Whooping cranes form larger flocks as wetlands are lost -- and it may put them at risk

Date: April 2, 2020

Source: Cell Press

Over the past few decades, the critically endangered whooping crane (Grus Americana) has experienced considerable recovery. However, in a report appearing April 2 in the journal Heliyon, researchers found that habitat loss and within-species attraction have led whooping cranes to gather in unusually large groups during migration. While larger groups are a positive sign of species recovery, the authors say that these large groups mean that a disease outbreak or extreme weather event could inadvertently impact a substantial portion of this still fragile population.

"Whooping crane conservation is one of North America's great success stories," says Andrew Caven, Director of Conservation Research at Crane Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of critical habitat for whooping cranes and other migratory birds. During the 1940s the whooping crane population fell to 16 birds, largely due to overhunting. However, after concerted conservation efforts, their numbers have increased 30-fold. "We had this species at the brink of extinction, and now there are over 500 birds. As conservation biologists, we've been extremely inspired by that."

Even with this boom in whooping crane numbers, researchers are observing larger migratory flocks than they would expect from population growth alone. Historically, groups of migrating whooping cranes seldom exceeded a family unit. "Twenty years ago, a group of nine was notable; something you'd write in your natural history notes about. But now it's becoming something quite regular. In the recent years we've seen bird groups over seventy multiple times."

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Conservation of a Central American region is critical for migrating birds

Date: September 12, 2019

Source: Oxford University Press USA

Many of North America's migratory birds are declining, but the mysteries about when and how birds migrate must to be solved to effectively protect them. A new paper in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, published by Oxford University Press, identifies a previously overlooked area that is critical for conservation: the region between southern Mexico and Guatemala where songbirds fuel up for a grueling flight across the Gulf of Mexico.

Migration is a dangerous time for birds, especially during flights over large bodies of water. Many birds migrate directly across the Gulf of Mexico, requiring over 600 miles of sustained flight. The details of how the survivors manage this feat of endurance have been murky, especially for species like warblers, whose small size prevented researchers from tracking their full migration routes until recently.

Researchers used light-weight geolocators to identify migration strategies for the vulnerable and declining Golden-winged Warbler, finding 80% of individuals spent a week in southern Mexico and Guatemala to feed and build up reserves for the flight over the Gulf of Mexico in spring migration. The importance of this stopover region was previously unknown for this species, and it needs conservation given the rapid conversion of natural habitats to pasture and farmland.

While most Golden-winged Warblers stopped in this region, not all did. Some that overwintered in northern Central America were able to make the trans-Gulf flight directly from their overwintering grounds without the stopover. "This is an important finding," says Dr. Ruth Bennett of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, "because birds that migrated directly across the Gulf were able to shave a week off their total migration time. These birds may experience a selective advantage in the spring." That is because male Golden-winged Warblers race north in spring migration to establish breeding territories. Results from the study suggest the spring period requires more energy and poses a greater risk of predation and starvation, while fall migration allows for more flexibility to minimize energy costs and avoid risks.

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Additions, deletions and changes to the official list of North American birds

JUNE 24, 2019

by American Ornithological Society

The latest supplement to the American Ornithological Society's checklist of North and Middle American birds is being published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, and it includes several major updates to the organization of the continent's bird species. The official authority on the names and classification of the region's birds, the checklist is consulted by birdwatchers and professional scientists alike and has been published since 1886.

Birdwatchers eager to build their "life lists" will be especially interested in the five species added to the checklist due to "splits," where scientists have determined that bird populations once believed to be part of the same species are actually distinct; these newly-recognized species include the Choco Screech-Owl, Socorro Parakeet, and Stejneger's Scoter. Eight species from Eurasia and South America have also been added to the list as a result of recent sightings in North America, and one species familiar to parrot fanciers, the Budgerigar, was removed from the list. Native to Australia, escaped pet "budgies" established a wild breeding population in central Florida in the 1950s. However, the population had been declining for decades, and as of 2014, Florida's budgies have died out, possibly due to competition for nest sites from other non-native birds.

