bird decline – Page 3 – Desdemona Despair

Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) play in the trees, along the Yasuni river. Photo: Kimberley Brown / Mongabay

July 7, 2019

Heart of Ecuador’s Yasuni, home to uncontacted tribes, opens for oil drilling – “Their intentions are deceitful. What’s the real commitment the government is making to conserve this area?”

By Kimberley Brown 5 July 2019 QUITO, Ecuador (Mongabay) – Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park sits in a unique position on the equator, between the Andes mountain range and the Amazon rainforest, which has allowed a rich and distinct biodiversity to flourish. The region is surrounded by towering ceibo and mahogany trees, emblematic of the area, […]

Black skimmer chick carrying a cigarette filter on a beach in Florida, 24 June 2019. Photo: Karen Mason

July 4, 2019

Image of the Day: Bird feeding chick cigarette filter

2 July 2019 (BBC News) – A wildlife photographer has captured a picture of a black skimmer bird feeding its chick a cigarette filter on a beach in Florida, USA. In a Facebook post, Karen Mason said she had happened upon the pair on St Pete beach outside Tampa last month. She urged: “If you […]

Map of the 105,000 square miles of coal-rich outback land known as the Galilee Basin in Queensland, Australia. Graphic: The Times

May 28, 2019

Australia plans coalfield the size of Britain in climate change U-turn

By Bernard Lagan 25 May 2019 SYDNEY (The Times) – Climate change was supposed to have won the Labor Party the Australian election. But yesterday, after having been routed by voters, its panicked leaders backed the mining of a coalfield bigger than the UK. Fearing a wipeout in state elections next year amid a rise in […]

May 27, 2019

Scientists warn NSW tree-planting scheme does more harm than good – “The main goal of the project is to actually plant as many trees as you can fit into the ground”

By Jonathan Hair 26 May 2019 (ABC News) – There are fears national parks in NSW are being damaged by a revenue-making tree-planting scheme, after revegetation works were carried about in the Capertee National Park. About three hours’ drive west of Sydney, Capertee National Park was a working cattle property until 2010, when it was […]

Millions of songbirds are vacuumed out of trees and killed each year during the nocturnal Mediterranean olive harvest. Iconic British birds like robins, greenfinches, warblers and wagtails are among the highest casualties. Photo: Todolivo

May 23, 2019

Millions of songbirds vacuumed to death every year during Mediterranean olive harvest – 2.6 million birds are sucked out of trees and killed every year in Andalusia

By Phoebe Weston 16 May 2019 (The Independent) – Millions of songbirds are vacuumed out of trees and killed each year during the nocturnal Mediterranean olive harvest, researchers have warned. Vast numbers of legally protected birds from central and northern Europe seek refuge in the Mediterranean basin during winter months. At night they roost in […]

May 16, 2019

Trump border wall to go up in national monument, wildlife refuge – Department of Homeland Security waives dozens of environmental and other laws

By Astrid Galvan and Nomaan Merchant 14 May 2019 PHOENIX (AP) – The U.S. government plans on replacing barriers through 100 miles (161 kilometers) of the southern border in California and Arizona, including through a national monument and a wildlife refuge, according to documents and environmental advocates. The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday again […]

October 29, 2017

“Decimated”: Germany’s birds disappear as insect abundance plummets 76 percent

By Morgan Erickson-Davis 27 October 2017 (Mongabay) – A new study in PLOS ONE reveals a 76 percent reduction in Germany’s flying insect biomass over the past 27 years while another reports the country’s bird abundance has declined 15 percent in just over a decade. While the causes behind the insect decline haven’t yet been […]