Global Warming Brings Earlier Spring Flowers Additionally aâ study in the journalâ Ecology in September of last yearâ found that Broad-tailed hummingbirds which migrate northward from Central Americain the spring are becoming decoupled from their nectar resources
Extreme weather events such as heavy rains and flooding as well as drastic changes in weather in a short period will also pose challenges for crop production said Walter Falcon deputy director of the Center on Food security and the Environment
Falcon pointed out that while U s. agriculture was affected by drought in 2012 the most extensive drought
or prevent them from planting altogether in certain areas that are flooded said Falcon who owns a farm in Iowa that was hit by the drought.
Using corn to produce ethanol has caused corn prices to increase Falcon said. In the midst of last year's drought corn prices rose 50 percent to $8 a bushel.
Corn is kind of a linchpin commodity Falcon said. Most experts don't think the United states will increase the amount of corn that goes to ethanol in the near future
but over the course of the century that could change Falcon said. Improving trade cooperation To continue to feed a growing population in light of the food shortages that are likely to occur with climate change global crop production in the future will have to be much more coordinated than it is said today Jason Clay an expert in natural resources management at the World
Infographic) Falcon agreed. Currently certain restrictions on trade exist that may prove problematic in the future such as
The idea that each country should be self-sufficient in food production is not the answer Falcon said.
In a world of lots of climate variation there is a lot of work to be done in getting trade flows straightened out Falcon said.
or megafauna such as marsupial versions of lions rhino-size wombats giant kangaroos and flightless birds but about 90 percent of that megafauna disappeared during this time.
#What is the'Birds and the Bees'?'The phrase the birds and the bees is a metaphor for explaining the mechanics of reproduction to younger children relying on imagery of bees pollinating
and eggs hatching to substitute for a more technical explanation of sexual intercourse. It is a way of deflecting the inevitable question that every parent dreads:
and it is an alternative to the explanation that the stork delivers babies. It is uncertain as to
It does not necessarily mean that parents are explaining how birds and bees reproduce. The connection between human sexuality and eggs and pollination is vague
Though there are some variations the story typically involves bees pollinating flowers symbolizing male fertilization and the birds laying eggs
In another telling of the story a baby is created when a bee stings a bird. Related:
How Bees Do it There are quite a few allusions to the phrase in literature and song. One of the early references to this bird and bees as a euphemism for reproduction is Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 1825 poem oework Without Hope:
   All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair    The bees are stirring birds are on the wing   Â
And Winter slumbering in the open air    Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!
Another commonly cited use of the phrase is American naturalist John Burroughs 1875 set of essays Birds and Bees Sharp Eyes and other Papers.
Dr. Emma Frances Angell Drake described the birds and bees in a section of the publication The Story of Life which was widely distributed between 1893 and 1930.
In her explanation of reproduction to her young daughters she used images of blue eggs in the robin's nest wind blowing pollen dust from one plant to the other
How Birds Do it A more direct reference can be found in Cole porter's lyrics to the 1928 song Let's Do it.
And that's why birds do it bees do it    Even educated fleas do it    Let's do it let's fall in love The phrase also appeared in a 1939 issue of the Freeport Journal Standard:
he knows about the birds and the bees. In consequence French films are made on a basis of artistic understanding that does not hamper the story.
A more modern reference to the phrase occurred on The Simpsons. The episode includes a scene has 10-year-old Bart Simpson remarking to his friend Milhouse The sun is out birds are singing bees are trying to have sex with them as is my understanding..
Accounts of that day which became known as New england's Dark Day include mentions of midday meals by candlelight night birds coming out to sing flowers folding their petals and strange behavior from animals.
As you pick up your turkey at the grocery store this week you might wonder why you never see the birds'eggs for sale.
Economically meat from a grown turkey bird is much more valuable than an extra large fried egg.
#Why Elk Are Robbing Birds Sonya Auer of the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently won the Elton Prize from The british Ecological Society for her research and writing.
have hurt spring breeding success for birds. Â This harm results not just from changing temperature but stem indirectly from climate impacts on elk small predators and even the forest the birds inhabit.
As winter temperatures on the plateau increase more precipitation is falling as rain rather than snow.