More than just a list that species are added to and deleted from, however, the checklist is also the authority on how North America's bird species are sorted into genera and families based on their evolutionary relationships. This year, new genetic data led to the rearrangement of several of these groups. A genus of Neotropical tanagers called Tangara was split up, and a group of seabirds known as storm-petrels that were previously classified into two genera have now been lumped into a single genus called Hydrobates. AOS's North American Classification Committee, the group of scientists responsible for the checklist, also made several tweaks to the names and classifications of hummingbird species, including taking the step of changing the official English name of one species that occurs in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico from "Blue-throated Hummingbird" to "Blue-throated Mountain-gem."

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Spring migration is now earlier in European and North American birds

Date:  February 25, 2019

Source:  University of Helsinki

Summary:

According to a new study, migratory birds in Europe and Canada have substantially advanced the timing of their spring migration due to climate change. The average migratory bird has advanced its spring migration by approximately one week in five decades, and the duration of the migration season has increased.

The greatest advances were found among short-distance migrants that winter in Europe or North America: about 1.5-2 days per decade. Long-distance migrants that winter in the tropics have also advanced the start of their migration, but only by approximately 0.6-1.2 days per decade.

"Based on changes in median migration dates, birds have on average advanced their spring migration by a little over a week since the late 1950s," says Aleksi Lehikoinen from the Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki.

Some species show much greater advances. For instance, Whooper Swans now arrive in Finland about two weeks earlier than in the 1980s.

The advances in spring migration dates are not equal across the migration season. Early migrants of a given species have advanced their migration dates more than late migrants within the species' migration season. First migrants have the highest pressure to arrive at their breeding grounds as early as possible, whereas late migrants are typically non-breeders, which have no rush to move north. This asymmetry has led to an overall increase in the duration of migration.

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Hypnotic maps reveal the abundance of more than 100 bird species across North America

NASA teamed up with Cornell Lab or Ornithology to map out birds' habits

New maps plot the abundance and range of 107 species across North America 

Tthe data comes from observations submitted to the online eBird database 

By CHEYENNE MACDONALD FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 23:44, 20 December 2018 | UPDATED: 23:45, 20 December 2018

Researchers have mapped out the range of more than 100 bird species in North America.

The collaboration between NASA and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has made for unprecedented visualization of birds’ habits across the continent, using the more than 600 million observations from the online database, eBird.

The new maps provide important insight on the abundance, habitats, and trends of 107 bird species, and could prove beneficial for conservation efforts.

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Rare North American gull makes itself at home in Weymouth

15th November

By Katie Williams

A rare bird has been making itself at home in Weymouth - thousands of miles away from its usual habitat.

A Franklin's Gull, which breeds in northern USA and Canada, has joined flocks of other gulls at Swannery car park next to Radipole Lake to the delight of many birdwatchers in the area.

It arrived in Weymouth on Monday and has been spotted around different areas of the borough.

Daniel Bartlett, of RSPB Radipole Lake, said: "The bird was probably caught up in last weeks stormy weather, and may well have been blown here across the Atlantic. It seems to spend its days out in Weymouth Bay looking for food, and has been seen as far out as Portland Bill.

"Birdwatchers have responded to its arrival, and have been gathering around the RSPB Discovery Centre every afternoon hoping to see the bird. Gulls are often seen in large numbers at the lake during winter afternoons. They come to wash the salt water out of their feathers, before heading off to sea again at dusk, and so the cycle continues."

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Bird populations in steep decline in North America, study finds

Eric Andrew-Gee

The Globe and Mail

Published Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2016 11:51AM EDT

Last updated Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2016 9:50PM EDT 

North America has more than a billion fewer birds than it did 40 years ago, with the snowy owl and the chimney swift just two of the better-known species in dramatic decline across the continent, a recent survey has found.

The Partners In Flight report concludes that urbanization, growth in agriculture and possibly even climate change have driven the decline in North American landbird populations, a category that excludes ducks and other waterfowl.

