montana 59801 USA
2College of Forestry and Conservation, Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812 USA
3Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812 USA
Abstract. Exotic plant invasions threaten ecosystems globally, but we still know little
about the specific consequences for animals. Invasive plants can alter the quality of breeding
habitat for songbirds, thereby impacting important demographic traits such as dispersal,
philopatry, and age structure. These demographic effects may in turn alter song-learning
conditions to affect song structure and diversity. We studied Chipping Sparrows (Spizella
passerina) breeding in six savannas that were either dominated by native vegetation or invaded
by spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe), an exotic forb known to diminish food resources and
reproductive success. Here, we report that the prevalence of older birds was relatively low in
knapweed-invaded habitat, where recruitment of yearlings compensated for diminished site
fidelity to sustain territory abundance. In both habitat types, yearling males tended to adopt
songs similar to their neighbors and match the songs of older birds rather than introducing
new song types, a pattern seen in many songbird species. As a consequence, in invaded habitat
where age structure was skewed away from older birds serving as potential song models,
yearlings converged on fewer song types. Similarity of songs among individuals was
significantly higher and the overall number of song types averaged nearly 20% lower in
invaded relative to native habitat. Degradation of habitat quality generally impacts site fidelity
and age ratios in migratory songbirds and hence may commonly alter song-learning
conditions. Associated shifts in song attributes known to influence reproductive success could
in turn enforce demographic declines driven by habitat degradation. Local song structure may
serve as an important indicator of habitat quality and population status for songbirds.
YVETTE K. ORTEGA,1,4 AUBREE BENSON,2
AND ERICK GREENE 3
Ecology, 95(2), 2014, pp. 458–465
by the Ecological Society of America
1Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 800 East Beckwith Avenue, Missoula, Montana 59801 USA
2College of Forestry and Conservation, Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812 USA
3Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812 USA
Abstract. Exotic plant invasions threaten ecosystems globally, but we still know little
about the specific consequences for animals. Invasive plants can alter the quality of breeding
habitat for songbirds, thereby impacting important demographic traits such as dispersal,
philopatry, and age structure. These demographic effects may in turn alter song-learning
conditions to affect song structure and diversity. We studied Chipping Sparrows (Spizella
passerina) breeding in six savannas that were either dominated by native vegetation or invaded
by spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe), an exotic forb known to diminish food resources and
reproductive success. Here, we report that the prevalence of older birds was relatively low in
knapweed-invaded habitat, where recruitment of yearlings compensated for diminished site
fidelity to sustain territory abundance. In both habitat types, yearling males tended to adopt
songs similar to their neighbors and match the songs of older birds rather than introducing
new song types, a pattern seen in many songbird species. As a consequence, in invaded habitat
where age structure was skewed away from older birds serving as potential song models,
yearlings converged on fewer song types. Similarity of songs among individuals was
significantly higher and the overall number of song types averaged nearly 20% lower in
invaded relative to native habitat. Degradation of habitat quality generally impacts site fidelity
and age ratios in migratory songbirds and hence may commonly alter song-learning
conditions. Associated shifts in song attributes known to influence reproductive success could
in turn enforce demographic declines driven by habitat degradation. Local song structure may
serve as an important indicator of habitat quality and population status for songbirds.
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