But elk opting to overwinter in the canyons is not boding well for the local plants and birds.
and elk and plants mean for bird species like the Red-faced Warbler? Each spring Red-faced Warblers along with two other related species the Orange-crowned Warbler and Virginia s Warbler build cupped nests of grass tucked into the ground at the base of trees.
There they incubate their eggs and raise their young until they grow big enough to leave the nest.
In the past the three warbler species did not choose the same kind of nest sites. Instead each selected patches dominated by different tree species. Orange-crowned Warblers preferred nesting in clumps of maples Virginia s Warblers liked locusts
and Red-faced Warblers nested under small fir trees. But now that maples and locusts are crowned declining Orange
and Virginia s Warblers have preferred fewer nest sites to choose from and are forced increasingly to nest in sites similar to those of the Red-faced Warbler.
 So why does this matter? Well nest-site choices have consequences for nest survival and subsequent population numbers.
When the birds divvied up their use of the different nest sites in the past predation on their eggs
and nestlings by squirrels and mice was lower. But now that the forest has changed and the birds are nesting in similar sites their nests are being detected more often by predators
which means fewer nests are fledging young. Fewer young can then lead to population declines.
It is not entirely clear why nest predation increases when nest sites become more similar over time.
and tree regeneration to the nesting success of birds in the spring and that points to the complexities through
however the birds have made an incredible recovery reaching levels near those of their precolonial days.
The birds are now found in virtually all parts of their former territory and some new places where they hadn't been said previously wildlife biologist Thomas Hughes of the National Wild Turkey Federation an organization that has reintroduced the animals into the wild.
In Maine for example the birds have been known to damage strawberry and blueberry crops. They have also been found rummaging in the fodder of dairy cattle
loud noises and dogs are effective at keeping the birds away he added. Furthermore the birds are blamed often for damage that they have not caused.
Animals that are active at night like deer and raccoons are more likely than wild turkeys to destroy most crops according to work by researchers at Purdue University.
Since then the bird has made slowly its way back. While populations continue to grow and spread in some areas particularly the Midwest populations in some Northeastern states appear to have leveled off according to Diefenbach and Sullivan.
'Hot products'Animals like parrots are also desirable to poachers in the same way certain hot products like cellphones
But the snakes have wreaked havoc on the ecosystem of Guam decimating the island's native bird population.
Within a few years of the invasive species arrival 10 of Guam's 12 native bird species had been wiped out.
And as a result of the plunging bird population Guam is now overrun with up to 40 times more spiders than nearby Pacific islands.
while the rat population continued to soar the mongooses proceeded to destroy Hawaii's native bird and turtle populations.
The lowland Mayan forests of northern Guatemala teem with wildlife toucans macaws howler monkeys and even the fabled jaguar.
#World's Largest Owl Exposes Health of Russia's Forests The world's largest owl requires equally huge trees a finding that reveals that this salmon-devouring predator could be a key sign of the health of some of the last great forests of Russia
Blakiston's fish owl (Bubo blakistoni) is one of the rarest owls in the world an endangered bird restricted to Russia China Japan and possibly North korea.
This owl is also the largest On earth. These birds stand two -and-a-half feet tall 75 centimeters have 6-foot wingspans 2 meters
and can weigh more than 10 pounds 4. 6 kilograms lead author Jonathan Slaght a wildlife biologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society told Livescience.
See Photos of Giant Salmon-Eating Owls The dead of winter Little was known about how this owl used its habitat
To learn more scientists analyzed how this owl foraged and nested in Primorye Russia over a forested mountainous range more than 7800 square miles (20200 square km).
One of the reasons it's so hard to find fish owl nest trees is that the birds are almost unbelievably shy.
because they're owls they probably do they will flush at distances of about 300 feet 100 m or more.
because you almost never see the owls at those locations. The rivers there often have warm springs that help maintain open water in winter which helps the owls to hunt their prey.
The one thing working in our favor to find where the owls fish in winter is snow Slaght said.
