Small Black Warblers Fly without Landing for Three Days

Small black Warblers that weigh (12 grams) about as much as a stack of 12 business cards fly thousands of miles across the Atlantic during their fall migration. Just imagine a journey that entails you to first pack on the pounds, and then get rid of your intestines, and to end with to forgo eating and sleeping for three days. For the blackpoll warbler, such a feat is called their fall migration. These tiny birds fly from northeastern Canada to South America every fall. But no one exactly knew what path they took. It turns out the warblers fly nonstop over the Atlantic Ocean, researchers report March 31 in the journal Biology Letters. Ecologists affixed lightweight tracking devices to five blackpoll warblers during the fall 2013 migration to discover the animals' overwater route.

The warblers fuel up on fat for the journey, going from 0.4 ounces to 0.6 ounces, some overachievers double in weight. Actually, these little meatballs with wings, and then they absorb internal organs they won't want for the trip, like their intestines, to cut excess weight. Moreover to reduce to fat, feathers, and muscle, the birds leave, taking advantage of trade winds for their journey south. The warblers can't catch these winds on their way back, so they take an overland route in the spring. Researchers aren't sure why the warblers fly south over the ocean but return over land. It could be a remnant of ancient migratory pathways, or it could actually be safer.

Furthermore flying over big land, birds have to contend with predators and collisions with anyone like buildings or cars. Migrators from birds to butterflies face a gauntlet of danger. Even though big birds that can carry extra fuel travel farther such as the Arctic tern, which hopscotches from Greenland to Antarctica and back with stops in Africa, South America, and the Arctic. This bird species is perhaps one of the most common warblers in North America. However it is also one of the fastest declining species, and researchers don't know about exact reason, why the birds are disappearing and whether the problem lies in North or South America. Researchers hope to collaborate with South American researchers to find out where these birds spend their time and what threats they’re facing. Source: National Geographic

Scientist Expects, Antarctica May Have Hit Highest Temperature on Record

Experts have measured what is expected the highest temperature ever on Antarctica: 63.5 degrees Fahrenheit (17.5 Celsius). They have made measurements at Argentina's Esperanza Base, on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, according to the meteorological website Weather Underground. The preceding hottest recognized temperature on the Antarctica was 62.8°F (17.1°C), recorded at Esperanza Base on April 24, 1961. 

The Weather Underground called last week's temperatures a remarkable heat wave, though they happened during the end of the austral summer, when Antarctic temperatures are naturally highest. The temperature has yet to be certified as an official record for the continent by the WMO (World Meteorological Organization). Therefore it is hard to draw much conclusion from a single temperature record, cautions Gavin Schmidt, a climate researcher with NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City. Last year Antarctica also logged a record cold temperature. What are more imperative are the long-term trends, says Schmidt. And when it comes to Antarctica, he points out, the past few years "have actually been quite complex. The world's ocean has been warming rapidly, absorbing much of the planet's excess heat. 

The large glaciers around Antarctica that come in contact with the warming water have been melting rapidly. But some other glaciers farther inland on the continent are actually growing. That has not been reasonably explained. The science is mostly intricate because the ozone hole continues to affect the region's climate in ways that aren't well understood. The global circulation of winds and currents remains a test for researchers to grasp. One record warm temperature doesn't cut through all that intricacy. When it comes to the entire planet, the Earth remains on track to warm by an average of at least two degrees C (3.6 degrees F) by the end of the century, experts report, though exactly how much is expected to depend on countries' abilities to lessen emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Source: National Geographic

Old Bottles Turn into Beautiful Rechargeable Lamp

Wow, I’m sure you’d like the creative idea of turn old bottles into lamps with rechargeable LED corks. We all have sufficient old bottles at home with no use. Now some of our favorite creative products and inventions are ones that give used objects/trash a second life. The rechargeable bottle light from the Foodiggity shop is a very shrewd way to constructively and simply repurpose empty glass bottles and turn them into convenient, safe and unique sources of soft light. The rechargeable bottle light developed by Suck UK, a home accessory and gift company, turns old empty bottles into attractive, simple table lamps. The stunning lamp looks much like a large tapered cork, the bottom of which is a bright white LED light. When switched on and placed inside the bottle’s neck, the lamp will shine for up to three hours before needing a new charge, which will take about an hour through its USB connection. Understandably, the white LED light will assume the color of whatever color the bottle is, giving users the chance to make both simple desk lamps and colored atmospheric lights. If you want to buy this lamp, then check out more info at Amazon Details.

