Full Article from NPR

Blue crabs are perhaps the most iconic species in the Chesapeake Bay.

The crustacean, which is actually blue, is a favorite among seafood lovers, but pollution, habitat loss and harvest pressure are all threats to its abundance.

“Years ago, we used to catch what we could sell,” says waterman Billy Rice. “Now we sell everything we can catch.”

Earlier this summer, a group of Virginia watermen voted to explore the possibility of year-round crab fishery, but conservationists worry what that could mean for the health of the Bay.

Five years ago, the blue crab population was estimated to be about 600 million. Now officials say it’s closer to half that number.

Until 2008, Virginia and Maryland used to allow crabbing year-round. But a decline in population led to a 16-year prohibition on winter dredging.

Chris Moore, a conservationist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, says reinstating winter crab dredging could further jeopardize the blue crab population.

“Blue crabs migrate throughout the summertime, but during the winter, they actually become kind of semi-hibernative,” Moore says. “And so what that means is they generally kind of stop moving, and they kind of burrow down into the sand or the mud bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.”

Maryland officials say the species’ recovery can be traced to the 2008 prohibition on winter crab dredging and that the Virginia watermens’ decision could create a rift in the long-standing partnership between the two states when it comes to the Bay.

Back on the crab boat, Billy Rice — who was born and raised on a Maryland tobacco farm — says he’s against winter crab dredging because it could mean even fewer crabs in the Bay.

“I think it’s just important to understand that, you know, we have a privilege to crab. It’s not a right to crab,” Rice says. “We have to have respect for the resource…so that we have crabs for future generations.”

Photo from Lavin Photography

Barred Owl Mama tries to take off after delivering dinner, but her two little ones have other plans- blocking the way and keeping her grounded for a little longer.

Minnesota. Taken earlier this year. Best

From Friends of Roberts Bird Sanctuary

Fabulous video by Jeanette Mayo of Bluejays and a Brown Thrasher scolding a Great Horned Owl in Roberts Bird Sanctuary, July 2024.

An example of mobbing behavior, an uncommon act of different species working together. While the songbirds pose little danger, they can annoy dangerous birds of prey to move on to get some peace and quiet.

From The Examiner:

Techno Park tree hitch: Masked owls in the area where 109 houses planned

September 4 2024

Nesting trees for the Tasmanian Masked Owl and foraging trees for the Swift Parrot are located on the land earmarked for new housing at Techno Park, according to a 2022 government report.

The report called for detailed surveys of the area to confirm if the trees are in use by the endangered masked owl, which could raise extra approval hurdles under national environmental laws.

Homes Tasmania has ruled that the removal of the trees would not have a significant impact on species'.

Calls for night-time survey to see if owls live in area Public submissions for the 109-lot housing development proposed by Housing Tasmania have expressed numerous concerns.

This included the possible environmental impacts on the endangered masked owl, the endangered swift parrot, and the vulnerable Eastern Barred Bandicoot.

Concerned resident Matthew Kean has written to the State Planning Office calling for a detailed survey of the area at night to establish whether masked owls live in the area.

"I've got video and pictures of the Eastern Barred Bandicoot in the area, and masked owls are in this area but they are nocturnal and it is too hard to get pictures," he said.

"On regular occasions I have seen a pair of masked owls around my property sitting on the fence or roof."

Mr Kean said the loss of one nesting tree would be significant to the species.

A government website states a major threat to Tasmania's estimated 500 masked owl breeding pairs is clearing of nesting habitat, particularly of tree hollows.

"To avoid loss of nesting and roosting trees do not remove single or isolated older trees which contain hollows suitable for nesting".

He said the surveys should extend to all hollow trees in the wider geographical region, including an area he labelled Forico, which he supposed would also eventually be turned into housing.

A 2022 environmental assessment of the land proposed for 109-housing lots and surrounding areas found seven hollow trees suitable for masked owl nesting.

The GHD report found seven blue gums and eight swamp gums located in or near the land planned for housing development, which are foraging habitat for the endangered Swift Parrot.

It said removal of the trees was unlikely to have a significant impact on the species'.