Fish owls will walk up and down the riverbank in their favorite fishing spots jumping in to catch fish here and there
and so even though we might not see the owls themselves they leave their tracks behind in the snow
so we know where they like to hunt. Unfortunately Slaght added the best time to survey for these owls is the dead of winter
when temperatures can dip to the minus mid-20s Fahrenheit (minus mid-30s Celsius). We are often walking along frozen rivers during the day inching up fairly close to the lip of open water patches to look for owl tracks.
Everyone on the field team has fallen through the ice at least once. The rivers are not usually very deep
At night the team settles into a concealed tent near a foraging spot to monitor the owls'hunting behaviors.
and watching a fish owl hunt not more than 100 feet 30 m away completely unaware of my presence.
Giant birds need giant trees The scientists discovered both the owls and their favorite prey salmon rely on giant old-growth trees for breeding and feeding.
The large trees provide nesting cavities big enough for the birds and when these dead massive trees fall into nearby streams they disrupt the water forcing it to flow around over
Blakiston's fish owl is a clear indicator of the health of the forests rivers
and endangered this owl's habitat. The new findings suggest conserving and managing old-growth forests is essential for sustaining this species as well as eight salmon
and trout species that spawn in the rivers there some of the 12 other owl species found in Primorye and mammals such as the endangered Siberian tiger Asiatic black bear and wild boar.
which brings in the fish owls Slaght said. This is an important realization because some policymakers don't care about conservation
Some are even pointing a finger at blubber-eating birds. The whales come to the peaceful Atlantic bays around Peninsula Valdes along Argentina's Patagonian Coast to give birth
They say kelp gulls at Peninsula Valdes land on the backs of the cetaceans to eat their skin and blubber.
Bears deer foxes bald eagles raccoons and more may be seen amidst the wildflowers and lush grasses. The most popular meadows which have boardwalks
#Shorebirds Adopt Baby Duckling, Cuteness Ensues A family of long-legged shorebirds adopted a fuzzy baby duckling this month in California's San francisco bay.
U s. Geological Survey (USGS) biologist Jarred Barr discovered the duckling among a brood of downy avocet chicks on July 2.
It was just following right behind the adult avocet and chicks like it was another avocet Barr told Live Science.
The blended family was foraging in wetlands at the Eden Landing Ecological Reserve part of the massive South Bay Salt Ponds Restoration Project.
Barr found four avocet chicks and the mallard duckling each just a few days old plus two avocet parents.
We don't know how the duckling got separated from its family but they were all feeding already
See Adorable Photos of the Baby Shorebirds Avocets have upturned long bills that they skim back and forth in the water to catch food.
The tallest of the world's four avocet species growing up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) tall the avocet is equipped with spindly gray legs designed for wading in fresh or saltwater wetlands.
Bird watchers Barr helps monitor mercury levels in avocets and other shorebirds at marshes and ponds throughout the salt ponds restoration project.
and it's really important for us to monitor these birds and see how they're reacting said Alex Hartman a USGS wildlife biologist at the Western Ecological Research center in Dixon California who helps oversee the shorebird-monitoring project.
Plucking a few feathers from shorebird hatchlings reveals how much mercury was in their eggs before they hatched.
Barr and his colleagues also measure and weigh the chicks. The researchers track the health of American avocets black-necked stilts and Forster's terns among other birds.
The biologists occasionally find eggs from other species such as terns in avocet nests Hartman said.
And it's not uncommon for avocets to adopt chicks from other avocets Hartman said.
Avocets have sat also on stilt eggs and raised the hatchlings as if they were their own chicks.
But this is the first time the USGS biologists have discovered a duck-avocet adoption. Hartman thinks it's likely the duckling was separated from its family after it hatched
and glommed on to the avocets. This is cross-species and it's really cross-order.
It's pretty unique Hartman said. They have different diets and different foraging modes so a duckling would really be raised better off by other ducks Barr felt the same
and after spotting a mallard family a few ponds over from the avocet-duck flock he went back for the duckling
#but it couldn't be found again. Our plans fell through but we didn't want to disturb the birds any further he said.
When in doubt in my mind the best thing is to leave something be. Hartman said he agrees.
The birds got themselves into this situation. For the most part we just let nature take its course
and the birds can sort themselves out. Both ducklings and avocets are resourceful babies however with the capability to feed on their own soon after hatching.
