The marshy ecosystems that beavers help create are good for songbirds.  At least, that is the conclusion of a study by the Wildlife Conservation Society published in the October issue of Western North American Naturalist.  “The study found that the more dams beavers build, the more abundant and diverse local songbirds become.”

If you’ve ever fancied seeing the world’s wildlife you might want to hurry. On October 6th, the IUCN released the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species which lists a whopping 16,928 species threatened with extinction. Of these, 3,246 are Critically Endangered, 4,770 are Endangered and 8,912 are Vulnerable to extinction. 1,226 (or 12.4%) of [...]

Considering the host, it should come as no surprise that the newest Carnival of the Blue coincides with the 2nd annual International Cephalopod Awareness Day. Happy Squid Day!

Overfishing in the Mediterranean is driving the bluefin tuna rapidly towards extinction, with - it seems - the Italians especially landing far more than their quotas allow. Italy’s overfishing is blamed on a “lack of control, clandestine fishing boats…(and) a presence of organised crime”. The future looks bleak indeed for one of the ocean’s most [...]

Scott Whittle of Year of the Bird is oh-so-close to breaking the New York State Big Year record.  So far as I know, the best Big Year ever claimed in the state is 343 species and Scott is already at 340 (the vast majority of which he has photographed or recorded).  Good luck, Scott, and [...]

I just saw the new Bill Maher documentary, which I recommend without reservation. However, be warned that there is a moment during the movie that bird watchers might find uncomfortable!

You think they’d have other things to think about, but in their last days the Bush administration is still pressing ahead with attempts to remove protection from many of America’s threatened species. What a legacy if they succeed…Please go to a petition run by the Center for Biological Diversity and support the campaign to [...]

…in the name of so-called “tradition”. It’s autumn and once again Malta hits the headlines for all the wrong reasons. with the RSPB’s Graham Madge describing this blood-soaked archipelago as being “like a war zone, the smell of death is everywhere.” And yet people still go there for a ‘holiday’? A report on the [...]

The Bird Ecology Study Group may be experiencing some technical difficulties at the moment but fear not. The IATB show will go on. Send your submissions with confidence to me or Y C (wee37 AT starhub DOT net DOT sg) by the end of the day!

It’s not just in the Congress that President Bush is taking a pummeling. Thankfully a federal judge has just overturned a 2007 Bush administration decision to remove Great Lakes area Grey Wolves from the endangered species list, saying that the decision appeared to violate the central purpose of the Endangered Species Act. Roll on November…

“The world pumped up emissions of the chief human-produced global warming gas last year, setting a course that could push beyond leading scientists’ projected worst-case scenario, international researchers said Thursday.”  That is the lead from an LA Times article entitled “Greenhouse gas emissions shock scientists.”  Really, can it be considered the least bit credible to [...]

Yes, we missed it by a day or two, but it’s still worth mentioning. Every year since 1986 we’ve been using more resources than the earth can produce annually, and Sept 23rd was the day that we effectively went into resource deficit for 2008. Basically too many of us are consuming too much and not [...]

The Center for Biological Diversity has honored the Alaskan Governor and White House wannabe with the 2008 Rubber Dodo Award for her “valiant efforts to protect her state’s oil industry — sacrificing the well-being of our earth, our climate, the polar bear, and numerous other warming-threatened species in the process”. Congratulations to a worthy winner…

Author Stephen Moss speaks to the perils birders might face chasing down the rare and wonderful Basra Reed Warbler, considering that Basra is in Iraq. Nobody said birding was easy… or particularly safe! (hat tip to The Drawn Cutlass)

Today, one in eight bird species is threatened with global extinction, with 190 species Critically Endangered, and things are getting worse. In fact, we’re facing a biodiversity crisis. To quote from the startling State of the World’s Birds website: “Particularly alarming are sharp declines in many formerly common and widespread species. This is a signal [...]

Don’t let their cuteness fool you!  Roving gangs of ducklings have turned to a life of crime to supply their bread crumb habit…

Learn something new at Science Made Cool through the 114th edition of Tangled Bank.

A study by Wetlands International of migratory waterbird populations in Africa and Eurasia shows enormous declines across the board. The reasons? “The main causes…are the destruction and unsustainable exploitation of wetlands, which are largely driven by poorly-planned economic development.” Replace ‘Africa and Eurasia’ with ‘America and Asia’ and chances are the results would be [...]

Surely even the Bush administration wouldn’t stoop so low as to bend over for Japan’s whalers? Paul Watson certainly thinks so, highlighting a secret/private/totally closed-door etc etc meeting being held this week in Florida for representatives of the whaling nations. Sad but entirely likely - the full story is on the Sea Shepherd website…

is a new bird blog written by my friend Tom, the birder who got me on more life birds than anyone else by taking the time to show me the ropes when I was a novice birder.  He has some great shots of fall migrants moving through western Albany County.  Check The Blue-collar Birder out!