About Those Birds

If you think climate change (global warming) is a hoax set by the government – then you probably should learn the science behind it. It’s really not that difficult to understand and climate change is not a hoax. It’s real and we are causing a great portion of it (not all like some extremists believe). Anyway, climate change is a major threat to many bird species because their environment will change too fast for them to adapt and they will most likely die. This is not good. The Italian Bird Protection League (LIPU) has listed five species that are in critical danger from climate change. Also, half of bird species that reside in the mountains (88 actually nest in Italy) urgently need protection – now.

The rock ptarmigan is a traditional symbol representing Italy’s mountains, but it’s also a species that is majorly vulnerable to climate change. From a 2-degree (I’m assuming C) temperature increase in the mountainous areas has reduced the population of rock ptarmigans to just 5000. Another degree increase would be very bad because the birds would be forced to find colder, more northern climates.

The other species listed by LIPU to be endangered by climate change in Italy are the Egyptian vulture, great bittern, little bustard, and Cory’s shearwater.

The Egyptian vulture only has seven pairs living in southern Italy, there are 50 pairs of great bitterns, and 750 pairs of little bustards left in Italy.

Climate change is not the only factor affecting these birds. Farming, overfishing, and wetland disruption are also major contributing factors to their decline. The five birds were not chosen just because they are at great risk, but because their environments are at great risk. These environments are important to human culture and if birds are not able to live and thrive in them, then how can humans?

Pictured: top – Egyptian vulture, second – great bittern, third – rock ptarmigan, fourth – little bustard, last – Cory’s shearwater.

The painted bunting is a gorgeous, brightly colored bird. If you haven’t seen one – try to – along with scarlet tanagers because those are really pretty too, but the focus of this post is painted buntings. Over the last 30 years, research has shown that painted buntings have been declining. This information comes from the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Just some history: during the 18th and early part of the 20th century the painted bunting was a highly popular cage bird (no surprise there), but this practice was banned in the US. However, the painted bunting pet trade still continues in their wintering places in Mexico and Cuba. Also, the painted bunting is declining due to habitat loss, like many other bird species.

In North America there are two populations of painted bunting, the western and eastern population. The western population is found and breeds in Texas and Mexico and winters in the south of Mexico. The eastern population is found and breeds in the more southern Atlantic shoreline and winters throughout the Caribbean.

Currently, the eastern population has shown some recovery signs, which is good news, but the bad news is that it may not stick and the species may still continue its decline. This is why data collecting of the populations is so important and the data is only focusing on the eastern population. Researchers have put on differently colored bands on hundreds of buntings so that people can easily record which bird they saw. Painted buntings will also visit birdfeeders and people can record data from that also.

Volunteers are very important for determining if the painted bunting population is recovering because scientists can’t do it all themselves. So if you are in the eastern region – se what you can do to volunteer, but I’m really not sure who you contact for that.

During the last decade endangered birds, like the forty-spotted pardalote and the swift parrot, have lost significant amounts of their populations. This is mainly due to drought, wildfires, development, and logging. Years ago Dennes Hill on Bruny Island held larger populations of 40-spots, but not the area is silent.

Conservations in the area want the Tasmanian Government to stop the logging of important areas and save endangered bird habitat. Currently, drafts are being proposed for better logging practices, but logging continues in important bird habitat.

There have been claims that Forest Tasmania is rushing its logging routine before the drafts are completed. Forest Tasmania denies this claim and they say that logging stopped where birds are breeding. The Forest Practices Authority is working closely with logging companies like Forest Tasmania to have better logging practices and guidelines to help protect endangered bird species.

Let’s just hope that an agreement is made before it’s too late for an endangered species.

Source.

We see birds every single day and when we stop seeing those birds, there’s trouble afoot. Birds are the tell all of a healthy ecosystem. When their numbers start failing, most likely other species’ numbers will start failing. Years ago, coal miners took birds into the mines to test the air quality. If there were deadly gases the birds died and the miners got out. DDT killed off thousands of birds and pushed species, the bald eagle, to the brink. Due to many environmental constraints, birds are being pushed to the brink yet again.

The US State of the Birds was released earlier this year by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. This was the first ever report on the state of the birds in the United States. There were many well-known partners that participated in the study for the report including the American Bird Conservancy, the National Audubon Society, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The results of the report are sobering.

There are about 800 bird species in the US and about a third of those are endangered or threatened or declining. Many more species are of conservation concern due to a small distribution, higher threats, and smaller populations. Even common birds are declining in numbers.

There are bright spots in the report, though. Many species are resilient, especially wetland species. Birds are also very responsive to conservation programs. Waterfowl has responded very well to habitat restoration programs. Even though some birds respond well to habitat restoration, it is very difficult to restore habitat out in the ocean. It’s very hard to monitor fisherman and the commercial fishing industry, which is a major reason ocean birds are declining.

Grassland birds have very high pressures on them. Much of the natural grassland in the United States is now gone due to row crops. There have been farm conservation programs that help grassland bird species, but with the advent of crops for biofuels many farmers may turn to cash crops. Grassland birds are also one of the fastest declining species set, the report says.