As long as the duckling finds the right food sources and the right habitat it could survive on its own the scientists said.
and even birds'eggs and berries. They like meat best though and will go to great lengths to get it.
For instance researchers on the ground will track where the water flows on the surface examine how it infiltrates the groundwater and monitor vegetation and bird life.
The response of bird populations may also not be evident for a few years. The water agreement remains in effect through 2017.
and how to recognize predators such as snakes birds and wildcats. Learning from watching a video
#The Wilderness Act Turns 50 John Weaver senior conservation scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society has conducted field research in many wild areas across western North america over the past 45 years.
#7 Animals That Wore Backpacks for Science From falcons to cockroaches a myriad of different animals have donned backpacks in the name of science.
Falcons To get a glimpse of how falcons hunt their prey midair researchers at Haverford College in Haverford Pennsylvania outfitted the birds with miniature helmet-and backpack-mounted cameras.
The videos showed that falcons fly in such a way that their prey remains motionless in the raptors'sight
which helps the predatory birds intercept their victims. Beastly Academy awards: Stars of the Animal kingdom Cockroaches When you see a cockroach crawling toward you have wished you ever you could just steer it away like a remote-controlled car?
The team trained captive peahens to wear special backpacks that held equipment and a helmet with cameras (one to film what the bird was seeing
Songbirds Even songbirds have sported tiny backpacks for research purposes. Scientists at York University in Toronto used the packs to track wood thrushes and purple martins during the birds'migration from Pennsylvania to Central and South america.
The scientists found that the birds actually traveled three times faster than expected more than 311 miles (500 kilometers) per day the researchers said.
Leatherback turtles If any animal seems built for wearing a backpack it's a turtle. Researchers at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental science outfitted some leatherback turtles with backpacks that contained satellite-tracking devices.
The way a crow Shook down on me The dust of snow From a hemlock tree has given my heart A change of mood
Our group was thrilled by the sight of a bald eagle flying over the river passing unnoticed by wading fishermen intent on catching trout.
Since only female birds lay eggs the industry has no use for male chicks. Their solution?
those crop calories that don t end up in human mouths probably end up in the mouths of other mammals insects and birds.
and many of our treasured and familiar species such as turtledoves and corncrakes can thrive in extensively managed farmland.
there have been spectacular declines in formerly common birds such as skylarks turtledoves and grey partridges as shown in the RSPB State of the UK s Birds Report
which tracks bird numbers since the 1990s. Organic farming has been shown to maintain species diversity on farmland
so it probably does provide one solution to these declines in Europe at least. But in the tropics the situation may be different.
the Zivko Edge the Breitling MXS-R and the Corvus Racer. While they may look slightly different all three planes have streamlined aerodynamic bodies that are designed to maximize speed
One pilot Peter Besenyei will be flying the Hungarian-made Corvus Racer a plane designed specifically for him.
See Newly Hatched Osprey Chicks on Live'Critter Cam'For all you bird lovers out there you can watch a set of newly hatched osprey chicks ruffle their tiny feathers on a live webcam.
A monogamous pair of birds dubbed Steve and Rachel by viewers returns to this nest every year to raise their young.
See livestream of the newly-hatched osprey chicks The Hog Island ospreys typically spend their winter in South america.
The lovebirds returned to Maine in late April and performed their courtship rituals. Steve gathered sticks and soft bark to line the nest
When a pair of ospreys bonds they will attempt to mate more than 160 times over a period of weeks resulting in a clutch of two to four eggs.
While a female incubates her eggs her mate provides most of her meals (osprey eat a diet almost exclusively of fish.
Explore. org is also operating a live puffin cam. The bird that can be seen in the burrow is incubating an egg that is expected to hatch in Mid-june.
Puffins were wiped out in Maine by hunters and egg snatchers but the National Audubon Society's Project Puffin reintroduced the birds in the 1970s.
Editor's Note: If you have an amazing animal photo you'd like to share for a possible story
or image gallery please contact managing editor Jeanna Bryner at LSPHOTOS@livescience. com. Follow Tanya Lewis on Twitter and Google+.
