NEW ZEALAND — Māui and Hector’s dolphin proposals not fit for extinction crisis world’s rarest dolphin species — CANYON WREN — PLANET EARTH BIRD WORLD group

All PLANET EARTH groups supports:

Sierra Club* United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) * American Bird Conservancy

PLANET EARTH BIRD WORLD has over 1,600 members and over 130,000 photos and videos.

Māui and Hector’s dolphin proposals

not fit for extinction crisis.

We must ban all gill netting and trawling from Māui habitat out to 100 metres immediately, but why aren’t the same protections being offered for Hector’s dolphins?  We know they are dying by the dozen in fishing nets but there is no equivalent proposal to stop those methods in Hector’s habitat. 

CANYON WREN

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Catherpes mexicanus 
POPULATION: 310,000
TREND: Stable 
HABITAT: Rocky outcrops, cliffs, and canyons.

Male Canyon Wrens songs are composed of clear, descending notes – almost sounding as if the bird is tumbling headfirst into a chasm. Chances are good that a Canyon Wren that’s singing persistently and acting territorial is a male. The female sings much less frequently, usually in response to a male’s song; her song is buzzy and ascending.

Many think this species’ tumbling, echoing notes form one of the West’s most beautiful bird songs. Both males and females sing, although their tunes sound a bit different.

Top Contributors

DansPhotoArtHawkeye2011DiegojacklittlebiddleS C photos

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED — BIRDS — BAHAMA NUTHATCH — PLANET EARTH IN BLACK AND WHITE group

All PLANET EARTH groups supports:

Sierra Club* United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) * American Bird Conservancy

PLANET EARTH IN BLACK AND WHITE has over 3,000 members and over 173,000 photos and videos.

 

BAHAMA NUTHATCH

Estimated population:  Two to five individuals

ICUN Status: Critically Endangered

Location: Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas

After declining for decades, the total population of the Bahama Nuthatch was estimated to be 1,800 in 2004. In just three years, subsequent hurricanes destroyed remaining habitat, reducing the number to 23. When Hurricane Matthew struck the island of Grand Bahama in 2016, the nuthatch disappeared, and some feared it was extinct. In 2018, researchers rediscovered the bird. Surveys this year, however, failed to find any birds. ABC is working with a local partner to support ongoing search efforts. The Bahama Nuthatch faces various suspected threats, including habitat destruction and degradation, invasive predatory species, fire, and hurricane damage.

 The Bahama Nuthatch is closely related to the Brown-headed Nuthatch of the southeastern United States, but can be distinguished by its longer beak, shorter wings, whiter belly, and vocalizations. The bird is only known from native pine forest on Grand Bahama Island, which lies approximately 100 miles off Palm Beach, Fla.

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alexinatempaJohn KocijanskiSARK S-Wl4tsValt3r Rav3ra – DEVOted!

BIRD OF THE WEEK — BARN SWALLOW — PLANET EARTH BIRD WORLD group

All PLANET EARTH groups supports:

Greenpeace * United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) * American Bird Conservancy

PLANET EARTH BIRD WORLD group has over 1,600 members and over 130,000 photos and videos. 

BIRD OF THE WEEK

BARN SWALLOW

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Hirundo rustica 
POPULATION: 41 million (Americas), 190 million (world)
TREND: Decreasing 
HABITAT: Breeds in open country including pastures, meadows, and farmland, often near water. Winters in a variety of open habitats.

No bird in North America is better known as a welcome companion and a useful friend to the farmer, as it courses  about the barnyard in pursuit of the troublesome insects that annoy both man and beast.

The Barn Swallow seems to benefit from life around people, as long as its prey remains abundant. The species is found around the world, as are the Short-eared Owl, Golden Eagle, Dunlin, and a handful of other bird species.

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DansPhotoArtHawkeye2011DiegojacklittlebiddleS C photos

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) — PLANET EARTH OUR HOME group

All PLANET EARTH groups supports:

Sierra Club* United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) * American Bird Conservancy

PLANET EARTH OUR HOME is our flagship group with over 12,000 members and over 871,000 photos

and videos. 

UNHCR releases supplementary COVID-19 appeal to meet exceptional refugee needs in 2021.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, released today its supplementary appeal for 2021 COVID response seeking an additional US$455 million.

While most of the pandemic-related activities amounting to $477 million have been already mainstreamed and included in UNHCR’s 2021 Global Appeal totaling $8.616 billion, the supplementary COVID-19 response released today focuses on exceptional socioeconomic and protection impacts related to COVID-19 as millions of refugees, internally displaced and stateless people fall into conditions of extreme hardship.

Monitoring carried out by UNHCR since the onset of the pandemic paint a bleak picture of the well-being and protection of refugees and others of concern, with 74 per cent of them now able to meet only half or less of their basic needs, and 83 per cent engaging in one or more negative coping mechanisms to meet their basic needs.

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John Horstman (itchydogimages, SINOBUG)alpenglowtravelersDiegojack–MARCO POLO–tucker.tterence

HAWAII’S ENDANGERED PALILA — FLOWERS — PLANET EARTH MACRO WORLD group

All PLANET EARTH groups supports:

Sierra Club* United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) * American Bird Conservancy

PLANET EARTH MACRO WORLD has over 1,600 members and over 98,000 photos and videos. 

The beautiful, liquid song of the Palila was once thought a sign of rain. Now the distinctive sound is rarely heard.

The Palila and the māmane tree are two of Hawai’i’s many species found nowhere else. The tree is essential to the bird: The Palila’s hooked bill is just right for opening the tough, fibrous seedpods of māmane, the bird’s primary food.

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John Horstman (itchydogimages, SINOBUG)deta kIn Memoriam: Ecuador Megadiversoorb1806Hugo von Schreck