The Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative has a new eNews service that will keep subscribers current with bird projects, events, and news in that state. Good idea.
The Global Shorebird Counting Event runs Sept. 2-6. Global Shorebird Day is Sept. 6. Go to birdingwire.com
Cornell Lab of Ornithology has updated its on-line bird info library. Take a free look at birdsna.org/Speices-Account/bna/home
Blue Creek Wind Farm in Ohio, owned by a Spanish company, has filed suit to prevent two Ohio state agencies from making public what we assume to be information on windmill bird kills. The company contends that the information is a "trade secret." The data has been requested by the Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Ohio. Trade secret, baloney.
The Yellow-rumped Warbler, common here in migration as first in and last out, might be considered for split into at least two species, maybe three. Decision would be made by the American Ornithologists' Union. The Yellow-rump has a white throat. The bird we presently know as a subspecies, Audubon's Warbler, rarely seen here, has a yellow throat. The third possible species is a Mexican bird known as the Black-fronted Warbler. If you've been in birding long enough you probably remember the Yellow-rump as the Myrtle Warbler.
This past July was the hottest of any month since record-keeping began in 1880. This according to the National Oceeanic and Atmospheric Administration. Check nytimes.com for Sunday, Aug. 23, search terms "hottest month on record"
You feed mealworms to your birds? European scientists are working with the worms to create a bug-based fat substitute for margarine. Shelf-ready in "just a few years." Take your time, guys.
Your post office has a block of four new stamps with bird images: Golden-crowned Kinglet, Cedar Waxwing, Northern Cardinal, and Red-breasted Nuthatch. Get yours early. Stamps with bird images are very popular.
Bought your 2016-17 duck stamp yet? While at the p.o., buy a duck stamp, too. Duck stamps support habitat, loss of which is the most challenging issue facing birds today.
Announcement of the winning artist in the contest for next year's stamp will be made Sept. 10. Judging this year is in Phhiladelphia. Birds eligible for use on the stamp are Brant, Canada Goose, Northern Shoveler, Red-breasted Merganser, and Steller's Eider. Eider or merganser would be my choices. Not the goose.
Research from Cornell shows that the genetic makeup of Golden-winged Warblers and Blue-winged Warblers is 99.97 percent the same. They look different and sound different. Is that enough difference to support two species? Or will they be lumped into one?
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