Gut bacteria can mean life or death for birds

Date:  March 22, 2018

Source:  Lund University

Summary:

In her upcoming thesis at Lund University in Sweden, biologist Elin Videvall shows that the composition of gut bacteria in birds has a major impact on whether their offspring will survive their first three months.

"My findings could be important for increasing survival rates," she says.

Microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi can cause diseases, but they can also promote health, affect growth and the ability to reproduce. Until now, there has not been a lot of research on how microorganisms interact with, and affect, birds.

Elin Videvall, biologist at Lund University, is surprised by the results she achieved in her thesis, in which she studied different birds, including ostriches.

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Australia's birds are not being protected by environmental laws, report says

BirdLife says loopholes, exemptions, omissions and powers open to politicisation have been exploited

Michael Slezak

Wed 21 Mar 2018 21.31 GMTLast modified on Wed 21 Mar 2018 21.33 GMT

Some of Australia’s favourite birds are threatened with extinction and Australia’s environmental laws are failing to protect them, a new report by BirdLife Australia has found.

The report identified in the existing laws a slew of loopholes, exemptions, omissions and discretionary powers open to politicisation, each of which have been exploited to allow the decline of birds including the Carnaby’s black cockatoo, the swift parrot and the southern black-throated finch.

“The Turnbull government must urgently reform our national environment laws and ensure they are properly upheld,” said Jenny Lau, BirdLife Australia’s acting head of conservation.

It's beloved, but Australia's magpie is an international bird of mystery

The report attempts to build a case for what the Australian Panel of Experts on Environmental Law, working in conjunction with the Places You Love Alliance, called a blueprint for the next generation of environmental laws.

That blueprint called for national oversight to be expanded to cover land clearing, impacts on climate change and protected areas, as well as the establishment of a national sustainability commission, which would have real power to manage cumulative impacts on the environment that are often not considered over hundreds of individual decisions.

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Bulgarians rush to save a phalanx of distressed, frozen storks

Villagers come to the rescue after icy wings ground hundreds of migrating birds

Agence France-Presse

Wed 21 Mar 2018 18.33 GMTLast modified on Wed 21 Mar 2018 18.40 GMT

What would you do if you encountered scores of distressed storks covered in ice lying in a snow-covered field? In Bulgaria, people have been taking them home.

A cold snap in the north-east of the country has stranded hundreds of the migrating birds this week, covering their wings in ice and grounding them.

“I found five frozen storks near the village road the day before yesterday,” Safet Halil, 53, from the village of Zaritsa, near the town of Dulovo said on Wednesday. “I took them home, lit a stove to warm them and fed them fish.”

Halil, a road maintenance worker, sparked a wave of support on social media on Monday and others in the region followed his example, with more than 40 birds sheltered inside people’s homes, garages or barns.

Experts said the frozen wings had forced the birds to spend the night on the ground instead of perched on trees as usual.

“It’s the first time that we have seen so many storks in distress in Bulgaria,” said Hristina Klisurova, from the Green Balkans wildlife rehabilitation centre in Stara Zagora.

Continued  

Hybrid chickadees found deficient at learning and memory

March 26, 2018, Lehigh University

For a long time, hybridization—when distinct species mate and produce offspring—was thought to be a mistake. Yet, advancements in genomic testing tools have revealed naturally occurring hybridization as a fairly common phenomenon—with a role in natural selection, in some cases.

Scientists estimate that as much as 10% of animals—and 25% of plants—engage in hybridization in nature. Genetic data has even shed light on modern-day humans' hybrid ancestry, with most Europeans and Asians thought to have approximately 2 percent Neanderthal DNA.

Sterility is common in hybrids and is thought to be a key factor in keeping two hybridizing species distinct. This is true for a particular hybrid chickadee population in the U.S., the result of mating between the northern Black-capped Chickadee and a southern species called the Carolina Chickadee. A lower percentage of the hybrid chickadees' eggs hatch compared to their pure-species parents—a key selective disadvantage.

The results of a new behavioral study out of Lehigh University and Franklin & Marshall College add a wrinkle to this paradigm: scientists found that hybrid chickadees have marked deficiencies in learning and memory compared to their pure species parents, which may be another selective disadvantage.