Many of the environments around the U.S. are not healthy. Conservation programs need to step up their effort in informing people of the problem. I think education of the issue is really a major step in reversing species and habitat loss. If people don’t know, they won’t do anything about it.

Source.

Pictured: California least tern, which is federally listed as endangered. Picture credit to wolfpix on Flickr.

Seven years ago the Earth Summit met in Johannesburg, one of the policies agreed upon was for countries to reduce their biodiversity loss by 2010. What have these countries done? Not much, sadly. Lately, scientists have been saying that there is an increase or that animal extinction has been faster than previously thought. This is especially true in freshwater habitats. Climate change, habitat loss, over development, and pollution are only a few of the threats to the biodiversity of our world. The Earth Summit set standards, but its seems that many leaders are either forgetting or just putting those standards on the back burner and letting the loss of biodiversity escalate.

The most threatened species are those in the freshwater environment – like frogs, fish, turtles, and crocodiles. Scientists say that these species are becoming extinct almost six times faster than other animals in different environments. The scientists, from the group Diversitas, also say that no river will reach the ocean under normal conditions in China by 2025. That’s shocking and devastating information. The problem really lies in the leaders of countries and no one can force them to stop harming the environment. Every country will exploit anything if it will bring in money. What can scientists really do except tell them the bad news?

Side note: Bush did not go or did not send anyone to this Earth Summit back in 2002, why? – well, I really shouldn’t get into that. The best things won’t be said.

Another note: I know this post does not have to do with birds, but birds are included in biodiversity loss. They are important to this world and I thought this was a good article discussing biodiversity loss.

Click here for the full article.

Pictured: sturgeon

-

The Marvelous Spatuletail, an amazing hummingbird species, along with other rare bird species are receiving plots of land in the Marañon–Alto Mayo Conservation Corridor. Currently, many of these species, such as the Marvelous Spatuletail (endemic to Peru), have no protected habitat. Another species that is only found in the area is the Long-whiskered Owlet.

The conservation corridor in Peru covers over six million acres of diverse land types. High conservation priority places are the Sechura Desert, Tumbes-Piura dry forests, Marañon dry forests, and Peruvian Yungas.

The study conducted by the coalition of the American Bird Conservancy and the Peruvian group the Asociación Ecosystemas Andinos (ECOAN) shows that 64 species of birds in the area are of conservation importance. 28 of the species are very high conservation priority. Also, 26 of those species are endemic to Peru, which makes them even more important.

Using the research as a guide, “the researchers projected the potential range for these highest priority species. Based on these ranges, from one to seven potential conservation areas for each species were identified. These individual areas were then overlain to select the ten highest priority areas which are being proposed for a wide array of conservation strategies, from strict protected area status to sustainable conservation programs, and community owned nature reserves.”

This study is very important because it highlights the need to conserve more species. It showed that there was a lack of conservation in the area and I’m sure it is not the only country that has conservation issues like this.

More research, like this, needs to be done in other countries so that their birds can have the habitat they need. Habitat loss is one of the main issues affecting not only birds, but other animal populations.

Click here for the report.

Top picture: Roger Ahlman

Bottom picture: Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN)

‘Till next time – enjoy!

The Issue

Currently, many migratory birds that go from the United States to other countries are facing a major decline. The loss of habitat, high predation from domestic animals (cats), poisoning from fertilizer/pesticides, and over development are the major components affecting birds. To reverse this shocking decline something needs to be done and this usually comes in the form of federal legislation.

What’s Being Done

Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act is being reauthorized by the House to levels that will better protect migratory songbirds. The already in place NMBCA supports partnerships in US, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is vital that these partnerships last because about 500 species migrate to those locations annually.

Projects by the NMBCA (these projects have conserved about 3 billion acres of land for birds):

• Habitat restoration
• Research and monitoring
• Law enforcement
• Outreach
• Education

The reauthorization of the NMBCA will increase the amount of money the program receives. Currently, the fiscal year of 2010 will only receive about $6.5 million. However, by 2015 the program will receive about $20 million. If the program already is making major headway, then more money would mean better protection. This new reauthorization should not have any problem passing.

My Thoughts

I have never trusted people in D.C. It’s all about money there and they don’t really care about anything nature. However, the NMBCA does seem to be making a small difference and any difference is good. If this can change bird populations for the better, than I’m all for it.

Click here for the report from the American Bird Conservancy.

‘Till next time – enjoy!

To me, India has always seemed a far off country with an interesting culture that I do not know much about. Not knowing much about the country also means not knowing much about its wildlife. A recent article in the Times of India accounts for some of the birds that future people of India may never see. Sparrows and mynahs may seem common in cities, but their numbers are declining. Only last week a rare sighting of a bearded vulture brings thoughts of the other endangered species in India.

