Loose Feathers #373

Blue-winged teal in flight at Sand Lake NWR / Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS

Birds and birding

• Christmas Bird Counts are underway, including the Bronx-Winchester count, which has been running since 1924.
• Razorbills are appearing in Florida in unusual numbers.
• Montana may send 80 female sage grouse to North Dakota to bolster their declining population, which was hit hard by West Nile Virus 
• The Wood Stork population on the whole has been increasing, but the storks at Corkscrew Swamp have been forced to look elsewhere to nest.

Nature and science blogging

• Laelaps: New Zealand’s Long-Lost Giant Raptor
• Culturing Science: A Natural History of Mistletoe
• Iowa Voice: Ruddy Turnstone
• Anything Larus: Hammond Kumlien's Returns
• Not Exactly Rocket Science: What Do Lizard Tails Have In Common With Toilet Paper?

Environment and biodiversity

• An endangered fin whale died after it washed ashore at Breezy Point in New York City.
• Lisa Jackson resigned after four years as EPA administrator. During her time in office, the EPA raised restrictions on emissions from vehicles and power plants and ruled that greenhouse gases can be regulated as pollutants. However, action on climate change lags far behind what is needed.
• Last week, the EPA issued new regulations on emissions from industrial boilers, cement kilns, and incinerators.
• Here is a list (with photos) of the top species discoveries of 2012.
• Some fishermen in Oregon are using discarded Christmas trees to improve habitat for Coho Salmon.
• Eric Prokopi admitted smuggling numerous fossils into the US after they had been collected illegally.
• A new map of biogeography has been published.