The total number of continental landbirds stands at about 10 billion, down from about 11.5 billion in 1970. The study’s authors – a range of academic, activist and government bodies in Canada and the United States – list 86 of North America’s roughly 450 breeding species as vulnerable, with some populations expected to be halved in a matter of decades.

“I don’t want my grandchild to go out in the forest and not hear the songbirds in the spring, and that seems to be where we’re headed right now,” said Andrew Couturier, senior analyst at Bird Studies Canada and a co-author of the report, which was released in August.

As “North America’s bird nursery,” Canada has an added responsibility to conserve habitat, Mr. Couturier said. A majority of the continent’s birds are hatched here, before migrating south.

Keeping forests musical is not the only reason healthy bird populations are important, he notes. The creatures also provide “ecosystem services” such as pollination and insect control.

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A rare small specimen discovered from the age of flying giants

Date: August 30, 2016

Source: University of Southampton

A rare small-bodied pterosaur, a flying reptile from the Late Cretaceous period approximately 77 million years ago, is the first of its kind to have been discovered on the west coast of North America.

Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight.

The specimen is unusual as most pterosaurs from the Late Cretaceous were much larger with wingspans of between four and eleven metres (the biggest being as large as a giraffe, with a wingspan of a small plane), whereas this new specimen had a wingspan of only 1.5 metres.

The fossils of this animal are the first associated remains of a small pterosaur from this time, comprising a humerus, dorsal vertebrae (including three fused notarial vertebrae) and other fragments. They are the first to be positively identified from British Columbia, Canada and have been identified as belonging to an azhdarchoid pterosaur, a group of short-winged and toothless flying reptiles which dominated the final phase of pterosaur evolution.

Previous studies suggest that the Late Cretaceous skies were only occupied by much larger pterosaur species and birds, but this new finding, which is reported in the Royal Society journal Open Science, provides crucial information about the diversity and success of Late Cretaceous pterosaurs.

Lead author of the study Elizabeth Martin-Silverstone, a Palaeobiology PhD Student at the University of Southampton, said: "This new pterosaur is exciting because it suggests that small pterosaurs were present all the way until the end of the Cretaceous, and weren't outcompeted by birds. The hollow bones of pterosaurs are notoriously poorly preserved, and larger animals seem to be preferentially preserved in similarly aged Late Cretaceous ecosystems of North America. This suggests that a small pterosaur would very rarely be preserved, but not necessarily that they didn't exist."

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Fossil Shows Ostrich Relatives Lived in North America 50 Million Years Ago

5th July 2016

AUSTIN, Texas — Exceedingly well-preserved bird fossil specimens dating back 50 million years represent a species of a previously unknown relative of the modern-day ostrich, according to new research from Virginia Tech and The University of Texas at Austin published June 30 in theBulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.

“This spectacular specimen could be a ‘keystone’ that helps interpret much of the sparse fossil (record) of birds that once lived in North America millions of years ago,” said lead author Sterling Nesbitt of Virginia Tech’s Department of Geosciences and the Global Change Center.

The bird fossils were found more than a decade ago, completely intact with bones, feathers and soft tissues in a former lake bed in Wyoming. The new species has been named Calciavis grandei – with “calci” meaning “hard/stone,” “avis” from the Latin for bird, and “grandei” in honor of famed paleontologist Lance Grande.

Nesbitt called the fossils a once-in-a-lifetime discovery for paleontologists.

“This is among one of the earliest well represented bird species after the age of large dinosaurs,” he said.

Some of the fossils are now on display as part of the exhibit “Dinosaurs Among Us” at New York’s American Museum of Natural History. Other specimens used in the study are from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and the Wyoming Geological Survey.

Nesbitt began studying the fossil in 2009 as a postdoctoral researcher at The University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences, under Professor Julia Clarke in the Department of Geological Sciences. Clarke is a co-author on the research.