 Source: Charismatic Planet

The Rare “Magic Rabbit” is endangered to Lost Forever

Are you ready to fall in love and have your heart broken at the same time: this gorgeous rabbit that you’ve probably never heard of, the “Ili Pika”, is also one of the rarest and most endangered living being in the world. Their population in their native China is likely to have dropped to less than 1,000 and these photographs are of the first one that has been spotted in 20 years. The “Ili Pika” population is strongly believed to have declined by around 70 % since its first discovery in 1983, scientists say. 

The “Ili Pika” was first discovered in the Tianshian Mountains in northwestern China, but it is projected their population is rapidly decreasing. These adorable teddy-bear look-alikes, which’re a distant relative of rabbits, are so infrequent that scientists know very little about them. Li Weidong, the conservationist who discovered them, told CNN, “I discovered the species, and I watched as it became endangered. If it becomes extinct in front of me, I’ll be so sad and I must feel so guilty. He and his volunteers have dubbed it the “magic rabbit”, but they’re doubtful that rabbit populations may be declining due to global warming as the altitude of permanent snow in the Tianshan mountain range has risen.

Li Weidong, the conservationist who discovered this beautiful Rabbit

 Source: Charismatic Planet

Waterfalls Lakes Plitvice, Croatia (National Park)

Is among the 20 most beautiful lakes in the world to 17th place. The park covers an area of 33,000 hectares and includes 16 lakes in succession, connected by waterfalls.Plitvice is the oldest national park in Southeast Europa.All'interno the park there are also many caves of which only a small part is agibile.I lakes are formed by two rivers: the White River and the Black River, which flow in the river Korana. The waters of these rivers are rich in calcareous salts (mostly calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate), from the dissolution of carbonate rocks forming the geological structure of sito.Questi salts are precipitated by vegetation, forming layers of travertine , a sedimentary rock recently. Over time, these deposits forming real natural dams that act as barriers to water, growing by about a centimeter per year. At one point the water pressure breaks these natural levees, opening new paths in the ground. This mechanism, in fact common to all the calcareous water, in Plitvice has assumed a particular importance. The beauty of the National Park Plitvice, Croatia, is increased in the second round of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

Brazil’s critically endangered “Araripe Manakin” may be the world’s most beautiful Bird.

Araripe Manakin is a colorful and critically endangered species, which numbers are decreasing over the years and currently it is no more than 800 species. The Araripe Manakin is survives in the smallest of areas only 11 square miles in Ceará in northeastern Brazil will now be better protected thanks to the establishment of two reserves. xIt was named Antilophia bokermanni in honour of the biologist Werner Bokerman who died in 1995. 

It is sparrow size bird and discovered in 1996. It exists only in a narrow strip of humid forest on the slopes of the “Araripe Plateau”, which is an area subject to continuing pressure from agriculture and the development of recreational facilities. These reserves were made likely through two actions: the purchase of a parcel of land encompassing 140 acres, and the consummation of a formal agreement with an adjacent landowner, who designated 27 acres of his land as a completely protected area. The recently created 140-acre reserve borders the Araripe National Forest to the south and includes a house that may one day be converted to a tourist lodge. Furthermore a river valley interlinks the property with the Sítio Fundão State Park, a completely protected 230-acre area managed by the state. The 27-acre parcel situated to the south is now a private reserve formally known as preserved in perpetuity. 

It is very little known rare species, and typically occurs in pairs. Juvenile males normally have been found during March and January. As typical of most manakins, males and females have a strong sexual dimorphism in the colors of the plumage. However; the “Araripe Manakin” prerequisites are permanent springs and streams with prime nesting territories and suitable moist-forest habitat, all features provided in the acquisitions. The bird species likes to the lower and middle levels of the forest, where it feeds on fruit. Moreover it shares its habitat with other species found nowhere but Brazil, such as “Silvery-cheeked Antshrike”, “White-browed Antpitta”, and “Caatinga Antshrike”.

Just above their habitat is a plateau that is home to over 100 additional species, including the endemic “Planalto Slaty-Antshrike” and “Ceará Leaftosser”. The acquisition was led by Aquasis, a Brazilian conservation organization, with the help from American Bird Conservancy. A joint reforestation project of “Aquasis” and “ABC” that resulted in the planting of 4,652 native seedlings in the area prompted the acquisition collaboration.

                                                        Source: Charismatic Planet