Bald Eagles, Whooping Cranes, Green Heron, and one wacky-looking cardinal, pictured above, were in the news over the past two weeks. Here’s a recap of what Managing Editor Matt Mendenhall and I tweeted about at @BirdWatchDaily on Twitter:
Everyone went a little gaga about a half-male, half-female Northern Cardinal spotted a few years ago in Rock Island, Illinois, and described in a recent issue of the Wilson Journal of Ornithology (abstract). The bird is known as a bilateral gynandromorph.
The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership announced that 103 birds were in the eastern migratory population — 54 males and 49 females. As of December 31, 40 of the cranes were thought to be in Indiana, 7 were in Illinois, 9 were in Kentucky, 7 were in Tennessee, 17 were in Alabama, 3 were in Georgia, 14 were in Florida, and 6 were unaccounted for.
The egg visible in the Bald Eagle’s nest below was the earliest since the nest cam at at Blackwater NWR went live 10 years ago.
1st egg of the 2015 Blackwater NWR Eagle Cam season! The earliest we've had an egg since we went live in 2004. pic.twitter.com/zIeSi4bPhM
— Lisa (@FriendsofBNWR) January 8, 2015
A Tropical Kingbird was recorded in Mississippi. It was the first record for the state. A Tundra Bean-Goose turned up in Oregon. A Couch’s Kingbird appeared in New York. A Eurasian Kestrel was photographed at Hartlen Point in Nova Scotia, the first for the province since 1988. And an Ivory Gull put on a show along the Mississippi River in Quincy, Illinois.
A Eurasian Kestrel in NS just broke this week. That & more at the RBA at The ABA Blog http://t.co/Je8z8wSQTD #abarare pic.twitter.com/Tr3BW6E3bN
— Amer. Birding Assoc. (@ABA) January 2, 2015
The American Birding Association named Green Heron its 2015 bird of the year.
Touchdown!!! Ivory Gull in 16 degree weather. He hardly feels it but I was too cold to get better digiscoper shots. pic.twitter.com/Vo1abG1EeT
— Chip Clouse (@Chip_Notes) January 9, 2015
Finally, our February 2015 issue — featuring Jerry Jackson’s special report on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, our list of citizen-science projects, and Sheryl DeVore’s cover story about diving ducks — went on sale on newsstands. Look for it at Barnes & Noble and Chapters book stores, and if you don’t see it, ask for it!
Happy New Year! — Chuck Hagner, Editor
Follow BirdWatching Magazine on Twitter.
Follow Managing Editor Matt Mendenhall on Twitter.
Follow Contributing Editor Julie Craves.
Follow Contributing Editor Kenn Kaufman.
Follow American Bird Conservancy.
Originally Published
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