Two fossils of Calciavis grandei dating from the Eocene epoch – roughly between 56 million and 30 million years ago – were found by fossil diggers within the Green River Formation in Wyoming, a hot bed for extinct fish.

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Over a third of N. American bird species in danger -scientists

by Reuters

Wednesday, 18 May 2016 18:59 GMT

OTTAWA, May 18 (Reuters) - More than a third of all North American bird species are at risk of becoming extinct unless significant action is taken, scientists who are part of a tri-nation initiative said on Wednesday, adding that ocean and tropical birds were in particular danger.

The study, compiled by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative and the first of its kind to look at the vulnerability of bird populations in Canada, the United States and Mexico, said 37 percent of all 1,154 species on the continent needed urgent conservation action.

The governments of Canada, the United States and Mexico created the North American Bird Conservation Initiative in 1999.

More than half the species for oceans and tropical forests are on a special watch list because of small and declining populations, limited ranges and severe threats to their habitats.

"The outlook for oceanic birds ... is the bleakest of any North American bird group," said the report, which blamed invasive predators such as rats and cats on nesting islands as well as overfishing, pollution and climate change.

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Organization of North America's bird species: List updated

Date: July 2, 2015

Source: Central Ornithology Publication Office

Summary: Biologists have made several major updates to the organization of the North America's bird species. The updated work groups birds into genera, families, and orders based on their evolutionary relationships, and some of the most significant changes in this year's work involve the tanagers, family Thraupidae.

The latest Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds was published this week inThe Auk: Ornithological Advances, and includes several major updates to the organization of the continent's bird species. More than just a list, the Check-list groups birds into genera, families, and orders based on their evolutionary relationships, and some of the most significant changes in this year's Supplement involve the tanagers, family Thraupidae.

"Recent genetic studies have overturned much of what we thought we knew about what constitutes a tanager," explains Terry Chesser, Chairman of the AOU Committee on Classification and Nomenclature for North and Middle America. As a result, this

Supplement sees 6 genera and 11 species, many of which are found only in the Caribbean, moved from the Thraupidae into a temporary category of their own as a result of genetic analysis showing they're not closely related to tanagers after all. 16 genera and 36 species, including seedeaters and finches, have been moved from their previous homes into the Thraupidae family for the opposite reason, and the Hawaiian honeycreepers (part of the Fringillidae family) have experienced a similar reorganization.

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Migratory Connectivity Project: Songbirds Return to North America

The Migratory Connectivity Project seeks to connect people and cultures throughout the Americas by fostering the public’s love of and appreciation for migratory birds

Saturday 4 July 2015 16.35 BSTLast modified on Monday 6 July 201516.48 BST

Did you know the coast of Texas is a critically important place for migratory birds in the U.S. and Canada? This is where most migratory birds that breed in the eastern United States and throughout Canada first make landfall after a long migration across the Gulf of Mexico. This is where they seek food, water and rest before continuing northward on their migratory journeys.

But unfortunately, populations of North American migratory birds are declining, and in many cases, scientists aren’t exactly sure why. The Migratory Connectivity Project, a collaboration between the US Geological Survey bird banding lab and Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, is devoted to better understanding the migratory patterns of North American birds so they can learn how to protect them. They do this by analysing USGS bird band recovery data and using this data to construct migratory connectivity maps for all birds breeding in North America. Here’s a preliminary map for the tree swallow, Tachycineta bicolor:

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Half of North American bird species threatened by climate change

8th September 2014

Half of all bird species in North America — including the bald eagle — are at risk of severe population decline by 2080 if the swift pace of global warming continues, the National Audubon Society concluded in a study released Monday.

"The scale of the disruption we're projecting is a real punch in the gut," said Gary Langham, chief Audubon scientist.

Langham led an Audubon study that examined more than 500 bird species and determined that more than 300 in Canada and the United States face large climate shifts that could reduce their habitat by half or more by 2080. The changing environment will force birds to adapt to new habitats with different temperature and precipitation rates if they are to survive.

