Hello dear readers — usually I write a brief column or essay here, but I have to admit the past month has been rougher than usual and I’ve got nothing! One member or another of my household was sick for nearly all of February, culminating in me testing positive for COVID last week, plus I was busier than usual with work (see below). So this week I’ve got my usual link roundup and book recommendation and that’s it! See you in April.

Words About Birds

For bioGraphic, I covered how Northern Gannet colonies in the UK have fared since avian influenza swept through a few years ago, speaking to the researchers who witnessed the virus devastate the seabird colonies they’d spent decades studying and protecting. The seabird folks who agreed to be interviewed were truly lovely people and I’m glad I’m able to share their stories.

For The Revelator, I wrote about some new research showing that tens of millions of Americans could lose the opportunity to see their state birds in their neighborhoods due to climate change. Yes, state birds are kind of arbitrary and silly, and yes, we’ll have much bigger problems to deal with if we get to three degrees of warming… but people’s ability to experience nature in their daily lives is worth worrying about, too.

For Audubon, I covered a recent study highlighting the hidden cascade of ecological events that leads to salmonella outbreaks at bird feeders. A cool summer following a warm summer in the mountains triggers conifers there to scale back their cone production, causing a shortage of food for Pine Siskins the next winter. Hungry siskins then flood into cities and visit urban bird feeders at high numbers, and all those siskins crammed together at bird feeders turn out to be a perfect salmonella breeding ground. Fascinating stuff!

And for my latest contribution to BirdNote Daily, I shared the story of a Western Gull that took a most unusual foraging trip when it hitched a ride on a long-haul garbage truck… twice. We know about its adventure thanks to researchers who have been tracking the Farallon Islands’ gulls via GPS!

Book Recommendation of the Month

The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A Story of Climate and Hope on One American Street by Mike Tidwell. This book is an exploration of climate change through the lens of the mysterious deaths of large oak trees on a single block in Takoma Park, Maryland. I’m not going to lie, it gets depressing at points, but it got me thinking about some aspects of climate change that are perhaps less talked about than they should be.

Upcoming Events

March 7: IN PERSON book talk for South Sound Bird Alliance Annual Dinner (Olympia, WA)

March 20: IN PERSON book talk for Sea & Sage Audubon Annual Dinner (Orange County, CA)

That’s it for now. Feel free to forward this newsletter to a friend you think might like it, and I’ll see you next month!