Page 205 - Cornell Lab News Today

Monday, March 15, 2021 at 9:30am Eastern

Head Up North to See Pine Grosbeaks Pine grosbeaks are a common species in Canadas boreal forests and the western mountains. This tame oversized finch adds color to the late fall landscape. Tim Zurowski/Shutterstock How to Identify Pine Grosbeaks Nicknamed “mopes” by Newfoundlanders for their subdued and approachable personalities, pine grosbeaks tend to freeze rather than fly when they feel threatened. Passersby usually walk right by without noticing the robin-size birds among subalpine c...

Earth Matters: Birdhouses definitely not one size fits all A bluebird stands atop a bluebird nest box in Serpentine Prairie in Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, Calif. The wire mesh hole extension protects against predators. Steven dosRemedios/via Flickr Published: 3/12/2021 4:13:46 PM Birdhouses seem simple. Because people cut down dead and dying trees, cavity-dwelling birds can’t find enough nest sites. If we put up birdhouses, those birds can nest there instead, and we all live happily ev...

Mapping birds feeding habitats Last October, I signed up my family, with great enthusiasm, for the Cornell Lab of Ornithologys yearly citizen science survey, Project FeederWatch. The premise is simple: You watch birds and report what you see. I paid the $18 fee and received a cool poster and some simple directions in the mail. I went out and bought birdseed and a bird feeder, which I set up outside our kitchen window. The only part I remembe...

Mid-Coast Audubon offers talk on visiting finches Share Mid-Coast Audubon and Camden Public Library will host a free Zoom presentation about the northern finch winter visitors at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 18. To register for the event, email Julia Pierce at [email protected]. Crossbills Photo courtesy of Tom Johnson Irruptions — a sudden population spike — of finches from the north inspired Matthew Young to launch the Finch Research Network (FiRN) last fall. Young will discuss what an irrup...

But one clumsy albatross might have just ruined this illusion. In a live stream shared online, a northern royal albatross in New Zealand managed to face-plant spectacularly upon landing -- and the animals uncoordinated descent has brought joy to thousands of viewers. The video, captured Saturday at Taiaroa Head near the city of Dunedin on New Zealands South Island, shows a downy six-week-old albatross chick chirping at an incoming adult, who is trying to time its landing. Unfortunately the bird...

March 11, 2021 Shade-grown coffee has big benefits for bird conservation, but the message may not be getting through to the people most likely to respond – birdwatchers. A team of researchers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Virginia Tech surveyed birdwatchers to learn if they drank shade-grown coffee and, if not, why not. Guillermo Santos/Provided Mourning Warbler “One of the most significant constraints to purchasing bird-friendly coffee among those surveyed was a lack of a...

1:26 Manu Minute with Patrick Hart, March 10th, 2021. Todays Manu Minute was made with recordings from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ML32588). To learn more about Dr. Harts work, visit lohelab.org. So how does a bird thats barely the size of an apple banana from the opposite side of the world make it to Hawaii? Oh, the usual way. Because of their cheerful song and pleasant appearance, yellow-fronted canaries was first brought to the islands as a cagebird. Then one was...

Biden Moves To Make It Illegal (Again) To Accidentally Kill Migratory Birds at 2:55 pm NPR The Biden administration is moving to restore protections for migratory birds that were loosened under former president Donald Trump — a back-and-forth centering on the question of when its illegal to kill them. The Interior Department rescinded a controversial Trump-era legal opinion Monday that limited the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It also said it will soon propose ...

Elaine Thompson / AP Originally published on March 10, 2021 12:58 pm The Biden administration is moving to restore protections for migratory birds that were loosened under former President Donald Trump — a back-and-forth centering on the question of when its illegal to kill them. The Interior Department rescinded a controversial Trump-era legal opinion Monday that limited the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It also said it will soon propose a rule to replace one enacted at the e...