 | | | Our June issue of RCC’s Bird Watch and Wonder might as well be called “In Praise of Birds.” That’s the title of our opening article — Ross Feldner’s delightful look at the seductive splendor of our feathered friends and why we are so in love with them. We want so much to keep birds in our minds and hearts that we even make up silly jingles and nonsense syllables to remember exactly how they sound and who they are. Even National Public Radio covered this amusing phenomenon so that in our “Bird Lore” section, you can see and hear that Poor Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody (the White-crowned Sparrow) is both a colorful character and a bosom buddy. Even spectacular predators like the osprey draw gasps of awe and admiration as they snatch fish from beneath the water with fearsome dives that Jim McCormac of the Columbus Dispatch compares to cheetahs of the air. Such admiration for birds leads, of course, to our unquenchable desire to preserve and protect them. In “Action and Advocacy” look for J. Drew Lanham’s eloquent essay on the miraculous and beautiful stopover near his home in South Carolina of the Red Knot, that long-distance champion of migration that each spring and fall flies 9300 miles from the Arctic to the tip of South America and back. But the flocks of these endurance champions are seriously diminished and officially endangered thanks to human development, the use of chemicals, global climate change, and more. It is why Lanham writes and teaches and acts and urges us to do the same if we are to have hope that such astonishing creatures are to survive. Of course, the beloved and more familiar birds of our own backyards need our help as well, especially as the entire nation suffers increasingly extended and deadly heat waves and drought. That’s why Southern Living offers complete instructions on how to make sure that your birdbath not only attracts thirsty birds, but is also a safe and healthy source of water. We love birds so much, in fact, that we even treat them like our own family members when they are injured or sick and need hospital care. In Sausalito, California, members of International Bird Rescue have been nursing and rehabilitating hundreds of Brown Pelicans who were found starving along the coast for complex reasons related to the availability of fish as a result of climate change. They have now been happily released and spotted as far off as the coast of Oregon.  Birds are such an integral and inspiring part of human history that they are featured in our religion, mythology, music, and art. It is nearly impossible to imagine life without them. But given current threats to their existence and to ours – we must. In the “Art of Birds” section, artist Rachele Daminelli seeks out birds around the world before, as she says, “It is too late.” Given her love of birds, Daminelli is determined to create an audio archive of all their songs so that they may be heard by someone in the future, even if there comes a silent spring.
Birds are also distinctive for their feathers which artist Nelda Dale Babb, who died in 1987, used to give immortality to the birds she loved. Babb created a permanent collection (now housed in California’s Tehama County Museum) of incredibly lifelike renditions of birds like the American Bittern. As an act of artistic caring and love that still touches us today, Nelda Babb painstakingly arranged and painted each species’ glorious feathers gathered from specimens that already had died. Now they all live on.
 We may also glory in and love birds as we do simply because they continue to fill our lives with joy even in difficult times. On North Carolina’s eastern shore along the Cape Fear River, shore birds like the American Oystercatcher, with its outsized orange-red bill, have already returned and begun to have their chicks.
For many of us, it is cuteness and even comedy that calls us to love the birds like the endlessly adorable Atlantic Puffin in this month’s “Best of the Bird of the Week.” Or, it may be the sheer pluckiness and persistence of the little Downy Woodpecker we can watch in the “Best of Momentary Meditations” that naturalist/poet Stephen Shick says keeps us all hanging on. As Rachel Carson put it, “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” | | | | | | | |  Bob Musil is the President & CEO of the Rachel Carson Council and author of Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Extraordinary Women Who Have Shaped America’s Environment (Rutgers, 2016) and Washington in Spring: A Nature Journal for a Changing Capital (Bartleby, 2016). He is also the editor of the forthcoming annotated edition from Rutgers University Press of Rachel Carson’s Under the Sea-Wind with his Introduction, updated marine science, and historic and contemporary illustrations and photographs. | | | | | | In Praise of Birds Of all the animals in the world, birds are among the most beautiful, diverse and fascinating. They walk, run, fly, dive and swim on every continent in the world. They range in size from the Bee Hummingbird that measures a mere two and a quarter inches long to the enormous Common Ostrich, towering to heights of up to 9 feet! Unique in the animal kingdom, bird’s feathers and lightweight, hollow bones lift them into the sky, often to astonishing altitudes. The critically endangered Rüppell's Vulture holds the record for the highest flying bird in the world, reaching heights of 37,100 ft. That’s a little over 7 miles high! | | | | | | | | You Probably Think This is Our National Bird. Think Again. Yes, the bald eagle appears on our Great Seal, but it has no official designation. Members of Congress from Minnesota recently introduced legislation to name Haliaeetus leucocephalus — the bald eagle — the national bird of the United States. The National Eagle Center, a nonprofit educational organization in Minnesota, spearheaded the initiative, and the Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes, representing 35 indigenous nations, has adopted a resolution