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High-Tech Bird Decoy Fools Flycatchers

Ned Rozell | Geophysical Institute Aug 3, 2014.

Julie Hagelin needed a fake bird. She found one in an unexpected place.

The biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is studying the mysterious olive-sided flycatcher, known for its piercing “quick, three beers!” heard above black spruce bogs throughout Alaska. The bird, which weighs as much as a dozen pennies and migrates as far as Bolivia, is declining throughout most of its range in North America. No one knows exactly where the birds go after they breed in the far north.

A major part of Hagelin’s project is attaching sunlight-cued trackers to the birds with a tiny harness. These feather-light “geolocators” require Hagelin and her helpers to capture the birds again the following year. When the birds return in spring, the biologists recover the tiny devices. They then extrapolate where the birds have been from daylight the geolocators record while exposed to sunlight.

That’s why Hagelin needed a faux flycatcher. She knows the most effective way of capturing a singing male is to challenge its machismo with the presence of a rival, and then to catch it with a net when it swoops to protect its territory. A bird decoy is more effective at pulling a bird from its perch than a song recording alone.

“Half the battle is getting the bird out of the treetop and into your net,” Hagelin said.

As she chatted about her challenge, a coworker asked Hagelin if she had considered creating her own flycatcher using a 3-D printer. Intrigued, she contacted Greg Shipman.

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Join new Yardmap project to create bird habitat

Date:

May 2, 2014

Source:

Cornell University

Summary:

The backyard is far more than a place to install a pool, hold a barbecue, or toss a Frisbee. The sum of all North American yards and neighborhood green spaces equals major habitat for birds and other wildlife. Creating larger, connected patches of bird-friendly habitat is one goal of the new YardMap citizen-science project. The project has undergone extensive testing by 10,000 users who created more than 6,700 maps. YardMap is ready for everyone and is now inviting new participants to join

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America's top birding team seeks new 24-hour record

Date:

April 24, 2014

Source:

Cornell University

Summary:

After setting a new North American record for the number of species identified in a 24-hour birding marathon in Texas last year (294), the team is taking on another big challenge. In early May, the team will head to the American Southwest following a new birding route they call “El Gigante.” Their goals are to focus attention on environmental pressures in this key region and to raise a record $400,000 for conservation work at the team's lab.

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Ninety years of valuable migration data about North American birds is now available online

Over a million records telling the tale of nearly a century of North American bird migrations have been rescued from obscurity and are being transcribed by an international network of more than 2,000 volunteers, making the records available for the first time online for use by researchers and the public.

The records, which span the years from 1880 to 1970, provide information on what areas of the country birds were spotted, and when they arrived or departed in spring and autumn. The information is of use identifying how birds’ ranges and migration patterns have changed over time.

The one-millionth transcription was that of a house wren seen in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico, on September 11, 1904 and it joined all the other records now part of the United States Geological Survey North American Bird Phenology Program database.

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Thousands of birds stop in Northern State smokestack on migration

Photo: Wikipedia

That dark cloud pouring from a smokestack at the Northern State Hospital site isn't smoke — it's birds.

Vaux's Swifts, a small species of bird, gather in the 120-foot smokestack every year around September on their way south for the winter. More than 200,000 of them were counted there last year.

This means the former mental-hospital campus could be the most significant roost site in the birds' entire 2011 migration, according to Vaux Happening, an Audubon Society and community science project that tries to find Vaux's Swift roosts in North America.

Continued:  http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019160960_swifts15m.html

More Vaux's swift information:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Vauxs_Swift/id

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=32198

Birds fly out as fall rolls in

More than 300 bird species found in North America during the summer will make their way to Latin America or the Caribbean, some covering distances of nearly 7,000 miles. Parks, backyards and nature refuges across the country will host these winged visitors for the next few weeks as the birds make their way to their fall and winter destinations.

Read on:  http://www.journalstandard.com/lifestyle/home_and_garden/x887146445/Birds-fly-out-as-fall-rolls-in