Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.64.0902271703440.1411@panix3.panix.com>
From: Alan Sondheim <sondheim@panix.com>
To: Cyb <cybermind@listserv.aol.com>, Wryting-L <WRYTING-L@listserv.wvu.edu>,
Cyberculture <cyberculture@zacha.org>
Subject: February BirdWire eNewsletter (fwd)
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:03:52 -0500 (EST)
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:45:57 -0500 (EST) From: American Bird Conservancy <abc@abcbirds.org> To: sondheim@panix.com Subject: February BirdWire eNewsletter FAA Agrees to Study Lighting Requirements for Bird-Killing Towers The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced plans to conduct a study that will examine whether steady-burning sidelights on tall communications towers, which attract birds and cause them to collide with the towers during night migration, can be safely eliminated without endangering air traffic. Unlike many waterfowl and birds of prey, most songbirds migrate during the night, with up to several billion birds having to navigate a landscape littered with as many as 100,000 lighted towers each spring and fall. American Bird Conservancy and its conservation partners have been working together with the communications industry in seeking this important study, which will help determine whether the safety of pilots can be maintained while also reducing the impact of lights on migrating birds. Read the full story at http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/090206.html Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture Helps Priority Birds in Tennessee. Bird conservation in the Appalachian Mountains received a big boost recently with the completion of a significant conservation acquisition in east Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau. The newly-acquired lands include over 120,000 acres of hardwood forest, rugged mountains, and pristine streams spread over three different areas. These forests link to an additional 66,000 acres of public lands, creating a total of 300 square miles of protected habitat for birds and wildlife. Read the full story at http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/090113.html Fishermen Work to Keep Birds Off the Hook. West Coast fishermen are voluntarily taking measures to stop the accidental killing of seabirds, which can be snared on the hooks of long-line fishing boats. The Fishing Vessel Owners' Association (FVOA), which represents longlining captains in the halibut and sablefish fisheries along the West Coast, has instructed its members to use streamer lines when longline fishing in Washington, Oregon, and California waters. Read the full story at http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/090212.html Survey Finds Rare Hummer in New Areas, Locates First Ever Nests, Identifies Females. The results of an American Bird Conservancy-funded study of the distribution and nesting of the globally endangered Esmeraldas Woodstar have just been released by Fundaci�n Jocotoco, with some encouraging news. This tiny hummingbird, barely bigger than a bumblebee, is endemic to the dry forests of the coastal mountains of central and northern Ecuador, where it has a tiny range, and where the lack of suitable habitat makes its distribution extremely fragmented. The researchers found new sites as far as 62 miles northward of the main known nesting area. They also found the nest of the species for the first time ever and identified females, which up to now had been incorrectly identified. Read the full story at http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/090127.html U.S. Climate Legislation Presents Golden Opportunity to Conserve Birds. One of the highest priorities of the 111th Congress will be passing legislation to curb global warming by placing a cap on heat-trapping carbon emissions. A vote in the House of Representatives is expected this year on a bill currently being developed. To ensure that habitat conservation is enhanced by the legislation, American Bird Conservancy has been working with the Forest Climate Working Group to have private forests included in the global warming bill by creating incentives for projects that sequester carbon, and providing funding to mitigate impacts to forests caused by rapidly shifting climate zones. Read the full story at http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/090217.html