tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254Thu, 14 May 2026 07:47:08 +0000conservationcontestendangered speciesfestivalsI and the BirdcarnivalBirder of the Yearphotowildlife refugeFirst FridayresearchU.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceCosta RicahumorRio Grande ValleyfictionAmerican Birding AssociationCape MayTexascitizen scienceendangeredchildrenmigrationoil spillBald EagleCalifornia CondoreducationEndangered Species ActNational Audubon SocietyWorld Series of BirdingphotographyDuck StampHawaiiWildBirdconventionbirdrehabilitationcatAmerican Bird ConservancyCornell Lab of OrnithologyarteconomicsABAChristmas Bird Countbackyardbirdersbirdingcaptive breedingAudubonAutumn WeekendRaptors in the Citynational parksurveythreatenedGreat Texas Birding ClassicGuatemalaIvory-billed Woodpeckerbird strikebirding trailblog-erviewclimate changefreelancehabitatowlraptorsOregon ZooPeregrine Falconairportavian flufeedersglobal warmingnestboxrescuetourismBolsa ChicaSkyWatch FridayThe Nature Conservancyactionbirdsongcharityfossilgamemagazine publishingmilitarymusicnewsurban conservationvideoBirdboyCalifornia State Parks FoundationCanon EOS 30DMidway AtollRachel CarsonSpace CoastTurkey VultureTwitterbird callsbird fludiscoveryferal catfirehawkinvasivelive video cameranews coveragepigeonrubber ducksweb camAcademy AwardAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryAnimal PlanetArkansasBerryman InstituteBirdwatch AmericaBirdyearBottle BrigadeBuzzard DayClevelandDetroit RiverEastern BluebirdEmperor PenguinFacebookGrey's AnatomyHappy FeetIowaJune OsborneLake Erie MetroparkLaura BushLaysan DuckLights OutMississippi State UniversityMitsubishiNorfolk Botanical GardenNorthwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National MonumentOn the FlyOscarPennsylvaniaPiedmontPronatura NoresteRoger Tory PetersonSalton SeaSan DiegoSmithsonianThe Peregrine FundThe Raptor CenterUtah State Universityadvicebig yearbirdsboreal forestdinosaureggeight random factsexhibitfrogmouthhummingbirdiraqmemenative speciesnon-nativeornithologypeanutplanepopulationpopulation controlrecyclingreviewrobotscholarsoundstate wildlife grantsuettelevisionvisual cuewindow collisiontidbits about birds, birders and birding from WildBird's editorhttp://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Amy)Blogger1320125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-2419446123288252702Thu, 07 Apr 2011 00:11:00 +00002011-04-06T17:11:48.374-07:00American Birding AssociationHearty congratulations to 18-year-old Rachael Butek of Colfax, Wis., for earning the title of 2010 ABA Birder of the Year! She began watching birds in 2008 and quickly developed into a skilled observer and communicator.The annual competition by American Birding Association includes four modules in which entrants can submit work: writing, photography, illustration and field notebook. Rachael chosehttp://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2011/04/2010-aba-young-birder-of-year-rachael.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-4759448907754779023Tue, 29 Mar 2011 00:21:00 +00002011-03-28T17:33:07.547-07:00newsraptorsThe Peregrine FundThe Boise, Idaho-based conservation organization focused on birds of prey recently signed a two-year renewable agreement with The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation-USA. Albert II became His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco in 2005 and established the foundation in 2006. According to a press release: The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation works internationally to support http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2011/03/peregrine-fund-teams-with-royal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-1730435301929559672Wed, 02 Mar 2011 21:55:00 +00002011-03-02T13:55:49.437-08:00invasiveMany birders chafe at any species labeled "invasive" or nonnative. We point to House Sparrows or kudzu (below) as species that compete with natives, often to the detriment of the latter. We often think of the invasives as out-of-control marauders that run rampant after finding new territories to exploit.A recent worldwide study organized by Stan Harpole, assistant professor of ecology, evolution http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2011/03/invasive-species-not-more-troublesome.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-3653317615713908007Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:28:00 +00002011-02-28T09:31:20.780-08:00raptorsRaptors in the CityIf you like Peregrine Falcons, marvel at their recovery from the effects of DDT and want to see how they adapt to city life, then you'd enjoy keeping tabs on a PEFA nest in Cleveland, Ohio. Just sign up for the Falcon Flash newsletter sent via e-mail from Raptors in the City.This year's first Falcon Flash appeared in my e-mail inbox this morning, and I'm delighted to catch up with Ranger, SW and http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2011/02/raptors-in-city-takes-off-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-8600600573002451582Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:32:00 +00002011-02-14T09:34:40.454-08:00California Condorcaptive breedingLast week, biologists at The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey discovered an egg laid by a 13-year-old California Condor at the Boise, Idaho, facility. The center houses 57 condors -- the largest captive flock on Earth -- and it anticipates 19 pairs to produce eggs.“It’s always a thrill to see the first egg of the season,” said Marti Jenkins, who oversees The Peregrine Fund’s condorhttp://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2011/02/first-condor-egg-of-season-appears.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-7261995321551056695Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:32:00 +00002011-02-10T12:47:58.679-08:00citizen scienceCornell Lab of OrnithologyNational Audubon SocietyThe annual Presidents Day weekend census of backyard birds will start on Friday, Feb. 18, but it's already in the news from Maine to Arizona. The Great Backyard Bird Count -- organized by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society and Bird Studies Canada -- gives casual and expert birdwatchers alike the chance to contribute data and create a snapshot of winter bird populations in http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2011/02/great-backyard-bird-count-in-news.