The report did not sight any masked owls as part of its survey, but said that they had been sighted within 5 kilometres of the site.

It recommended a targeted, night-time ecological survey of the area, including a survey using recorded owl calls, to ensure owls were not located at the site.

"No masked owl individuals were identified or recorded as part of the field survey, however, this should not be taken as a definitive record that the species is not located at the site given the daytime period, short duration and lack of repeated surveys," the report said.

"Given the current survey was conducted outside the breeding period for both species, it cannot be confirmed that the hollow bearing trees do not provide a breeding site for the species.

"Although the removal of the trees is unlikely to represent a significant impact for either species, this mitigation measure would act to limit any potential direct impacts on the species."

The report said if masked owls or swift parrots were found to occupy the trees, it would be a matter of national significance under Federal environmental laws.

A 2023 Tasmania Planning Commission report states that Homes Tasmania resurveyed the site, under the guidance of the Department of Natural Resource and the Environment.

"The NRET confirmed that the additional work undertaken by Homes Tasmania was sufficient to establish that the proposed development is highly unlikely to have any significant impact on threatened flora and fauna or their associated foraging habitat," it said.

"Homes Tasmania also commissioned physical inspection of the hollow bearing trees onsite which confirmed the hollows are not used by the Tasmanian Masked Owl."

It said another independent report by North Barker has found that the flora and habitat values of the site require no further consideration.

Photo by George S. George

Mottled Wood Owl, India

Photo by Paul Schlarman

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) takes a breezy afternoon snooze. They can stay incredibly still, resting during the day for nocturnal hunting activities. Their concealing plumage allows them to remain undetected by most creatures, even on exposed perches. I've found myself within 10 feet of an individual before even realized they were there. Dead Horse Ranch State Park

Photo by Ferdie Llanes de Aves Flores

There is some advantage to being alone on a birding site: no crowd pressure and disruptive movements, a greater chance to observe bird behavior, and more elbow room to photo the subject.

The Philippine Eagle Owl (Ketupa philippensis) stayed with me for much of the day. It hardly moved on its regular perch. Only later in the afternoon did it shift perches, taking flight from its regular platform to a lower branch of another tree. It looked like it was after a prey, lowering its head as if to make a dive.

Before it took flight, it did one massive preen. Almost missing the act, got only half its face. But it gave me a one-eyed drama, as if asking one and all: thou shalt keep still, or I shall say goodbye!

Photo by Carmel Tadmor

Photo by Andy Blackledge

A Western Screech amongst the leafy greens

Scottsdale, AZ

I will sometimes get a message notification and when I click the icon, it spins the loading animation and another refresh animation above it, but it seems to freeze/hang on actually loading the message. If I click on All messages then it loads it instantly.

Seems to happen most on messages I received while I'm actively using the app, not when it first opens and detects messages received. It will also at times do the spinning animations of it shows no messages, but I click on the icon to do a manual refresh/message check.

It's been occurring for a few days, maybe a week now, but I hadn't had much solid info on when/where there issue was coming from, but now having the click All workaround, I felt that might give you some place to start debugging. Let me know if there's anything else I might be able to look for or screenshot, as I don't know how recreatable something like this is.

I've noticed some different behavior of the drafts lately, but I hadn't noticed any release notes about it. When editing and then re-saving, it now overwrites the original. This bit me the first time I saw it, as when I went to delete the old version, that meant I deleted the only version. I like this behavior better by default I think, but was there a release post with changes I missed?

I was also wondering if the post preview could be worked into the draft section, perhaps via a long press to get the post preview window, or maybe different view options like with the post feed. I've built up a bit of a surplus of future content, so I forget which post is which, and with it not saving backups now, I worry about loading the draft to the post screen and messing it up somehow without having a backup now, so having the ability to preview with image content viewable would let me see which draft is which easier without the chance to accidentally edit and moving the draft up to the top instead of keeping it chronological.

As usual, I feel this may be an "only me" problem, so no priority here unless some of this behavior was an unintentional result of another update.

Thank you as always for your great work. Your frequency of updates and overall quality of the app is top notch!

Milky Eagle Owl wishing you a beautiful day in its own special way.