Here are two of the endangered birds in India:

Great Indian Bustard

• About 400 – 500 left in the wild
• Once common, but rare today
• Habitat loss is one of the main reasons for the decline

Sarus Crane

• About 8,000 left in the wild
• This is the world’s tallest flying bird
• Habitat loss is also one of the main reasons for the decline

Bird species are happening all over the world and its difficult to look beyond our own borders. We need to because birds and other animals do not see borders. We need to conserve on a global basis, not just regional. That will be the best thing for birds and their other non-feathered friends. I hope to one day travel to India and see birds like these, but the clock ticks closer and closer to the end.

‘Till next time – enjoy!

Everybody knows of Hawaii. They know its lush, tropical forests with the exotic flora and fauna, but what people don’t know is that Hawaii has the most imperiled species of all the states. 330 species of plants and animals are in peril in Hawaii. That is a huge number for such a small state out in the middle of the Pacific. It’s also extremely bad because much of the plants and animals of Hawaii are very specialized, once we lose them – they are gone, forever. A recent article published in the San Francisco Chronicle discusses a few of the endangered species in Hawaii and what you can do to help them. Visit the article to see more. I’m going to take it one step further and show many of the endangered endemic bird species of Hawaii.

It’s extremely saddening to see that some beautiful creatures are dying out and that we, as humans, are causing it. Hawaii is losing its flora and fauna due to invasive species and habitat loss. These animals have no where to go when their environment is gone. They live on an island, they can’t go anywhere.

Hawaii’s Most Imperiled Species

- Newell’s Shearwater, Puffinus auricularis newelli

• • Hawaiian Name: ‘A’o
  • IUCN Status: Threatened
  • Why this bird is threatened: Animals, such as the mongoose, cats, and rats, that were introduced to the island ate this bird because it is a ground-nesting seabird. Habitat loss and chick migration confusion due to lights are causing this bird’s populations to degrade even more.

- Hawaiian Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus sandvicensis

• • Hawaiian Name: ‘Alae ‘ula
  • IUCN Status: Endangered
  • Why this bird is threatened: Loss of habitat, invasive species, pollution, hunting and disease are decimating this bird’s populations. This bird’s total population was down to 57 in the 1960s, however through good conservation, the population is up to about 500.

11 of Hawaii’s Critically Endangered Birds

1. Laysan Duck, Anas laysanensis

2. Nihoa Finch, Telespiza ultima

3. ʻŌʻū, Psittirostra psittacea

4. Palila, Loxioides bailleui

5. Maui Parrotbill, Pseudonestor xanthophrys

6. Nukupu’u, Hemignathus lucidus

7. ‘Akikiki, Oreomystis bairdi

Source: Surfbirds.com

8. O’ahu ‘Alauahio, Paroreomyza maculata

9. ‘Akeke’e, Loxops caeruleirostris

10. ‘Akohekohe, Palmeria dolei

11. Po’ouli, Melamprosops phaeosoma

Birds are so beautiful, why are we letting them die?

‘Till next time – enjoy!

I’m going to do a short series about the state of the birds, this information is borrowed from the State of the Birds Report for 2009. Today’s discussion is about the birds of the Aridlands. The aridlands are the major deserts of North America, such as the Mojave and Sonoran Desert. They are characterized by low annual rainfall. Pretty much dry, desert-like areas with lots of scrub.

The Facts:

• More than 80 nesting species, many very unique to the area
  
• More than 3/4 of the species are declining in the aridlands
• Habitat loss, habitat degradation, invasive species and climate change all contribute to the decline of species
• 39% are of conservation concern
• 10 species are listed as endangered or threatened
• There has been steady decline of 17 of the 30 obligate species over the past 40 years

The Birds in Trouble:

• Endangered
  
  • California Condor
  • (Northern) Aplomado Falcon
  • (San Clemente) Loggerhead Shrike
  • (Least) Bell’s Vireo
  • Black-capped Vireo
  • Golden-cheeked Warbler
• Threatened
  • (Western) Snowy Plover
  • (Coastal) California Gnatcatcher
  • (Inyo) California Towhee
  • (San Clemente) Sage Sparrow

The Major Threats:

• Development and Energy – such as unplanned development, energy development and exploration, extreme urban and suburban areas are of greatest concern
  
• Agriculture and Invasive Species
• Climate Change – yes it is real

There is Hope:

• Active conservation measures – responsible agriculture and energy practices
  
• Creation of protected lands and linking them with communities to demonstrate the enjoyment of nature
• Innovative efforts for sustainable agriculture – water is a big problem right now for California and most likely will be for the future
• Keep up with the efforts – conservation measures have to be continuous for them to be effective

Despite the sad facts (I am depressed by this), not all is lost. California Condors are coming back due to the great conservation efforts and breeding programs. That’s good news. However, for more good news to take place, action needs to happen. Without action, these beautiful birds will fall by the wayside and finally into extinction. A lot of people don’t understand that when extinction happens, that species does not come back, ever. That’s not cool, people, not cool at all.

This information summed up the part on Aridlands from the State of the Birds Report. Check back next week for the next installment.

“Till next time – enjoy!