Category Archives: Aside

Pelicans On The Rise In India

by Amy Posted on 20 July 2006

“In South India, a slow recovery of the pelican population is taking place. Between them, the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu support 21 breeding colonies, and numbers are on the increase. The pelicanry at Kokkare Bellur, Karnataka, has doubled in size to 400 pairs in recent years, and two new small breeding colonies have been established in the state.” Read the full story Pelicans bounce back on BirdLife International.

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Wild Ducks Die Of Botulism In Holland

by Amy Posted on 18 July 2006

In the Dutch town of Heerenveen dozens of ducks have died from botulism. The illness struck in the middle of a heat wave currently affecting the Netherlands. The Frisian government has advised residents to notify the authorities in case dead birds are found in open water and to avoid swimming where dead birds have been found.

Most types of botulism are not dangerous for humans, but most do cause some symptoms of illness. In water fowl the disease is almost always fatal. The botulism has spread by bacteria dispersed on the warm, nutrient-rich surface of the water.

The dead ducks were discovered last weekend. Twelve ducks were removed on Sunday. Dead ducks were also found in other Frisian towns over the weekend, but the cause of death is not yet confirmed.

Source: Tientallen eenden dood door opwarming water

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Extremely Rare Bird Photographed By Tiger Camera

by Amy Posted on 15 July 2006

A Sumatran Ground-cuckoo has been photographed by a camera set up to survey tigers in northern Sumatra. The camera was set up by a joint British-Indonesian team in order to survey the tiger population close to the Kerinci Seblat National Park. A sighting of the cuckoo had only been recorded once in the last 90 years. Read the full story Tiger trap goes cuckoo on BirdLife International.

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Belgian Tern Colony Webcam

by Amy Posted on 14 July 2006

The largest breeding colony of terns in Western Europe can be seen by everyone thanks to a new webcam installed by BirdLife Belgium. The colony in the port of Zeebrugge hosted over 7,000 pairs of terns in 2004, including Common Terns, Sandwich Terns and Little Terns. The terns reside in an area of the port where public access is restricted, so the webcam at www.natuurpunt.be/terns is the only way to view the birds. Read the full story Belgian terns go online! on BirdLife International.

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Spain Finds H5N1 In Wild Grebe

by Amy Posted on 13 July 2006

Last week Spain confirmed its first case of the H5N1 virus. The virus was discovered in a dead Great Crested Grebe found near the city of Vitoria in the Basque country in nothern Spain seven weeks ago. Experts will confirm the age and species of the bird and try to determine the sub-species, to find out if the bird likely migrated to Spain from Africa or was a permanenet resident of Spain. Read the full story Spanish H5N1 grebe unlikely to be from Africa on BirdLife International.

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Netherlands Must Tighten Up Bird Legislation

by Amy Posted on 11 July 2006

Last week the European Commission, the governing body of the EU, asked the Netherlands and twelve other member states to adopt bird preservation legislation. According to the commission, the Netherlands does not do enough to limit hunting on certain bird species, and more must be done to prevent egg-stealing.

If member states do not adopt the new legislation, the commission can take further legal steps to impel compliance.

Source: Nederland moet wetgeving over vogels aanscherpen

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Racing Pigeons Stolen From Belgian Fancier

by Amy Posted on 7 July 2006

Last weekend thieves stole thirteen pigeons from Handzame resident Georges Bolle. Among the missing birds were some of the most prized birds in the collection.

The weekend crime was the third pigeon robbery in the area in the last few weeks. Birds were also stolen from keepers in Ingelmunster and Wervik. Mr. Bolle lost 13 male pigeons; thirteen female birds were taken in the Wervik incident. The birds were all banded so using them for racing is not possible. The thieves may try to use the birds to raise a new generation of racing pigeons.

Source: “Mijn duiven zijn mijn leven”

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Scottish Bird Population Numbers Down, And Up

by Amy Posted on 7 July 2006

Several species of birds inhabiting Scotland have seen their populations decrease in the past decade, including the Northern Lapwing (down 48%) and Eurasian Oystercatcher (-22%). A few birds did see their populations increase, including the Starling (+33%) and Goldcrest (+155%). Read the full story Will these birds vanish from Scotland? in the Scotsman.

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