The largest raptor in the world, this dramatic photo of a Steller’s Sea Eagle landing on winter ice in northern Japan was photographed by Isabel Guerra Clark.

Considered one of the world’s most beautiful birds, a Resplendent Quetzal was bringing fruit to its nesting cavity in Costa Rica, where it was photographed by Aaron Baggenstos.

A trio of fledgling Barred Owls taken in Maryland by Bogdan Alexandrescu is especially captivating.

After seeing the winning photographs referenced last week, now you can review the best of the rest: The Best 100 Bird Photos entered by 2,416 photographers during the 2021 Audubon Photography Contest! These photos feature birdlife at its most vivid, vulnerable, formidable, and playful. There are intimate portraits that reveal exquisite details, action photos that capture powerful birds on the hunt, and arresting images that celebrate a wide array of bird behavior. Prepare to be impressed by the resourcefulness of the bird photographers.

Now you can scroll through these superb images that feature birds in all their variety, and find out the backstory behind each photo. This year more than 8,770 photos and 261 videos were entered in the 12th annual Audubon Photography Awards. Eight stunning winners were selected by the panel of judges, along with 5 honorable mention photos, as noted in last week’s issue of The Birding Wire. Now you can view the Top 100 additional bird photos so you can pick your own favorites!

View the Top 100 bird photos from the 2021 Audubon Photography Contest at https://www.audubon.org/news/the-2021-audubon-photography-awards-top-100

The US Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) and the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) are currently working together to diagnose a mysterious ailment that has affected some fledgling songbirds – mostly Blue Jays, Common Grackles, European Starlings, and American Robins – in some Mid-Atlantic portions of the United States. To date, none of the labs have been able to identify the cause of the birds’ deaths.

After rigorous nationwide testing, the NWHC and its collaborators published a report that rules out several common bird pathogens, including West Nile virus, avian influenza, Newcastle disease, herpes viruses, poxviruses, salmonella, chlamydia, and trichomonas parasites.

While it’s extremely helpful to narrow down the list of potential pathogens, investigators are still searching for leads as to the cause of the bird deaths in areas of the Mid-Atlantic states from New Jersey to Virginia, plus West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana.

With such a broad spectrum of bacteria, fungi, toxins, and viruses to test for, it may be a while before researchers have a definitive answer. Nicole Nemeth with the SCWDS, said it’s even possible that the disease could be caused by multiple pathogens. “There’s really still a lot of possibilities,” she explained, “Unfortunately, it just takes time.”

Stopping the Spread

Until then, concerned citizens in affected regions can take steps to protect birds in their own yards. “The best thing we can recommend is taking down your bird feeders,” wildlife researcher Christine Casey said. Once down, it’s important to clean feeders and birdbaths with a 10 percent bleach solution to kill any pathogens, followed by a thorough rinse and drying time. Keeping feeders and birdbaths clean, of course, is standard procedure for most birders anytime, including the use of very diluted 10 percent bleach with thorough rinsing afterward. Read more

The importance of a good look with binoculars before you consult a field guide, Merlin, or another bird ID source would emphasized when you located this bird in one of your trees. Same species? No, look at that beak … the key is to be prepared (immature Summer Tanager photo by Paul Konrad).

There are two essential pieces of birding equipment that everyone should have within reach – a field guide and a binocular. Even at home, whether you’re seated in your favorite chair with your feeding station in sight, or on your front porch, back deck, or balcony, it’s always a good bet to keep your binoculars close to check out the moment to moment potential of a bird’s appearance that catches your attention and imagination. You can always check your field guide moments later, but don’t underestimate the importance of having a good field guide within easy access.

It may seem early, but some birds are already beginning their southbound migrations – including new fledglings that have different plumages than adults, possibly with unfamiliar plumage coloration for you. If you are really lucky, you may even find a “rare bird,” a species that is a thousand miles beyond its normal range.

If you take a look at this week’s Rare Birds article you will see that rare birds are making record-breaking appearances in many states, including a Lark Bunting that’s visiting a feeding station in New Hampshire, a Beryline Hummingbird that frequents a feeder in Arizona, and a Mexican Violetear that stopped at a nectar feeder south Texas. At the same time you may see a species you’ve never seen in your yard before – a newbie for your Yard List. That’s always fun, and personally significant. Read more

PRATT – Widespread sampling for invasive crayfish had never occurred in Kansas lakes – that is, until the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) recently funded a university project focused on the freshwater crustacean. KDWP’s Aquatic Nuisance Species Program and Ecological Services section funded the project with the overarching goal of establishing sampling protocols that could then be used for long-term monitoring of both native and invasive crayfish in Kansas. To the surprise of staff and researchers, the need for such protocols would be validated almost as quickly as the research project began.

During capturing efforts at McPherson State Fishing Lake – one of several small waterbodies slated to be inspected in the state – university researchers collected multiple Rusty Crayfish. Rusty Crayfish have not previously been documented in the wild in Kansas, making this official “discovery” the first of its kind. Rusty Crayfish captured at McPherson consisted of both males and females of varying ages, indicating a reproducing population is established in the lake. Unfortunately, this isn’t the type of species staff and researchers would hope to find, as the Rusty Crayfish is an invasive species known for the considerable ecological damage it can cause in waterbodies. Read more

Bozeman, Montana. July 21, 2021— At the Wild Sheep Foundation’s (WSF) 13th Chapter and Affiliate Summit in Lewistown, Idaho (June 25 & 26), a hat was passed to raise money to bring water to drought-inflicted bighorn sheep herds in southern Nevada and elsewhere in the southern Rockies. By the end of the Summit, eighty-two thousand dollars was raised. This number is now up to an incredible $180,000 from generous WSF chapters, affiliates, and individual WSF members.

“With all the negative banter these days about hunters and hunting by self-proclaimed and media-appointed conservation groups, I say get out your checkbook if you want to do something real for wildlife,” said Gray N. Thornton, president and CEO of the Wild Sheep Foundation. “That’s what sportsmen have been doing for more than a century, and that’s what is happening here again for our wild sheep.”

More than 70 delegates attended the annual Summit from throughout WSF’s Chapter and Affiliate network, encompassing North America, Africa, Europe, and Central Asia. When presented with the dire situation in Nevada, without hesitation, pledges started rolling in.

“We see this time and again,” Thornton explained. “If there is a more giving group ready to make things happen than sheep hunters and those that just love seeing wild sheep, I’d like to meet them.” Read more