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-4552589893413946047Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:15:00 +00002011-02-07T11:20:09.333-08:00conservationPerhaps you've heard about -- or had the pleasure of birding -- Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Florida's Sanibel Island. I had the pleasure of staying on the island and visiting the refuge with three of WildBird's Birders of the Year, and I hope to return for more fantastic views of Roseate Spoonbills and other specialties.While WildBird celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2011/02/ding-darlings-role-in-nwfs-75th.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-7752879177069013073Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:02:00 +00002010-12-28T10:09:46.283-08:00Endangered Species ActThe U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced its decision to list seven species as endangered under the Endangered Species Act:* Black-hooded Antwren (Formicivora erythronotos)* Brazilian Merganser (Mergus octosetaceus)* Cherry-throated Tanager (Nemosia rourei)* Fringe-backed Fire-eye (Pyriglena atra)* Kaempfer’s Tody-Tyrant (Hemitriccus kaempferi)* Margaretta’s Hermit (Phaethornis malaris http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/12/endangered-species-status-for-7.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-2751673200997110575Wed, 22 Dec 2010 23:11:00 +00002010-12-22T15:19:17.930-08:00endangeredraptorsFrom Environmental News Network comes a press release about the discovery of a Harpy Eagle nest with chicks located in Belize, 700 miles north of the raptor's known range.TOLEDO DISTRICT, Belize – Scientists recently discovered an active Harpy Eagle nest in the Maya Mountains of Belize. Thought to be locally extinct in Belize since 2000 and extirpated from Mexico and most of Central America northhttp://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/12/harpy-eagle-nest-found-north-of-known.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-8662309483425494448Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:54:00 +00002010-12-22T09:58:32.756-08:00conservationU.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceFrom U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service:Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today the award of more than $19 million to support 24 conservation projects benefiting fish and wildlife on more than 5,900 acres of coastal habitats in twelve states in the U.S. through the 2011 National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. These federal grants will be matched by nearly $18.7 million http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/12/19-million-for-coastal-wetlands.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-1121172948254256784Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:27:00 +00002010-12-20T11:30:51.579-08:00Cornell Lab of OrnithologyvideoHave you perused or subscribed to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's YouTube channel? It offers an incredible selection of videos related to birds and birding.For instance, check out this video that illustrates the feeding technique used by White-winged Crossbills to extract seeds from white spruce trees. The crossbill item is one of a handful in the Lab's "How Nature Works" videos.You can learn http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/12/white-winged-crossbill-feeding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-3967936234312358647Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:44:00 +00002010-12-13T12:50:52.190-08:00Christmas Bird CountNational Audubon SocietyA letter written by Richard A. Danca in Newton, Mass., likely needs to appear in many newspapers and on websites far and wide before the annual Christmas Bird Count begins on Dec. 14. The letter might dispel some unease and prevent incidents such as the arrest of birder Paul Peterson of Boston last January.Danca wrote:Please don't panic if you see people with binoculars tramping around the week http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/12/please-do-not-fear-birders.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-177099167108025731Mon, 06 Dec 2010 17:05:00 +00002010-12-06T09:05:00.249-08:00artcontestDuck StampThe U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service enacourages K-12 students to share their art skills while learning about ducks by entering the 2011 Junior Duck Stamp competition. Most states' competitions have a March 15, 2011, deadline, but some states have much earlier deadlines, such as January. Check your state on this map to confirm its rules and deadline.In addition to awarding national recognition and http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/12/junior-duck-stamp-entries-due-in-early.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-2548207366081832112Fri, 03 Dec 2010 18:42:00 +00002010-12-03T10:42:00.532-08:00conservationEndangered Species ActHawaiiFrom U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service press release:The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative entered a plea agreement today in federal court in Honolulu to resolve violations of the Endangered Species Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today. KIUC pleaded guilty to count one and count 16 of a 19-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in May 2010.Count http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/12/hawaiian-company-agrees-to-help.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-2150033926573258534Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:17:00 +00002010-12-02T12:25:55.599-08:00American Bird ConservancyconservationNational Audubon SocietyA recent collaboration between industry and environmental groups resulted in Georgia-Pacific announcing that it would not buy wood fiber from areas recognized as environmentally sensitive or where slow-growing hardwood forests have been cleared in order to plant quick-growing pine.In a press release, American Bird Conservancy lauded Georgia-Pacific's new policy, which affects 11 sites, and http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/12/5-southeastern-forests-safer-from.