Others said opening up the reserve threatened to destroys #habitat for #caribou & thousands of #MigratoryBirds, & would put communities that depend on subsistence hunting at risk.
“This is very concerning to us,” said Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, fmr mayor of the mostly #Inupiaq city of #Nuiqsut.
Matt Jackson, #Alaska State snr manager at The #Wilderness Society…called the repeal of environmental protections an outrage.
The National Petroleum Reserve #Alaska is an ecologically sensitive expanse of land about 600 miles north of Anchorage, bounded by the Chukchi Sea to the west & the Beaufort Sea to the north. It is the largest single area of public land in the United States. It covers crucial #habitat for #GrizzlyBears, #PolarBears, #caribou, thousands of #MigratoryBirds & other #wildlife.
Abusing beaches as highways
"Overcrowding due to a surge in visitors at some of Queensland's pristine beaches has raised safety and environmental concerns.Reports of offences including reckless driving, littering and even defecating have increased at 4WD beaches in recent years amid a domestic tourism boom."
>>
https://au.news.yahoo.com/calls-for-major-change-at-popular-4wd-beaches-and-campgrounds-as-popularity-soars-224716506.html
#beaches #dunes #traffic #cars #vehicles #SUVs #4WDs #Biodiversity #wildlife #Invertebrates #birds #shorebirds #MigratoryBirds #turtles #NSW #Queensland #Australia #regulation #climate #tourism
#Trump moves to relax rules against killing #MigratoryBirds
The #Interior Dept suspended a #legal opinion holding companies liable for accidentally killing ducks, cranes, pelicans, owls & other bird species.
#law #wildlife #conservation #birds #USpol@
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/03/10/migratory-bird-protections-suspended/
The annual farewell to the godwits ceremony is this evening starting at 6:30 pm at the Southshore Spit Reserve (at the very end of Rockinghorse Road) in South Brighton (Christchurch, NZ).
There's festivities and a BBQ and a chance to see the bar-tailed godwits before they leave the Avon-Heathcote estuary on their journey back to Alaska.
It's a fun thing to do if you're in the area.
https://estuary.org.nz/event/annual-farewell-to-the-godwits-ceremony-2024/
Magnetic Displacement Experiment Challenges Long-Held Theories On How Migratory Birds Navigate
--
https://phys.org/news/2024-11-magnetic-displacement-held-theories-migratory.html <-- shared technical article
--
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1363 <-- shared paper
--
#GIS #spatial #mapping #migration #magnetism #geomagnetism #inclination #declination #bird #avian #navigation #biology #ecosystems #migratorybirds #breeding #wintering #reedwarblers #research #experimentation #magneticfield
Some good news on a #WindowFriday ...
Last year, #McCormickPlace in #Chicago saw thousands of birds die after hitting their windows-- over 1K in just one day. This past year, they've worked with experts to substantially reduce the number of window strikes from #MigratingBirds. They installed a dotted pattern on their many huge window faces and have taken other measures (including simply turning off certain lights) to reduce bird strikes.
It's already resulted in much lower numbers of bird fatalities.
Over the years, any dead birds found there have been given to the #FieldMuseum, who has been studying them. They've noticed a pattern in the species who tend to hit most often, and have seen some genetic changes, which might be connected to #ClimateChange. [Video]
#Birding #Birds #Science #FensterFreitag #FensterFriday #BirdsOfMastodon #Video #Birdstodon #Migration #MigrationPatterns #ProtectingWildlife #LakeMichigan #MigratoryBirds #IllinoisWildlife #CBS2News
“'For over a decade, Gateway Arch’s exterior lights have been turned off for two weeks each May and September to help minimize the possible disorienting effect the lights may have on birds that migrate at night. With changes in migration patterns, the park decided it would extend turning the lights off for the entire month."
Beautiful video produced by Cornell Lab of Ornithology - made because of a proposed new road that would pass through an Alaskan Wilderness area. Currently an undisturbed refuge for many, many different species, the highway would bisect the protected area, changing the environment forever, and putting all the wildlife at greater risk.
"Izembek"
https://youtu.be/RkBbA7iJN8g
New publication: Climatic Predictors of Long-Distance Migratory Birds Breeding Productivity Across Europe. #climatechange #migratorybirds #breedingproductivity #trophicmismatch
https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13901
Why #LightPollution is a solvable #environmental crisis
Excessive #OutdoorLighting is deadly to #animals and takes a toll on #HumanHealth and wellbeing, too. But when it comes to large-scale environmental problems, this one may be a relatively easy fix.