This discovery is the first time that learning and memory deficiencies have been identified in any hybrid of any species, opening up a new area of inquiry for understanding hybrids' selective disadvantage. The study results appear in the journal Evolution in an article that appears online today by Michael A. McQuillan, Amber M. Rice and Alex V. Huynh of Lehigh University and Timothy C. Roth II of Franklin & Marshall College called: "Hybrid Chickadees are Deficient in Learning and Memory."

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Power lines adapted after Lincolnshire swan deaths

New safety measures have been added to overhead power lines near a nature reserve after reports of swans being killed by them.

Posting on social media, ornithologist Josh Jones said a number of swans had been killed by power lines on Baston Fen, Lincolnshire.

He said the wires were close to feeding grounds used by the mute swans.

Western Power Distribution said it had fitted diverters to make the lines stand out to birds in flight.

Mr Jones, who works for Birdguides magazine, said he spotted four dead swans along a short stretch of road while out bird watching at the weekend.

"They were in various states of decay, some looked fairly fresh, and some looked like they had been there a couple of weeks," he said.

"It was quite a disturbing find."

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RSPB News: RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch Devon results reveal a golden year for the goldfinch

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch Devon results reveal a golden year for the goldfinch

• Favourable conditions lead to a surge in sightings of goldfinch, long-tailed tit and coal tit, along with many other smaller garden birds.
• The results revealed a dip in sightings of our more solitary species like blackbird and robin as the mild winter meant they spent more time foraging for food away from our gardens.
• Hundreds of thousands of people across the UK spent an hour watching the birds that visit their garden or outdoor space as a part of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch counting almost 7 million birds.

The latest results from the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch have revealed a golden year for the goldfinch along with a number of other small birds after a surge in sightings in gardens across the country.

Now in its 39^th year, the Birdwatch is a chance for people of all ages to count the number of bird that visit their garden helping the RSPB build up a picture of how they are doing. This year, more than 420,000 people across the country took part counting an impressive 6.7 million birds. Just over 12,000 took part in Devon.

The event held over the last weekend in January revealed an increase in sightings of smaller birds, such as goldfinch, long-tailed tit and coal tit that can usually be seen visiting gardens and outside spaces in mixed flocks. Recorded sightings of the brightly coloured, sociable finch rose by 11% on 2017 figures and its bright red face was seen in more than two-thirds of gardens. Other small birds that are thought to have benefited from the mild January weather include long-tailed tit (+16%), coal tit (+15%), and blue tit (+5%).

It also proved to be a good year for the greenfinch after a 5% rise in sightings, a welcome sign for a species that has undergone a 60% decline in sightings since the first survey in 1979.

The influx of these species to our gardens is thought to be linked to the favourable conditions during their successful breeding season in 2017. This, combined with the kind autumn and winter weather in the run up to the Birdwatch, will have contributed to the rise in sightings. 

Tony Whitehead, spokesperson for RSPB in Devon said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone in Devon who took part in our 2018 Big Garden Birdwatch. By donating an hour for nature, you have provided invaluable data about the health of the feathered friends that make living in Devon so wonderful.

“And your top five results are in: In fifth place, the beautiful goldfinch had a wonderful year in Devon, it was recorded in higher numbers on average in the county and seen in more Devonian gardens. In fourth place, the cheeky starling enjoyed an increase in the average number of the species recorded, but a dip in the number of gardens it was recorded in compared to 2017. In third place, the melodic blackbird saw a double dip in the number of Devon gardens that reported sightings and the average number of this species recorded– echoing the national trend.  In second place, the colourful blue tit celebrated a double bonus, increasing in average species numbers and the number of gardens it visited across the survey weekend. But the UK’s overall winner, the house sparrow, stole the show in Devon this year. Although it was sighted in fewer gardens compared to 2017, the average number of this species recorded did increase across Devon.

“Big Garden Birdwatch just goes to show that all of the incredible effort people in Devon are doing to give nature a home in their own gardens, is really essential to the survival of our garden birds. Hopefully these results will encourage even more people to do their bit for Devon’s wildlife.”