of support. | | | | | | | | Something Wild: How to Remember Bird Songs Birds are singing everywhere this time of year, making it a great time to practice identifying birds by their songs and calls. Hearing the bird song in the field and then learning the random human alliteration of lyrics creates an indelible impression of the song in your memory. These mnemonic phrases are a kind of birding folklore passed down from generations of birders. | | | | | | | | Ospreys Are Flying Fishermen As the cheetah is to the gazelle, the osprey is to the fish. Imagine if you will, swimming peacefully in the isolation chamber calmness of the underwater world. Then, without warning, "Crash!" "Splash!" Out of nowhere, a giant raptor's talons break the surface, seize you and next thing you know, you're high aloft and heading for a nest of baby ospreys. Fate: avian sushi. | | | | | | | | Red Knots, Horseshoe Crabs, and Us Conservationist Drew Lanham's call for the care of kinship. It’s an annual ritual, the flocks of red-breasted shorebirds landing to refuel along the Atlantic shores of South Carolina during one of the longest migrations in the animal kingdom. The red knots’ layover on their journey from the Patagonia region of South America to the Arctic is timed to the spring spawning of horseshoe crabs and the abundance of eggs lining the beaches. But red knots have been less plentiful of late, so much so they are now protected under the Endangered Species Act. | | | | | | | | 3 Reasons Why Birds May Not Be Using Your Bird Bath Here’s how to ensure your bird bath is safe and welcoming to your feathered friends. Watching birds sip and splash around in your bird bath is enjoyable, and it’s also a great way to support a healthy bird population year-round. “During hot summer months and drought, there aren’t many water sources, and a bird bath can become quite popular amongst the local birds,” says Jennifer McCarthy Tyrrell, engagement manager, Audubon South Carolina. | | | | | | | | | | First Baby Eagles Hatch on Reborn Chesapeake Island Some eagle-eyed wildlife biologists have made a surprising discovery at Poplar Island. That’s the island in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Maryland Port Authority have been rebuilding over the last 25 years. What was once almost entirely open water is now more than 1,700 acres of rock-ringed land. | | | | | | | | Water and Cooperation Breathe New Life Into Klamath Basin Wildlife Refuges Agriculture drained this ecosystem. Now, under the specter of future drought, the same systems have started to bring back both water and wildlife. Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, located in far Northern California, harbors what remains of a once vast, shallow lake. On a recent April morning, I toured the area with John Vradenburg, supervisory fish and wildlife biologist for the Klamath Basin Refuges. A few months earlier, birds had all but abandoned Tule Lake. | | | | | | | | Hawaii's Birds Are Going Extinct. Their Last Hope Could be Millions of Mosquitoes Every week at the Maui airport, a small helicopter gets loaded with 250,000 passengers. They're male mosquitoes, key players in a strategy that could be the last, best hope for Hawaii's endangered birds. "We got mosquitoes to drop," Christa Seidl of the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project calls to the pilot. She wheels over a crate with several hundred cardboard tubes filled with mosquitoes. Soon, they’ll be airdropped into Maui's high-elevation forests, the last refuge for endangered bird. | | | | | | | | 27 Healthy Brown Pelicans Released Back Into Wild From North Bay After Rehabilitation In the North Bay, more healthy Brown pelicans were released into the wild, after hundreds of the sea bird were found starving on beaches along the California Coast this spring. Friday saw the largest numbers of healthy birds returning to the bay. Many experts believe climate change is contributing to the starvation event. | | | | | | | | Can the Greater Sage-Grouse Be Kept Off the Endangered Species List? Warming and habitat loss diminished sage grouse populations 80 percent since 1965, putting them on the brink of an endangered listing. Western states, the federal government and energy and ranching interests are struggling to prevent that. Peering through a spotting scope in this remote section of eastern Oregon, Skyler Vold quietly muttered “Oh man” over and over. | | | | | | | | The Voice of Nature Artist Rachele Daminelli is creating an archive of bird songs from around the world before global warming and continued habitat loss makes it too late. The recording of sounds is little more than the electronic inscription—either digital or analogue—of sound waves. At first, the process might seem mechanical, but the reality extends far beyond technicalities. In many instances—the process can, in fact, be the result of an intimate and personal relationship with Mother Nature. | | | | | | | | Kotzebue Residents Spot and Sketch Birds Returning to Arctic With birds returning to the Arctic for the summer, residents had a chance to observe and sketch them during a bird walk last weekend. A new Kotzebue park ranger, Christina Nelson, led a birding and naturalist walk. During the event, 15 participants walked from the Heritage Center to South Beach, spotting and identifying bird species and practicing nature journaling. | | | | | | | | Birds of a Feather | Tales of Tehama Along Highway 36E and at the turn-off to Manton is the community of Dales, or Dales Station, as many still remember it. It started as a stop along the Tehama County Wagon Road in 1863 when William and Mary DeHaven (DeHaven Gulch is named for them) offered hot meals, feed and water for animals, and a place to stay for teamsters and travelers on the Tehama County Wagon Road. In 1908, Creath and Anna Dale purchased the two-story hotel, barn, and stables at Dales Station after quitting the mines in Shasta County. Meals cost 25 cents, and a bed cost another 25 cents. | | | | | | | | Tis