
Here are the 10 most important news stories that we tweeted or retweeted on Twitter over the past two weeks. Follow us on Twitter.
1. Sign of recovery: The last annual Kirtland’s Warbler census indicated that the world population of the still-endangered warbler totals 2,366 breeding pairs. According to an Interior Department official, a recommendation to remove the warbler from the endangered species list could come as early as next year. April 1
2. Plovers vs. cats: American Bird Conservancy sued New York State over the presence of feral cat colonies at Jones Beach State Park, on a barrier island along the southern shore of Long Island. The cats live close to nesting sites of Piping Plover, a species listed as Threatened in the Atlantic Coast region. March 31
3. Swans come back in Wisconsin: A survey conducted in Wisconsin in May 2015 found 4,695 Trumpeter Swans. The total is the latest sign of success for a species that biologists began reintroducing in the late 1980s after a long absence. Only 672 swans were counted in 2010. March 31

4. Flyway champions: Teams raised more than $70,000, a record, in this year’s Champions of the Flyway race, held in Eilat, Israel, on March 29. The Hellenic Ornithological Society will use the funds to help stop the illegal killing and trapping of birds in Greece. The Zeiss Arctic Redpolls won the event, after observing 174 species. The IBRCE Flying Dutchmen came in second (171 species), and the youngest team, the Next Generation Birders, placed third (164 species). March 30
We’ll publish an insider’s view of this year’s Champions of the Flyway race, written and illustrated by the Leica Cape May Bird Observatory American Dippers, in the August issue of BirdWatching. Don’t miss it!
5. Our first offshore wind farm: GE announced that the Block Island Wind Farm is on target to be up and running by the end of the year. The installation, located three miles from Block Island, Rhode Island, will be the first completed offshore wind farm in the United States. March 28
6. Bernie’s finch: A female House Finch made headlines by perching briefly on a lectern being used by presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at a political rally in Portland, Oregon. March 25.
7. Making airports safer: In an attempt to prevent bird deaths at airports, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that it will change the lighting on towers across the country. Research shows that steady-burning red lights attract and confuse birds, which circle the lights until they become exhausted. Some birds hit towers or wires. The static lights will be replaced with flashing lights. March 24
8. Africa’s massive parrot harvest: According to a director with the Lukuru Foundation, a conservation organization, a total of 13,890 wild-caught endangered African Gray Parrots were shipped from two cities in the Democratic Republic of Congo between May 2015 and February 2016. March 23
9. Attracting swallows to Capistrano: In an attempt to lure Cliff Swallows, officials have put up 30 nests made from dental plaster at Mission San Juan Capistrano, south of Los Angeles. The birds have not nested at the mission for more than two decades. March 22
10. The largest biosphere reserve: UNESCO named pristine Great Bear Lake and its surrounding watershed the Tsá Túé International Biosphere Reserve. The reserve is the first in northern Canada, the first to be led entirely by indigenous communities, and the largest biosphere reserve in North America. March 21
— Chuck Hagner, Editor
Birds in the news: 10 important stories from the middle of March.
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