Today, there was news about a little more protection for migratory birds in the USA.
However, for at least one non-migratory bird species, unfortunately, the Obama administration continues in the same pro big business anti wildlife vein as its predecessor, the Bush administration.
This video is called Greater sage-grouse strut display.
From Associated Press:
* The sage grouse was denied federal protection in a ruling announced today.
* The decision means wind energy and oil and gas companies will have more leeway in their practices.
See also here.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that the Greater Sage-grouse will have to wait in line for Endangered Species Act protection behind higher-priority species. This so-called “warranted but precluded” designation means federal land managers will continue to treat the sage-grouse as a sensitive species and monitor its numbers and health throughout its range in 11 Western states: here.
Male ruffed grouse are the first animals known to make unique non-vocal sounds: here.
Two conservation groups and three American Indian tribes filed suit today to protect a pristine mountain valley adjacent to Great Basin National Park in Nevada from a poorly-sited, 8,000-acre industrial wind energy project approved by the Department of the Interior with minimal environmental review. The valley is home to rare and imperiled wildlife such as the greater sage grouse, as well as sensitive species like golden eagles and free-tailed bats. The project area is also a sacred site to Western Shoshone tribes: here.
Related articles
- Biodiversity: Feds issue new report on greater sage-grouse (summitcountyvoice.com)
- BLM plan for sage-grouse habitat draws challenge (sfgate.com)
- SD will have no sage grouse hunting season (siouxcityjournal.com)
- Feds, Ore. ranchers sign sage grouse agreement (ktvz.com)
- BLM Pinedale hosts public meeting on Greater sage-grouse management (wyofile.com)
- Bird Vaccine Developed to Halt West Nile Virus (medindia.net)
- Council briefed on state environmental issues (billingsgazette.com)
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
Can Sage-Grouse and Cattle Mix?
Promising new research from Oregon suggests so. These chicken-sized birds, being considered for the federal Endangered Species List, depend on sagebrush shrubs and on grasses beneath the shrubs for nesting habitat, but cattle graze this undergrowth. Scientists at the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center have discovered, however, that cattle feed first on grasses growing between, rather than under, sagebrush. “Cattle consumption of grasses under shrubs is minimal until grasses between shrubs become limiting,” says researcher Chad Boyd. He and his colleague David Ganskopp concluded that cattle and grouse could coexist in nesting habitat if ranchers moved cattle to new grazing lands when the livestock had eaten 40 percent of the available forage, suggesting a promising management tool for saving the dwindling species without shutting down grazing on public land.
http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/News-and-Views/Archives/2010/ON10-News-of-the-Wild.aspx
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