the Season for Baby Birds It’s already time for our mid-season coastal nesting update from the Cape Fear River and beyond. Early in the spring, before ice cream and slip-’n’-slides were a glimmer in school kids’ summer break dreams, birds were already returning to our coast to begin their courting and mating rituals. From scratching scrapes in the sand to constructing elaborate nests made out of sticks and grass—pelicans, oystercatchers, egrets, and terns didn’t wait long to get busy. | | | | | | | | UF Researchers: Soaring Birds Use Their Lungs to Modify Mechanics of Flight Soaring birds — like osprey, eagles, falcons, even vultures — can stay aloft in the air seemingly forever, rarely flapping their wings. They glide along rising air currents in a way that has fascinated humans and scientists for centuries. Now, an international team of researchers led by University of Florida evolutionary biologist Emma Schachner, Ph.D., has reported for the first time that soaring birds use their lungs to enhance their flying in a way that has evolved over time. The team’s study was published today in Nature. | | | | | | | | Unnatural Selection As the climate changes, many species are teetering on extinction. How far should we go to save them? In the first flush of an Arctic spring, the boreal forest begins to stir, emerging from a silvered quiet. Icicles shatter like glass. Meltwater babbles, braiding in puddles and then in deltas. Snow drops in clumps from the branches of black spruce. Saplings remain crooked from a long wait, as if Dr. Seuss had drawn springtime. | | | | | | | | Most Birds Are at Great Risk From Climate Change The vibrant melodies of birds have filled our skies and enriched our world for millennia. But now, a shadow looms over this natural symphony. A recent study has painted a stark picture of North America’s avian future, with fewer birds gracing our skies by the century’s end. The culprit? The ever-encroaching specter of climate change. Imagine a world where the dawn chorus is muted, where the vibrant flashes of migratory birds become rare sights. This is a potential reality highlighted by the new research. | | | | | | | | A Pivotal Partnership for Imperiled Shorebirds and Living Fossils Each spring, thousands of Red Knots travel 9,000 miles from South America's Tierra del Fuego to the Canadian Arctic for their breeding season. With such a long migration, this shorebird must make stops along the way to eat and rest. The Delaware Bay is the perfect pitstop, where horseshoe crab eggs provide nourishment for the exhausted Red Knots and other migratory shorebirds. But this essential food source is under threat. | | | | | | | | | | | | Atlantic Puffin These sharp dressers have elegant plumage and a dramatically colored beak. Nicknamed the “clown of the sea” they breed in burrows on islands in the North Atlantic, and winter at sea. Due to their weight Atlantic Puffins must flap their small wings frantically to stay aloft, however, when underwater those wings become powerful flippers that allow the birds to skillfully maneuver to catch small fish one by one until they have a full beak. | | | | | | | | Momentary Meditations are published every Monday to awaken what Rachel Carson called “the sense of wonder” and what Albert Schweitzer called “a reverence for life.” Looking deeply into our interdependence with all life on earth helps us know what we must do. In our harried world, these meditations are meant to serve as a renewable resource for compassion and love. Tapping Through Tapping through life's hard surfaces.
You'll find all the nourishment you need.
If only to just hang on. | | | | | | | | The Hidden Life of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey An enthralling account of a modern voyage of discovery as we meet the clever, social birds of prey called caracaras, which puzzled Darwin, fascinate modern-day falconers, and carry secrets of our planet's deep past in their family history. “Deftly intertwine[s] natural history and human history, with insights and lessons that go far beyond the subject birds.”—David Sibley, author of What It's Like to Be a Bird “Utterly captivating and beautifully written, this book is a hugely entertaining and enlightening exploration of a bird so wickedly smart, curious, and social, it boggles the mind.”—Jennifer Ackerman, author of The Bird Way In 1833, Charles Darwin was astonished by an animal he met in the Falkland Islands: handsome, social, and oddly crow-like falcons that were "tame and inquisitive . . . quarrelsome and passionate," and so insatiably curious that they stole hats, compasses, and other valuables from the crew of the Beagle. Darwin wondered why these birds were confined to remote islands at the tip of South America, sensing a larger story, but he set this mystery aside and never returned to it. Almost two hundred years later, Jonathan Meiburg takes up this chase. He takes us through South America, from the fog-bound coasts of Tierra del Fuego to the tropical forests of Guyana, in search of these birds: striated caracaras, which still exist, though they're very rare. He reveals the wild, fascinating story of their history, origins, and possible futures. And along the way, he draws us into the life and work of William Henry Hudson, the Victorian writer and naturalist who championed caracaras as an unsung wonder of the natural world, and to falconry parks in the English countryside, where captive caracaras perform incredible feats of memory and problem-solving. A Most Remarkable Creature is a hybrid of science writing, travelogue, and biography, as generous and accessible as it is sophisticated, and absolutely riveting. Purchase here | | | | | | The June 2024 issue of Bird Watch and Wonder was produced by Ross Feldner | | | | | |  The Rachel Carson Council Depends on Tax-deductible Gifts From Concerned Individuals Like You. Please Help If You can. | | | |  Sign Up Here to Receive the RCC E-News and Other RCC Newsletters, Information and Alerts. | | | | | | | | | | | |
