A report by the UK Dept. for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) exonerated wild birds as the cause of the 2006 outbreak of H5N1 in Suffolk.
The DEFRA report states in part: “There was no evidence to support the hypothesis that wild birds were the source of the outbreak. This was based on the fact that there had been no isolations of H5N1 from wild birds in Europe during the 2006/7 wild bird migration period and subsequent residency”
Spanish storks no longer take the effort to migrate to Africa for the winter. Other migratory birds are returning to the Iberian Peninsula earlier in the spring from their winter habitats in Africa.
Birdwatchers have counted 30,000 storks that overwintered in Spain. Normally storks travel to the Sahel area in Africa for the winter. The supply of food for the birds has remained healthy in Spain so there was no reason for the storks to leave.
Spanish scientists have also noted that fewer birds are migrating from Northern Europe to the Iberian Peninsula for the winter. Last season it was noted in one park that the number of ducks, storks and seagulls spending the winter months was about half the usual population.
Source: Ooievaars blijven in Spanje
On Sunday rangers at the state-run nature area Oostvaardersplassen discovered that the White-tailed Eagle couple has successfully hatched at least one chick for the second year in a row.
The hatching comes just days after the webcam pointed at the camera lost connection. Rangers observing the nest over the weekend were, by a stroke of luck, able to see the head of a chick sticking out from the nest to confirm the hatching. The chick has made its appearance about a week earlier than expected.
The eagle parents successfully fledged one chick last year; that young bird is now summering in the Oostvaardersplassen, but is not welcome at its former birth place.
The camera, used by visitors to the natural area and online visitors, as well as raptor researchers, became unavailable on Friday the 13th. Rangers believe the lens is obscured by a snail or a leaf, but they will not risk disturbing the birds in order to investigate. Rangers may be able to get a look at the camera in the coming weeks, but making a visit to the camera will be impossible until much later in the year, when the baby chick(s) has fledged and the parents have temporarily abandoned the nest. The webcam was visited by up to 25,000 internet visitors per day.
Since joining the EU in 2004 Malta has allowed the hunting of Turtle Doves and Quails, against the European Birds Directive. Hunting during the Spring migration is prohibited by the EU.
The European Commission began legal action against Malta in June 2006, with the case expected before court later this year. Malta’s hunting season is scheduled to end on May 20th. BirdLife in Malta reported illegal hunting outside the official season earlier this year.
Read more about Malta’s breach of EU law and the effect on migratory birds.
A Bar-tailed Godwit set a long distance migration record for the longest non-stop flight when it flew from New Zealand to China, a distance of more than 10,000 kilometers. The bird was tracked via satellite.
The Godwit traveled the great distance over a period of just nine days, facing a headwind. The study of the birds is part of the Pacific Shorebird Migration Project.
Well-known falcons George and Gracie were victims of an unusual robbery last week as biologists removed eggs from their nest, located precariously under the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
The move was made to prevent the chicks from dying during their fledge from a car collision or drowning.
George and Gracie have raised several clutches from a nest site on a downtown skyscraper. This year the birds relocated to the place of George’s 1999 birth. George was rescued shortly after hatching and raised by humans until his release into the wild.
The eggs will be incubated and the hatchlings will be raised by adoptive Peregrine Falcons until they are ready to be released in the wild.
The Dutch nature agency Staatsbosbeheer is using images from the camera they placed on a White-tailed Eagle nest over the winter to learn more about these large birds of prey. Experts and scientists are discovering new information about their nesting habits and look forward to learning about the fledge once the hatchlings emerge from the nest in the Oostvaardersplassen natural area.
Researchers have been surprised to discover that the female is more restless than the male when sitting on the nest. The male and female take turns keeping the nest warm and searching for food.
The camera has also revealed that the eagle born there last year has not returned to the nest. He has been observed hunting in the vicinity, from the same waters as his parents.
Viewers of the nest cam can see the parent bird sitting on the nest, but a view of the eggs inside is not possible. Since the camera was erected over the winter, the birds have increased the size of the nest and the edge is now 50 centimeters higher than before.
Source: Staatsbosbeheer leert van beelden broedende zeearenden
Researchers studying birds around the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster found that the birds favored sites with lower background radioactivity.
The study was based on the behavior of Great Tits and Pied Flycatchers between 2002 and 2003. Researchers placed nestboxes in areas of varying radioactivity; the birds preferred to nest in lower levels of radiation. Based on their choices, Pied Flycatchers did seem to be more sensitive to radiation.
Researchers have determined that nuthatches are able to understand warning calls by chickadees. Depending on the type of warning call given, the nuthatches reacted in different ways.
The researchers played recordings of chickadee calls and observed the reaction of the nuthatches. A warning call about a small predator resulted in different behavior than from a large-predator warning call. This demonstrated that the nuthatches not only heed the warning of the other bird, but understood details about the warning.
Results from the UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Big Garden Birdwatch revealed a decline in back yard birds across the island nation. Resident and migrant birds have abandoned residential gardens for wilder areas.
The RSPB believes the mild winter across Europe resulted in fewer birds migrating to the UK and more birds feeding in the countryside.
The House Sparrow was the top back yard bird with just under 4.5 per garden.