Daniel Hayhow, RSPB Conservation Scientist, said: “Our garden birds are a part of our everyday life, whether it’s the robin perched on the garden fence or the flock of starlings you see on your way to work. To have hundreds of thousands of people spend an hour watching the wildlife in their garden isn’t only great to see, but it also helps us build up a picture of how our garden birds are doing, which is really helpful.

“Last summer was a really good year for many breeding birds with warm weather creating great conditions for many smaller birds to raise their young to adulthood. The rise in sightings of goldfinch, long-tailed tit and coal tit, along with chaffinches and greenfinches, goes to show that in the absence of cold weather they can survive the winter months in good numbers. Looking at the results it is likely that across the UK this is what people are seeing in their garden.”

It is likely that the warmer temperatures during the autumn and winter will have made it easier for these birds to find food, like insects, in our gardens, which in previous colder winters would have been harder to come by because of frosts and snow.

The survey also highlighted a dip in the number of recorded sightings of blackbirds (-18%), robins (-12%) and wren (-11%) on last year’s figures. Dr Hayhow explained: “We all will have noticed that the weather earlier in the winter was slightly warmer than we’re used to, and our garden birds have felt this too. It’s usual for there to be more food available in the wider countryside during a mild winter meaning birds are less reliant on the treats we put out on the garden feeders. However, unlike the finches and tits, robins and wrens did not have a good breeding season in 2017 and data from other surveys indicate that their numbers may be down overall this year.”

The house sparrow remained at the top of the Big Garden Birdwatch rankings at the most commonly seen garden birds with more than one million recorded sightings throughout the weekend. Starling held down the second spot once more, with the blue tit moving up one spot to round off the top three.

Throughout the first half of the spring term the nation’s school children took part in the RSPB’s Big Schools Birdwatch. The UK-wide survey of birds in school grounds saw 93,000 school children spend an hour in nature counting the birds. Despite a drop in Big Garden Birdwatch sightings, the blackbird remain top of the Big Schools Birdwatch rankings with one being spotted in 88% of schools – a 22% increase on 2017.

For a full round up of all the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch results and to see which birds were visiting gardens where you live, visit www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch 

Editor’s notes:

1. The RSPB is the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home. Together with our partners, we protect threatened birds and wildlife so our towns, coast and countryside will teem with life once again. We play a leading role in BirdLife International, a worldwide partnership of nature conservation organisations.
2. The top 20 birds in 2018 RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch:

Rank	Species	Change in rank 2017-2018	Average per garden	Average per garden% change 2017 - 2018	LONG TERM Average per garden% change 1979 - 2018	% of gardens species recorded in 2018	% of gardens species recorded in change 2017-2018
1	House sparrow	0	4.3	-0.5	-57	64	-5
2	Starling	0	3	-4	-80	42	-13
3	Blue tit	+1	2.6	+5	+7	79	-2
4	Blackbird	-1	2.4	-18	-40	88	-5
5	Woodpigeon	0	2.1	-9.3	+952	75	+5
6	Goldfinch	0	1.8	+11	N/A	34	0
7	Great tit	+1	1.5	+4	+67	59	0
8	Robin	-1	1.4	-12	-31	84	-6
9	Long-tailed tit	+1	1.4	+16	N/A	31	3
10	Chaffinch	-1	1.3	+4	-55	40	0

3.     Selected other results from RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch:

Rank	Species	Change in rank 2017-2018	Average per garden	Average per garden% change 2017 - 2018	LONG TERM Average per garden% change 1979 - 2018	% of gardens species recorded in 2018	% of gardens species recorded in change 2017-2018
11	Chaffinch	-1	1.3	+4	-55	40	0
15	Coal tit	+1	0.7	+15	+265	36	+13
18	Greenfinch	0	0.4	+5	-58	17	-2

4.     RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch survey is the largest citizen science survey in the UK and is a part of the RSPB’s Centre for Conservation ScienceThe centre was set up with the aim of finding practical solutions to the most pressing conservation problems, whether it’s working out how to save a species on the verge of extinction or restoring a destroyed rainforest.

5.     The RSPB offers everything to easily create a haven for wildlife in your garden. All our expertise has been used to develop the very best food and homes, using sustainable materials whenever possible. All the profits from our shop go towards helping birds and wildlife. Browse below, or view our online shop for our full range of products. rspb.org.uk/shop