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Solar plane lands in New York City

A solar-powered airplane finished crossing the United States on Saturday, landing in New York City after flying over the Statue of Liberty during its historic bid to circle the globe, the project team said.  The spindly, single-seat experimental aircraft, dubbed Solar Impulse 2, arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at about 4 a.m. local time after it took off about five hours beforehand at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania, the team reported on the airplane's website.  Such a pleasure to land in New York! For the 14th time we celebrate sustainability," said the project's co-founder Andre Borschberg on Twitter after flying over the city and the Statue of Liberty during the 14th leg of the trip around the globe. The Swiss team flying the aircraft in a campaign to build support for clean energy technologies hopes eventually to complete its circumnavigation in Abu Dhabi, where the journey began in March 2015. The solar cr...
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Populations of the most common bird species in Europe and the US are being altered by climate change

For the first time researchers showed climate to be having a similar, significant impact on bird populations in large, distant areas of the world.  Their study used population-predicting models and three decades of field data, gathered by bird-watching volunteers.  The findings are published in the journal Science.  Led by Durham University scientists, the team developed models that related each species' habitat to long-term climate patterns.  Using annual climate records - from 1980 to 2010 - these models were able to predict where a species had experienced an improvement or a decline in suitable climate."We then had this amazing data set collected by thousands of volunteers over decades - where people have gone out and counted birds across different countries in Europe and the United States," explained lead researcher Dr Stephen Willis.  "We can use that to see to what extent our predictions match what people are finding on the ground." The outlook ...
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Half a million people are expected to take part in an annual UK bird watch this weekend

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch tracks species such as starlings and song thrushes, which have declined by 80% and 70% since the survey began in 1979.  The unusual weather this winter could affect which birds are seen in gardens.  The RSPB said it was likely there would be fewer birds because they have been less reliant on garden feeders.  December was the warmest and wettest month in the UK in more than a century, before a cold snap was followed by unseasonable warmth in January.  The RSPB said it would be interesting to see how this had affected the long tailed tit, which suffers in harsh winters, and if there were lower numbers of species from the continent, including finches and blackbirds. RSPB wildlife adviser Ben Andrew said: "If the UK experiences a continuation of these milder temperatures, those taking part in Big Garden Birdwatch may notice their gardens quieter than in other years.  "The milder weather means there is more food available i...
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Migratory birds are at risk

Many birds are at risk when they stop to feed, rest or breed en route, say scientists.  They are calling for new reserves around the world to protect migratory species.  Most migratory birds have declined in past decades, from threats such as habitat loss and hunting.  Migrant birds are the endurance fliers of the bird kingdom, making remarkable journeys across land and sea.  The arctic tern, for example, flies the equivalent of the distance to the Moon and back three times in its lifetime.  And the bar-tailed godwit may fly for more than 10,000km (6,000 miles) in a single stint, the longest continuous journey that has ever been recorded for a land bird. Dr Claire Runge, of the University of Queensland, the lead researcher of the study, said more than half of migratory bird species travelling the world's main flyways had suffered serious population declines in the past 30 years."This is due mainly to unequal and ineffective protection across their mig...
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