Even the suburbs can contain a bounty of wildlife and it is here where roofs are transformed into perfect perching points; ideal for monitoring the activities of a nearby stream.  I present the Great “Suburban” Egret…

Nene- Endangered Hawaiian goose

There’s an old adage that pops up all the time not just in reference to conservation, but in the subject area of “you name it.”  And for this very reason it has become quite ubiquitous.  It goes something like “Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it” or some variation there in that I’m positive we’ve all  heard.  So when I come across a scientific publication that indicates endangered birds have many of the same ecological characteristics as historic extinct species, I wonder if we will learn from this data or shall I say past.

No surprise, but human globetrotting and colonization across the landmasses has corresponded to an increase in the extinction of members of the Animal Kingdom.  In fact, the nature of our discoveries and subsequent presence include three principal progressions that can drive the disappearance of native species:  1) overharvesting/overexploitation  2) habitat destruction/fragmentation  3) introduction of invasive species

 According to scientists:

” Recent research on oceanic island avifaunas implicates all three processes in ancient extinctions following human colonization.”

“The extinction of birds in Oceania is considered one of the best substantiated rapid-extinction episodes in the vertebrate fossil record.”

Case in point, approximately 50% of Hawaiian land birds were driven to extinction upon settlement on the islands by Polynesians.  And to this day about 33% of all threatened birds are indigenous to the Pacific islands.

To link past extinction events with current avian vulnerability the authors developed a database of all known native land birds on 42 Pacific islands (497 species in all).  The database, in conjunction with extrinsic and  intrinsic ecological traits for each species, was then used to generate a classification tree to reflect the population-level extinctions over the last 3,500 years.  Intrinsic traits ranged from body mass, diet, species range, and nest location, etc. while extrinsic traits included invasive species and deforestation.

The results of the study found that the model “accurately predicted modern extinction risk [by comparing model results to current status on IUCN Red List] in approximately 84% of birds in the region.”  Additionally, the authors found -

“Four traits were particularly important in predicting ancient extinction. Flight ability was the most important, with 91% of flightless birds disappearing. Endemism was a secondary factor, with extinction of 50% of species or genera endemic to a single island, and large body size was also consistently associated with elevated extinction risk.”

“About one-third (448/1256) of the tropical Pacific island bird populations I considered here have been lost since human colonization. In the ancient extinction wave, 28% of populations (350/1217) were lost and 10% of the survivors (98/906) have disappeared in the past two centuries. In terms of species losses, 154 species disappeared before European contact and 28 more have gone extinct since then, leaving 296 extant species. Recorded extinctions represent a conservative estimate of the overall extinction severity because many extinct species may remain undetected.”

There is something to be learned from history.  And by looking at historical precedence we just might be on the cusp of a crystal ball telling us exactly which species are in need of special conservation attention… before extinction takes hold.

BOYER, A. (2009). Consistent Ecological Selectivity through Time in Pacific Island Avian Extinctions Conservation Biology DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01341.x

And the winner is BIRDS of course!  Pitting technology against nature is, for lack of a better word, natural.  It seems to be a constant struggle that we as humans have undergone and continue to engage in at our instinctual behest to top the animal kingdom and control the environment.  Just look around and you will see the war we have waged to bind the elements in all their positive and negative glories.

But even with our most ancient of dreams coming true thanks to two Wrights, we still cannot claim a mastery of the air.  And I’m glad to say that honor still belongs to the birds.  With trillions of dollars and countless hours, no aircraft can come close to the average bird’s acrobatic maneuverability.  Plus, birds rarely crash!

So let’s take a look at the aerial abilities of birds and airplanes:

Travel Speed (body lengths/second)

Aircraft

• 32 body lengths/sec (supersonic SR-71 Blackbird)
  Note: Traveling near Mach 3 or approximately 2000 mph

Birds

• 75 body lengths/sec  (Common Pigeon)
• 120 body lengths/sec  (Common Starling)
• 140 body lengths/sec  (swifts)

Roll Rate (degrees/second)

Aircraft

• 720 degrees/second (A-4 Skyhawk)

Birds

• 5000 degrees/second (Barn Swallow)

G forces allowed

Aircraft

• 4-5 Gs (general aircraft)
• 8-10 Gs (select military aircraft)

Birds

• 10-14 Gs (many bird species)
  Note: performed hundreds of times per day

And what better way to send everyone off for the weekend than with a glimpse into the wonders of nature.  Check out our latest video featuring a hummingbird visiting a backyard feeder.  The video was actually made by stitching together individual digital photos,  thus capturing the intricate flying of these amazing birds.

My research notes were open, my day job’s laptop sitting idle on my left, my mobile phone poised on my right for immediate attention should work summon, and in the midst of a midday rut I thought it was the perfect opportunity to formulate my latest contribution for Bird Bloggers Tweet Club.  As I sat reading through a journal  publication about the benefits of rehabilitating logged rainforests for native birds, my mind began to wander and I knew I was in store for a lengthy a writing session.  In a sudden flash of genius, why not share a few photos instead and forego the trouble of expending energy to keep wandering thoughts at bay.  What the hell, the photos aren’t too bad…

Say hello to the Brandt’s cormorants of Monterey, California!

Global Population/Continental Population: 227,000

Audubon State of the Birds Status: moderate population declines, small range

The Brandt’s Cormorant inhabits marine environments along the Pacific Coast. This large, gregarious bird often feeds, flies, roosts, and nests in large groups. When nesting, the guttural croaks of this relatively quiet North American cormorant are barely audible more than a few feet away. The bird is named for J. F. Brandt, a Russian naturalist who first described the bird in 1838.

Information: National Audubon Society

Hot off the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service presses…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal to protect seven Brazilian bird species as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). If made final, the measure would extend ESA protection to these species. The decision by the Service was published in today’s Federal Register.

Addition of a foreign species to the federal list of threatened and endangered species places restrictions on the importation of either the animal or its parts.  Listing also serves to heighten awareness of the importance of conserving these species among foreign governments, conservation organizations and the public.

The seven species are all native to the Atlantic Forest and neighboring regions of southeastern Brazil and include the black-hooded antwren, Brazilian merganser, cherry-throated tanager, fringe-backed fire-eye, Kaempfer’s tody-tyrant, Margaretta’s hermit, and southeastern rufous-vented ground-cuckoo.

In July of 2008, the Service published a notice in the Federal Register announcing its petition findings for foreign species and announced that the listing of 30 foreign species, including these seven, is warranted. After studying the best available scientific and commercial information regarding the threats to the species, the Service has concluded that these seven species should be identified under a single proposed rule for three reasons:

      1)  all seven species are found in the Atlantic Forest and southeastern region of
           Brazil.
      2)  the species are subject to similar threats including small population sizes,
           habitat loss due to deforestation, and ongoing landuse practices.

      3)  combining species that face similar threats allows the Service to maximize
           limited resources and increase our ability to complete the listing process for
           warranted-but-precluded species.

Of the remaining 23 foreign species, proposed listing rules have since been published for 10 species and proposed listing rules for the remaining 13 species are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register by the end of December 2009.

My last few postings about a local band of burrowing owls was more about the trial and tribulations of their lives in a habitat continually being squeezed by urban development.  Whether under threat of a housing development or a community center, the tone was less than upbeat as I waded through red tape and alternating project managers in an ongoing plight to ensure their survival.

And with that said I had not actually planned to breach the burrowing owl topic so soon, but I came across a video that is nothing more than a feel good burrowing owl moment.  So, sit back and take a close-up look at a burrow in Washington state that is home to 12 successfully reared owlets.

By the way, glad to see the parents are ever so attentive as a predator soars above their heads!