Don't you love reading your work e-mail on Monday morning? After a cold, dark and wet bike ride to work this morning, I sat down at my desk and saw ... that it's time to talk about how climate change could impact autumn. Continue reading →

Filed under: Climate change, Forestry, U.S. Geological Survey

A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey has found there are probably a lot more barred owls in Northwest forests than past studies have shown. Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, Barred owl, Spotted owl, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey

In the wake of the much-hyped "aflockalypse" – the term coined for the series of mass wildlife die-offs over the past two weeks – I discovered this U.S. Geological Survey site that compiles recent wildlife mortality events (which are actually quite common, experts say, though not to be ignored). Continue reading →

Filed under: Climate change, Fish & Wildlife, Aflockalypse, U.S. Geological Survey

After 5,000 redwing blackbirds rained from the sky in Arkansas, eight other mysterious die-offs were reported in the news, leading some to wonder if we are seeing the apocalypse (or "aflockalypse" as some were calling it). Everyone has been asking what caused the die-offs and are they connected? A Google map illustrating all the recent mass deaths has been circulating ... Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, Aflockalypse, U.S. Geological Survey

In a Q&A with Andrew Revkin of the New York Times' DotEarth blog, U.S. Geological Survey scientists Colleen Handel and Caroline Van Hemert elaborated on the news released yesterday that record numbers of wild birds in the Pacific Northwest have been found with beak deformities. Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, Toxics, U.S. Geological Survey

Why are scientists seeing so many more cases of avian keratin disorder in the Northwest and Alaska? The U.S. Geological Survey has released a new study showing a dramatic increase in the number of Black-capped chickadees, Northwestern crows and other birds with deformed beaks. Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, U.S. Geological Survey