#migratorybirds — Public Fediverse posts

Press Release from @CenterForBioDiv

#BorderWall Construction Triggers Tree Sit to Save Ancient #Arizona #Cottonwood

For Immediate Release, July 29, 2026
Contact: Russ McSpadden,

LOCHIEL, Ariz.— "Protesters today climbed into an ancient cottonwood tree in Arizona’s #SanRafaelValley to stop the Trump administration from cutting it down for construction of two parallel 30-foot-tall border walls.

"The action comes after Department of Homeland Security contractors cut down three neighboring Fremont cottonwoods estimated to be 200 to 250 years old.

" 'Destroying these ancient cottonwoods is a death sentence for an entire ecosystem,' said Russ McSpadden, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. 'These magnificent cottonwoods survived centuries, nourishing wildlife through floods and drought, only to be bulldozed for the Trump administration’s disastrous border wall. The San Rafael Valley is one of the most biologically rich landscapes in North America. It’s both a refuge and crucial corridor for #jaguars, #ocelots, #BlackBears, #pronghorn and hundreds of bird species.'

Today’s action is believed to be the first tree sit aimed at stopping U.S. border wall construction.

"The three cottonwoods cut down earlier this week stood along a rare stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border where mature trees once formed a #transboundary canopy. The trees provided nesting habitat, shade and shelter within an increasingly scarce riparian #ecosystem that supports hundreds of animal species. One #protester was arrested Monday while trying to protect those trees and nesting #MigratoryBirds .

"Federal officials said preconstruction surveys would be conducted during Arizona’s active #nesting season, but observers at the site reported that no surveys for nesting migratory birds were completed before the trees were destroyed.

"The area also contains prehistoric #ArchaeologicalSites that preserve evidence of thousands of years of #Indigenous presence in the borderlands. Ongoing construction threatens cultural resources that would be permanently lost if disturbed.

"The Department of Homeland Security is constructing the #BorderWall under authorities that waive dozens of the nation’s cornerstone environmental and cultural resource protection laws, allowing construction to proceed without reviews normally required under laws including the National Environmental Policy Act, the #EndangeredSpecies Act and the National #HistoricPreservation Act.

"In a letter sent today to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Center called for an immediate halt to construction in the #Lochiel area. The letter urged the agencies to conduct comprehensive biological and cultural resource surveys, consult with Tribes with ancestral and cultural connections to the San Rafael Valley, protect the remaining ancient cottonwoods, and assess the ecological and cultural resources at risk."

Source [includes link to materials]:
https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/border-wall-construction-triggers-tree-sit-to-save-ancient-arizona-cottonwood-2026-07-29/

#OldGrowth #NestingBirds #USPo #TrumpsBorderWall #RespectTheTreaties #LandBack #IndigenousCulture #ProtectTheSacred
#CulturalGenocide #EndangeredSpecies #TreeSitters

How Do I Choose the Best Wildlife Tours in India? Ultimate Guide for Safari 2026

https://indiasafaristrends.wordpress.com/2026/05/31/how-do-i-choose-the-best-wildlife-tours-in-india-ultimate-guide-for-safari-2026/

Pretty wild to see a crested caracara all the way up here.... It kinda looks like it's wearing an Edgar haircut, doesn't it? www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #canada #ontario #birdwatching #northernontario #migratorybirds #longwayfromhome #wildlife #caracara #birds #edgar #haircut #birding

Rare bird normally found in So...

Pretty wild to see a crested caracara all the way up here.... It kinda looks like it's wearing an Edgar haircut, doesn't it?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/crested-caracara-foleyet-ontario-1.7641139

#canada #ontario #birdwatching #northernontario #migratorybirds #longwayfromhome #wildlife #caracara #birds #edgar #haircut #birding #Crestedcaracara

The #RedEyedVireo was one of our far-away visitors here in #Maine!

Backyard Bird of the Month for May: Red-eyed Vireo
by Andy Kapinos

Birds, Maine's Naturalist, News & Notes · April 30, 2024

"Here I am! Where are you? Way up here! In the tree! So goes the song of the Red-eyed Vireo, heard in nearly every forested area between Kittery and Fort Kent from May until early autumn. True neotropical migrants, Red-eyed Vireos spend the nonbreeding season in the #AmazonBasin, especially in Colombia, Brasil, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru. Most depart South America during April, and over the course of a few weeks or a month, make their way up through Central America and the southeastern US, #migrating on clear nights and refueling during the day by feasting on the abundance of newly-emerged insects. The first males can reach Maine by the first week of May, but the majority arrive in the second and third weeks, just in time for the emergence of leaves and insects in the canopy of our forests.

"These canopy-dwellers are heard far more often than they are seen, and possess a huge vocal repertoire, combining various “syllables” into “phrases” that don’t repeat. In fact, there is often no similarity between the songs of males whose territories are right next to each other. While the males generally sing from treetops, Red-eyed Vireos forage and nest in the mid- and understory, and require forest habitat with layers of native shrubs and small trees. Their nests are usually built at these lower levels, with layers of foliage above to hide the nest from predators. They raise their young on insects, especially caterpillars and other larvae, before eating increasing amounts of fruit later in the summer, which they subsist on throughout the nonbreeding season. The return of Red-eyed Vireos to their breeding territories in Maine is a yearly reminder that conserving healthy forest #ecosystems is important not only here at home, but also in the neotropical #forests where they spend the rest of their lives."

https://maineaudubon.org/news/backyard-bird-of-the-month-for-may-red-eyed-vireo/

#birdwatching #BirdListening #MerlinApp #Merlin #BirdApp #MigratoryBirds