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[karengramke]

Thanks Baz.  And t40.  Truly the survival of the fitest.

[Nora in IA]

I heard several crows causing a ruckus, so I looked out my window to see what all the commotion was about.  I was startled and mesmerized by what I saw.  There was an obviously dead crow on my sidewalk and a group of 6-7 crows had encircled the body and were calling out loudly.  At one point, the circle all turned their backs on their dead friend and called out once again as if to announce to anyone listening, "Fred is dead! Fred is dead! Long live Fred!"  I was sure I was witnessing a funeral ceremony.  An avid birder friend of mine had never heard of this behavior but it has stayed with me all these years later.

  Oh how cool T40.  I remember Larry & Lucy burying the one egg and laying a feather over it. 

[T40cfr403]

Fascinating video and informative article on the complex food web of the California condor.

http://www.kcet.org/news/redefine/rewild/birds-1/condors-throw-dead-sea-lion-party-at-big-sur.html

[T40cfr403]

The longest-living, banded, wild eagle in the U.S. lived 33 years, 5 months.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/3726929-raptors-banded-duluths-evans-set-longevity-record

[baziunc]

The longest-living, banded, wild eagle in the U.S. lived 33 years, 5 months.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/3726929-raptors-banded-duluths-evans-set-longevity-record

Interesting article, T40.  A lot will be learned about eagle longevity as more are banded.  I have to scratch my head though over one unexplained aspect of that article- I wonder what was the reason for that man to capture the gyrfalcon this past February - the gyrfalcon that recently became identified as the oldest known banded wild gyrafalcon?  It didn't say if the gyrfalcon was injured or sick.  (News articles drive me nuts sometimes with the omission of aspects of their story that lead to obvious questions that would have been easily answered if the reporter had bothered.    !! )

[T40cfr403]

The longest-living, banded, wild eagle in the U.S. lived 33 years, 5 months.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/3726929-raptors-banded-duluths-evans-set-longevity-record

Interesting article, T40.  A lot will be learned about eagle longevity as more are banded.  I have to scratch my head though over one unexplained aspect of that article- I wonder what was the reason for that man to capture the gyrfalcon this past February - the gyrfalcon that recently became identified as the oldest known banded wild gyrafalcon?  It didn't say if the gyrfalcon was injured or sick.  (News articles drive me nuts sometimes with the omission of aspects of their story that lead to obvious questions that would have been easily answered if the reporter had bothered.    !! )

I assumed he recognized the band on the gyrfalcon, or was fairly sure about it.  Either that or a federal bander is allowed to trap banded birds for recordkeeping purposes and it was a lucky accident it was one of "his."  But you're right; the next question should have started with, "Why..."

[T40cfr403]

And the world's most polluted wild bird is ---> http://phys.org/news/2015-04-flameproof-falcons-hawks-polluted-bird.html

[T40cfr403]

"Action on multiple fronts, illegal poisoning and wind farm planning, is required to reverse the decline of the Egyptian vulture in southern Spain"  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320715001408

I couldn't find open access to this research paper, so I don't know what kind of "illegal poisoning" they're talking about.

[T40cfr403]

Well, this is just about the COOLEST story I've come across in a long time!!!!!  Houdini is the falcon (hybrid peregrine gyrfalcon) equivalent of Challenger the bald eagle and is being used to teach radar how to tell the difference between ground clutter and birds in flight.  These data can then be used by wind farms as an early warning system to allow time to cut the wind turbines' power and hopefully keep birds from flying into the blades. 

This is a short introduction to the topic, with a great photo of Houdini, the peregrine falcon.  http://www.gizmodo.in/science/A-GPS-Equipped-Falcon-Could-Keep-Birds-From-Flying-Into-Wind-Turbines/articleshow/47033698.cms

And here's the excellent article that lays out all the details.  http://www.nrel.gov/news/features/feature_detail.cfm/feature_id=16495

[T40cfr403]

Now they're finding microplastics in eagles, and lots of it! 

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150424/PC16/150429581/eagles-found-with-marine-pollutants

[T40cfr403]

Avian flu map last updated 5/6/15.  http://www.wattagnet.com/Avian_influenza_outbreak_map.html

2 more commercial farms confirmed with avian flu in Iowa on Friday.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/08/bird-flu-iowa-chickens_n_7245350.html

[T40cfr403]

What factors affect the time songbirds incubate their eggs?  http://phys.org/news/2015-05-uncovers-songbirds-vary-devoted-eggs.html

Wonder why the researchers didn't factor in the ambient air temperature, especially considering their finding that tropical songbirds spend less time warming their eggs than their northern cousins?

I'm also at a loss to see how eagles fit into these scenarios.  Eagles have relatively long lives and aren't particularly susceptible to predation and neither are their eggs, but they spend a lot of time warming their eggs just like songbirds under predation pressure.   

[T40cfr403]

This is a summary of a 2013 USFWS research paper entitled:  BALD EAGLE AND GOLDEN EAGLE MORTALITIES AT WIND ENERGY FACILITIES IN THE CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES

https://turtletalk.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/jrr-12-00019-1.pdf

[T40cfr403]

Birds 'weigh' peanuts in the shell and choose heavier ones.  Science sounds fun until you're the one stuck opening hundreds of peanut shells and closing them back up. LOL!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150522174719.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fplants_animals%2Fbirds+%28Birds+News+--+ScienceDaily%29

[T40cfr403]

From chicken to dinosaur: Scientists experimentally 'reverse evolution' of perching toe.  Interesting because it's not genetic evolution at work, but mechanical evolution.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150522174534.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fplants_animals%2Fbirds+%28Birds+News+--+ScienceDaily%29