By Alissa Greenberg
Friday, April 1, 2022
"In recent decades, lightbulbs made with #LEDs arrived, a revolution in energy efficiency with seemingly little downside. After all, an #LED bulb converts some 90% of the electricity it uses into light, whereas a conventional incandescent bulb only converts about 10%. And LED bulbs are touted as lasting up to 25 times longer.
"But the physics of LEDs make them fundamentally different from incandescents. While those traditional bulbs put out warm white light made of all colors mixed together, LEDs filter blue-rich light through a specialized phosphor material, producing light that appears white to the human eye but is still more blue-intense than incandescents’ light.
"But #BlueLight is also the most disruptive to our #nighttime environment because it mimics daylight, disrupting the hormone production and sleep cycles of both animals and humans.
"#Melatonin, one of those hormones, helps the immune system destroy renegade cells dividing out of control. That can lead to other health issues, including heightened rates of #cancer. And, 'we’re not the only ones who produce melatonin,' says Mario Motta, a cardiologist and trustee of the American Medical Association. Even amoebae produce melatonin'—meaning even amoebae might be vulnerable to light at night.
"The impacts of light pollution are evident everywhere from human health to astronomy research, but they come into particular focus in the recent phenomenon of global species #dieoffs. Between 100 million and a billion birds die every year due to light pollution, according to Massachusetts IDA chapter president James Lowenthal. New York City recently dealt with a huge die-off, 'with flocks of #MigratoryBirds slamming into buildings,' says Sarah Bois, an ecologist at the island’s Linda Loring Nature Foundation and a member of Nantucket Lights. 'They’re attracted to light.' A 2015 study at New York’s 9/11 'Tribute in Light'' installation showed an increase from 500 birds within half a kilometer of the light beams before they were turned on to 15,700 just minutes after.
"The issue is a double whammy for birds because they rely on #insects for food—and those populations are plummeting, with light pollution contributing significantly to the so-called "#InsectApocalypse.” By some estimates, one third of insects attracted to light sources at night die before morning, either due to exhaustion or because they get eaten. And according to a study in Germany, the number of insects in that country alone that die after being attracted to lights can number 100 billion or more in a single summer.
"Some starve to death searching for food that should appear bluer at twilight but is lit up amber under streetlights, says insect conservationist Avalon Owens, a doctoral candidate at Tufts University. Some are thrown off by light just the way we are, because of their #CircadianRhythms. #Pollinators whose schedules are altered by artificial light miss the #flowers they’re evolutionarily paired with, if the flowers naturally close and open with the warmth of the sun. And insects that rely on circadian rhythms for their yearly development don’t hibernate in time for winter and freeze to death.
"On #Nantucket, these phenomena are of particular concern because the island is home to a remarkably healthy population of northern long-eared #bats, which are endangered. Like many birds, the bats rely on insects for food and are easily dazzled by light, putting them in increasing jeopardy. Jack Dubinsky, director of the Maria Mitchell Aquarium on Nantucket, says he’s concerned that adding increasingly lit-up nights to the challenges of #ClimateChange, water quality, and #ecosystem collapse could put huge pressure on some already struggling species. 'The more curveballs we throw, the less likely they’ll be able to find their way,' he says.
Read more:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/light-pollution-led-nantucket-solutions/
Federal government awarding grants to improve wetlands https://www.deseret.com/utah/2024/05/08/utah-great-salt-lake-birds-wetlands/
"The Department of the Interior announced more than $87 million... to help conserve, restore or enhance 315,823 acres of critical #wetland and associated upland habitat for migratory #birds across North America — including Canada and Mexico... The funding announced today further supports the #Biden admin’s #AmericaTheBeautiful initiative"
Update: the buffet has been refreshed. The whole time I was filling the theaters, all of the birds were sitting around the perimeter of my yard chirping at me, just like a bunch of conference attendees who can't wait for the catering staff to finish refreshing the coffee break.
I'm pretty sure my yard is a rest stop on the migration superhighway, because this was full, this morning...
#Migration
#MigratoryBirds #Songbirds #Birds #Birbs #Birdfeeder
Winter Geese, Winter Pond” — Migratory geese (including Rosss, snow, and cackling geese) settle in a California Central Valley pond as a weather front approaches.
On the best winter days, migratory birds gather by the hundreds of thousands (millions?) up and down California’s Central Valley, especially where the winter wetland ponds form. I first became vaguely aware of this decades ago on a winter drive up the Sacramento Valley on my way to Washington, when for the first time I saw multitudes of birds in the winter sky. Later a chance comment by a friend led me to a location in the delta where birds gather by thousands. Since then, I’ve been addicted to experiencing and photographing this annual wonder...https://gdanmitchell.com/2024/02/24/winter-geese-winter-pond/
Greg Cocks 
प्रियंका | Priyanka 