The Message of the Monarchs by Becky Nystrom
Nature and her creatures are suffering, and they’re calling for our help. The message of the monarchs (Danaus plexippus), a once widespread and iconic organism now threatened with extinction, is but one of many species in unprecedented decline, pleading for our attention and action. Monarchs have much to teach us, and the plight of this amazing and ancient organism is a warning to us all that an ecological Armageddon may be underway. The eastern monarch’s mind-boggling three thousand-mile multigenerational migration between Mexico and North America is unlike any other in the world. On their...
Read MoreMapping Global Temperature Changes
This is a sobering graphic via the Twitter feed of Ed Hawkins (https://twitter.com/ed_hawkins), Climate scientist at the University of Reading. He said, “When considering changes in global temperature, it’s always important to look at the big picture, rather than obsess over short-term effects” which is why something like the cold and snowy days in the winter are not an indicator of how the planet is feeling. Our lives encompass a very small span of time compared to that of the Earth itself, and we often do not have an appropriate sense of the environmental and climate...
Read MoreAutumn Meadowhawk
We are really at the end of the insect season now, and here was likely the last Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly of the season for me last week. Our warm stretch allowed life to flourish a little longer than usual, a continuing impact of our changing climate. Each year we seem to be setting new records for the earliest spotted and latest recorded individuals of species of butterflies, birds, and sometimes even flowers. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreLincoln’s Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii)
I mentioned how Lincoln’s Sparrows were being spotted earlier than expected this year in my post about Palm Warblers from this morning (I wrote it yesterday). Sure enough, here’s my September Lincoln’s Sparrow from about 7:30AM today. I love them, and it was beautiful as always, but it is very unsettling to see another so early. Last week RTPI Development Director Linda Pierce sent me this article on Braddock Bay Bird Observatory and their increasingly early records, and one of the species named was the Lincoln’s Sparrow. I will be interested to see if we note a...
Read MoreEarly Palm Warblers
If I had to pick out one theme of the overall autumn songbird migration thus far it would have to be how oddly scheduled our birds have been. Are they checking their calendars correctly? Different parts of the region are having often different sightings, possibly based on local conditions including drought and more than double the anticipated amount of rain in some areas, of birds that “should” or “should not” be seen. Lincoln’s Sparrows, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and birds like these Palm Warblers (Setophaga palmarum) are October species to me with that being the...
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