DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — Here are a few updates on recent stories:

Grenada Dove (Grenada Dove’s existence threatened by sale of park)

BirdLife International says that despite mounting pressure, Grenada’s government is still considering the sale of a national park to a resort company. The government, apparently, wants to have its cake and eat it too. Meanwhile, an excellent post by Nic Winkler in Grenada reminds us that the issues at stake are very complex and their consequences far-reaching. Good on you, Nic.

Texas GBBC results (A few more cowbirds for the GBBC)

I said earlier that Texas probably recorded more species than any other state during this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count. But between continuing checklist submissions in and ongoing data review, Texas and California are neck and neck. The final tally could swing either way.

Reviewers sorting through the Texas results have disqualified several wacky reports. Perhaps the most bizarre was the report of a Passenger Pigeon!

I intend no unkindness to new or inexperienced birders, but this sort of absurdity is one reason that “citizen science” is looked down on by some. Reports of long-extinct or far out-of-range species are relatively easy to detect and eliminate, but the submission of such reports suggests that countless subtler errors are slipping through. However, organizers of events like the GBBC apparently believe that the risk is acceptable, that the benefits outweigh the confusion, and that millions of records aggregated over the years can in fact tell us something about our birds — even if someone did try to report a Passenger Pigeon from Conroe, Texas.

DNA barcodes (1,000 new bird species?)

Will a recently published paper usher in a whole new round of splits and lumps? Well … it appears that the original intent of the paper has been distorted by media coverage and hasty conclusions, as Bob Powell pointed out on BirdChat. In response to a message on Texbirds last night, I posted the following:

Unfortunately, some of the news stories and headlines that this research has inspired are misleading. This headline (”Genetics Reveal 15 New N.American Bird Species”) is particularly bad.

From the original paper’s abstract: “DNA barcoding seeks to assemble a standardized reference library for DNA-based identification of eukaryotic species. The utility and limitations of this approach need to be tested on well-characterized taxonomic assemblages.”

In other words, the researchers were testing the validity of the “barcode” idea by comparing their results against a relatively accepted standard. When their results differed from the standard, they tried to come up with hypotheses to explain the inconsistencies.

One hypothesis was that there could be unrecognized species in North America (surprise!). But that doesn’t mean that it’s the right answer, or the only answer.

Science can’t be stuffed into a headline.

The paper has generated discussion in all the major online birding communities, and some birders have had nothing but harsh words for the barcode project.

Bird blogs around the world

Today, I added several more bird blogs to my blogroll. My blogroll is not intended to be an exhaustive list; rather, it presents the blogs I enjoy reading regularly. As the number of bird blogs grows, I’m left wondering how many more I’ll be able to handle. Though I am a child of the computer age, I am still amazed that I have instant access to prose, poetry, photos, audio, and video of birds and birders from Estonia to Australia and Nunavut to Antarctica!

For a look at some of the recent bird-related posts from around the blogosphere, have a look at I and the Bird #43. This edition is hosted by Tai Haku, who regularly posts spectacular images of Caribbean marine life.

DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — An update on the story I blogged yesterday: One male Whooping Crane survived the carnage and was discovered with two Sandhill Cranes today. More from Operation Migration.

DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — I got back from a great day of birding to see sad news on the Texas birding list. Eighteen Whooping Cranes that were supposed to be the start a new migratory flock have been killed by the storms in Florida this week.

This sort of disaster is precisely the reason conservationists are trying to establish a second migratory flock. Whooping Crane numbers are increasing, but with so few birds in so few geographic locations, one or two natural disasters could mean extinction for these magnificent birds.

GREENE CO., MO. — From the Grenada Ministry of Tourism’s website, a page titled “Vital Mt. Hartman Dove Sanctuary” proclaims:

The [Grenada] dove is currently considered one of the most endangered birds in the world; less than 100 of the species remain. Conservation of the dove, ecological research, and education are the primary management objectives of the National Park. [...] The Mt. Hartman Dove Sanctuary provides a chance to learn more about this endangered dove and how we can ensure its protection for present and future generations.

It’s bitterly ironic, given that the Grenadian government has now decided to sell the national park to Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. From a BirdLife International press release dated yesterday:

A ‘high-end luxury resort’ threatens one of the last remaining refuges for the Grenada Dove [Leptotila wellsi], a Critically Endangered species with a global population of just 180 birds. In an unprecedented move the Government of Grenada looks set to sell the whole of the Mount Hartman National Park to make space for a Four Seasons Resort, on the basis of its biodiverse location and “sea-view”. The Mount Hartman National Park – also called ‘The Dove Sanctuary’ - in the south-west of Grenada, supports at least 22% of the global population of the Grenada Dove - equating to just 20 pairs. With such a low population in just a few remnant patches of forest, Grenada Dove is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the near future. Continue reading “Government of Grenada sells off National Park for Four Seasons resort”…

I first heard about this threat last Saturday as I talked with an acquaintance who has contributed his expertise to the betterment of Mount Hartman National Park. Now that word of the pending sale is out officially, perhaps negotiations or public outcry will make a difference for this critically endangered dove.

Having spent time in countries that do not have the material resources of much larger, industrialized nations, I know that governments and local people sometimes desire to boost their economic status or quality of life by selling off their natural resources to huge, multinational developers.

But once those natural resources are gone, they really are gone — particularly on small islands like Grenada. And then what will the Grenadians have left? Surely their future — like the dove’s — lies with the land.