Declining bird species

Many bird species are in decline. The Washington post article is beautifully illustrated. It isn't good news, but it is worth reading as the details help is understand it better. 

The article includes a tool that lets you map out the increase or decrease of a species. If you need good news, look up the map for Bald Eagles. But many common species are shown in decline.

Bird habitat

As we start to talk about habitat, I thought this post/ad from SFI might be interesting. It lists 6 projects promoting bird habitat. If you think that birds can just land anywhere, think about this list a little more.

Also, this weekend we saw a pair of bald eagles just 2 or 3 miles up the Raritan River (near the Somerset Diner) from the College Ave campus. Someone said their nest was nearby and eBird has someone sighting them recently too. Just a few miles further upstream is a widely known breeding pair at Duke Farms. You can watch them on the EagleCam, especially once they have some eggs to hatch.

Moving maps

GIS isn't always static. Since we are interested in dynamic processes, our maps have to keep up. A great example is David La Puma's Woodcreeper blog which often includes animated radar maps showing overnight bird migrations (see below). It is a busy time of year right now for this former CRSSA inhabitant.

Good News, Bad News for Red Knots

Amanda Dey says that the good news is that the red knots appear to be on the rebound, but the bad news is that it is still a very delicate population that could easily crash.

Ramler Park

Just a couple blocks from our Boston hotel is a little park named Ramler Park. As a small, privately-funded project on a sidestreet, it probably isn't something we would have noticed. But it got a lengthy feature in LAM a few years ago, so now we know. With all of that herbaceous material, it is probably a great bird spot in the mornings before we head out each day.

Sonoran Desert Museum

A little more from the Sonoran Desert Museum.

Harris Hawk

At the Sonoran Desert Museum.

Migration

The Woodecreeper reports that last night was a heavy migration night. A real sign of autumn.