STATE OF THE WORLD’S BIRDS: Indicators for our changing world; new sections

Go here to find STATE OF THE WORLD’S BIRDS: Indicators for our changing world. The website, as described by BirdLife International, " provides a comprehensive overview of current and emerging conservation issues. ... it is a synthesis of the work and knowledge of the BirdLife Partnership, as well as leading researchers and conservationists from around the globe. Through a searchable database of more than 280 case studies, the website examines why birds and biodiversity are important (INTRODUCTION), what we know about the changing state of the world’s birds (STATE), why birds are declining (PRESSURE) and what can be done to improve their status (RESPONSE)".

The most recently-published section is Measuring and monitoring ecosystem services at the site scale - find it here.

questions about snow goose distribution?

Snow Geese (including blue morphs): Wikimedia Commons (Mongo)

Do you have questions about snow goose distribution? Well, here is a fascinating paper that describes how and why snow goose numbers and distribution have shifted. 

swans from above: an unforgettable sight

During today's offshore waterfowl surveys, we counted many flocks of Tundra Swans moving from the ese over Lake Michigan toward the wnw, offshore from northern Kewaunee and southern Door counties. These flocks are undoubtedly being seen by Tom Erdman in Oconto County some time later in the day. Some flocks are in long irregular lines, relatively low over the water, some flocks are on the water itself, and some are flying several hundred feet above the surface of the lake. An unforgettable sight from above: the stunning white swans against the blue water. (Photo by Tom Schultz).

variety: rarities, competition, stress in birds, etc.

Here's some variety for you:

This week's notice of rare species here and there shows up on the ABA Blog here - and then there's a post about a new book on competition, at the Round Robin (Cornell's) blog, here.

Here's some fascinating information about birds' responses to stress.

If you've never looked at it, go to the website for the Center for Biological Diversity, to see what they're up to.

Great Lakes waterbirds and warming water temperatures

We know that the Gr Lakes are used extensively by wintering and migrating birds of many species. What influence does the warming of surface temperatures of the Lakes' waters have on these species? See graphs displaying Lake Michigan's warmer-than-normal temperature at this link. (Just wondering - I don't  have an answer).

Long-tailed Duck - Dave Menke, National Digital Library; Great Black-backed Gull - Ken Wilmington, Wikimedia Commons

The Western Great Lakes Bird & Bat Observatory's staff are surveying transect blocks along the west shoreline of the Lake again this year, and finding numbers of Long-tailed Ducks in waters out to 6-8 miles offshore. Other species found recently include Common Goldeneyes, Red-breasted Mergansers, Glaucous Gulls, and an adult Great Black-backed Gull ten miles offshore from southern Door County.

helping birds, studying migration, and more

The Audubon at Home website has some excellent tips on helping migratory birds.

At the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center website, find new articles on

• A Second Home May Shore up Island Scrub Jay's Future
• Birds Connect Classrooms in the U.S. and Nicaragua
• Stingless Bees at a Honduran Coffee Farm
• Summer Tanager in Honduran Coffee Farm 

and much more.

The most recent online issue of the journal Avian Conservation and Ecology has a number of valuable new papers.

international bird conservation news; Cyprus and elsewhere

Go to this link to read about progress from BirdLife International in the EU on illegal bird trapping and shooting in Cyprus. Some of you may have signed an international petition linked here last fall, to help bring an end to this longstanding problem. Many migratory songbirds have been illegally killed there, annually. Please remember to occasionally return to this site for updates on this and many other international bird conservation topics.  

Read more recent news and blog posts from BirdLife at this link.