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-6304249946573181090Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:36:00 +00002010-12-01T16:46:52.989-08:00researchThe shiny feathers on Common Ravens, for instance, display a unique structure that might prove useful to humans, according to research by scientists at The University of Akron.Integrated bioscience Ph.D. student Rafael Maia, postdoctoral researcher Liliana D’Alba and assistant professor Matthew Shawkey found that shiny black feathers have a single thin keratin layer but loosely organized http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/12/shiny-black-feathers-structurally.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-8419943451595239877Tue, 30 Nov 2010 02:43:00 +00002010-11-29T19:36:14.394-08:00endangeredmigrationWeather in Hardin County, Tenn., has grounded the 10 young Whooping Cranes migrating from Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin to Chassahowitzka NWR in Florida. (Click on the image to see a larger version.) With guidance from three ultralight aircraft, the birds will fly more than 1,280 miles to reach their wintering grounds. This year's flock began their journey on October 10, and as ofhttp://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/11/whooping-cranes-progress-in-operation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-7862530993955198088Mon, 22 Nov 2010 02:20:00 +00002010-11-22T12:13:48.513-08:00birdingfestivalsRio Grande ValleyDid you catch the five previous posts? If not, go here, here, here, here and here.Saturday -- our last day together at Harlingen's annual birding festival -- brought a definite change in the weather: much cooler, brisk, even chilly. My roommates, Catherine and Sharon, teased me for my Southern Californian intolerance for cooler temperatures, so I wore layers before we made another pilgrimage to http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/11/rio-grande-valley-birding-festival_7584.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-9061680622663256020Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:05:00 +00002010-11-21T17:19:50.312-08:00birdingfestivalsRio Grande ValleyDid you catch the four previous posts? If not, go here, here, here and here.Friday's birding began a bit earlier. Catherine departed before dawn for a shorebird field trip with WildBird contributors Kevin Karlson (of "The Shorebird Guide" with Michael O'Brien and Richard Crossley) and Jessie Barry of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Our recently arrived roommate, Sharon -- also known as Birdchick http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/11/rio-grande-valley-birding-festival_9557.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-2782895656182843661Sun, 21 Nov 2010 18:34:00 +00002010-11-21T16:05:01.129-08:00birdingfestivalsRio Grande ValleyDid you catch the three previous posts? If not, go here, here and here.Thursday got off to a leisurely start. My roommate and I hadn't signed up for field trips on this day, so we took our time before driving to Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco. We'd heard at Wednesday night's reception about the rarity identified by Jon Dunn -- a Ruddy Ground-Dove -- so the possibility of seeing that http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/11/rio-grande-valley-birding-festival_21.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-82130288248162669Sat, 20 Nov 2010 03:11:00 +00002010-11-19T19:18:13.195-08:00birdingfestivalsRio Grande ValleyDid you catch the two previous posts about the festival? If not, go here and here.With much anticipation, I boarded a 12:30 a.m. flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. This journey to southern Texas marked my fifth year as an attendee at Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, and I knew that incredible birds, wonderful people and tasty vittles http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/11/rio-grande-valley-birding-festival.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-8403314044711796272Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:28:00 +00002010-11-18T13:36:26.485-08:00birdingfestivalsRio Grande ValleyWhile birders who cannot attend bird events -- like the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival on Nov. 10-14 -- can keep track of the field trips, presentations and other activities via newspapers' websites, they have other online options, too. Many birders attending festivals -- and even the festivals themselves -- now use Twitter, Facebook and blogs to relay information, providing another way for http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/11/more-news-of-rio-grande-valley-birding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-34150041917131244Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:38:00 +00002010-11-17T20:43:43.213-08:00birdingfestivalsRio Grande ValleyThe Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival took place last week, Nov. 10-14. I was fortunate enough to arrive in Harlingen on Wednesday morning and remain until Sunday morning. Having missed the 2009 festival, it felt especially delightful to return to the valley.Even when birders can't attend birding events and festivals, we can keep tabs of the goings-on and the bird sightings. It seems as if more http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/11/news-of-rio-grande-valley-birding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-593168533362019758Tue, 02 Nov 2010 15:50:00 +00002010-11-02T08:57:28.423-07:00habitatA study about the effect of urban trees on crime rates poses the possibility that trees can reduce the incidence of certain crimes. Covering a three-year period, researchers looked at 431 crimes reported among a sample of 2,813 single-family homes in Portland, Ore.The abstract for the study's article in Environment & Behavior says:In general, the authors find that trees in the public right ofhttp://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/11/could-birdscaping-attract-or-deter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17689254.post-3404580263326414462Sat, 30 Oct 2010 00:11:00 +00002010-10-29T17:23:03.878-07:00conservationIn Nagoya, Japan, delegates from almost 200 nations attending the 10th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed today to goals focused on ensuring species' survival. After two weeks of intense discussion, attendees eventually "came to a concensus to a 20-point strategic plan to protect fish stocks, fight the loss and degradation of natural habitats and to http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/2010/10/almost-200-countries-agree-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy)0