Ed Louis) Goliath Bird-Eating Spider If you don't like spiders you really won't like Goliath bird-eating spiders as these hairy tarantulas have a leg span that can reach up to 11 inches (28 centimeters.
The Goliath bird-eating tarantula is big and'fangy'and both factors cause some people to fear them said Chris Buddle an arachnologist who studies arthropod ecology at Mcgill University.
#In fact they don't pose much of a risk to birds either. While they have been known to eat small birds amphibians
and other creatures their diet consists primarily of insects. Photo credit: B & T Media Group Inc. Shutterstock. com) Cockroach No list of unnerving animals would be complete without cockroaches
#Birds of a Feather: Whooping cranes Need Parents More Like Them Whooping cranes have made an astonishing comeback in North america thanks in part to some bizarre conservation methods.
Over the past 13 years dozens of cinnamon-brown chicks have been raised in captivity to be released into the wild
Strange as it sounds this elaborate game of roleplay has helped establish a new flock of whooping cranes that migrates each year from Wisconsin to Florida.
The birds raised by humans are turning out to be bad parents and scientists don't know exactly where they're going wrong.
The people trying to save whooping cranes are now testing a new approach: They're matching some chicks with adult bird parents that can hopefully step in where humans are failing.
Quest for Survival: Photos of Incredible Animal Migrations A tentative success story In 1940 there were just 22 whooping cranes in the world.
Today there are about 550. The only natural migrating population that still exists is a flock that spends its summers in Canada and flies down to the Texas Gulf Coast for the winter.
Some birds live their whole lives in captivity. And then there's the Eastern Migratory Flock
which was created artificially as part of a whooping-crane reintroduction project starting in 2001. Today the flock has about 95 birds that spend their spring and summer in wetlands at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and elsewhere in central Wisconsin.
Sometime this month or perhaps in early November the flock will fly to the southeastern United states. The whooping cranes learned this migrating route from humans.
Eggs laid by captive whooping cranes in Maryland Wisconsin and Alberta are incubated. When they hatch the chicks are raised by humans cloaked in white costumes with a beaked puppet on their hands to teach the birds to eat and drink.
See Photos of the World's Cutest Baby Wild Animals I don't know that they actually think of us as whooping cranes said Glenn Olsen a veterinarian at the U s. Geological Survey's (USGS) Patuxent Wildlife Research center in Maryland who said he spends much of May through July
in one of those costumes. The chicks are always in sight of actual adult whooping cranes Biologists just don't want the birds to be handled by people in street clothes Olsen told Live Science.
If the cranes are to become truly wild they can't get too cozy with humans he said.
When the chicks are about 6 months old they are released in Wisconsin. Then comes the most critical time in their life:
To learn the route the birds follow an ultralight aircraft piloted by a costume-clad human all the way down to the Southeast.
We have great success in doing this in that the birds survive Olsen said. Captive-raised chicks that are released into the wild seem to thrive;
That's a big problem because for whooping cranes to become totally self-sustaining in the wild they'll need to raise wild-born chicks themselves.
Olsen and other biologists think the birds'strange upbringing might have something to do with their tendency to abandon their eggs.
Parenting practice Costume-rearing is really a very odd way to raise a crane said John French the leader of the USGS whooping-crane project at Patuxent.
French and others suspect there's some learned behaviors whooping-crane parents naturally impart that humans handlers can't teach.
We know that we can't provide dozens of opportunities for learning that parents that are actually birds can.
We know they get much more exercise from parents that are actually birds. French Olsen and their colleagues are trying out a new method called parent-rearing
which relies on captive whooping crane parents not costumed human handlers to care for exercise and feed the chicks after they hatch.
These young birds were put in predator-resistant pens at Necedah near other free-ranging whooping cranes including pairs of adults without chicks of their own.
These whooping-crane couples tend to adopt other chicks and when it comes time to migrate the adults will lead the fledglings southward.
Last year two parent-reared birds successfully migrated Olsen said. Most likely the chicks raised by adoptive parents will pair up with birds raised by humans.
It's hoped that the adopted chicks will be able to pass along good parenting habits.
The scientists will have to wait a few years before they know whether they've been successful as whooping cranes don't typically start nesting until they're about 3 years old.
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