Category Archives: Aside

China’s Robo-Pidge

by Amy Posted on 21 March 2007

Chinese scientists have implanted electrodes into a pigeon’s brain to control behavior by electrical stimulation. Using remote control, the scientists have been able to command the bird to such tasks as turning during flight and landing.

The stimulation to the robo-pigeon’s brain is controlled by computers. Robot birds might be used for tasks like surveillance, rescue and mapping in the future.

Source: Chinese scientists create ‘robot’ pigeon

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Posted in Asia, Aside, Science & Tech | Leave a comment

Robot Birdwatcher Searches For Ivory-billed

by Amy Posted on 24 February 2007

An automated birdwatching machine has been set up at a wildlife reserve in Arkansas to search for the rare Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The bird was presumed extinct for decades but unconfirmed sightings beginning in 2004 have sparked great interest in the bird.

The electronic system uses two video cameras to capture images of the sky. These images are later scanned for evidence of the elusive Ivory-billed.

Read more about the robot.

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Posted in Aside, Endangered, Extinct, North America | Leave a comment

Grenada Defiant Despite International Protest

by Amy Posted on 23 February 2007

The government of Grenada is continuing with plans to sell the Mount Hartman National Park to the Four Seasons Hotel Group despite growing pressure from conservationists from around the world.

The National Park, which is locally called the ‘Dove Sanctuary’, is home to 22% of the world population of the Grenada Dove, a critically endangered species.

The website www.grenadadovecampaign.com has been set up to offer advice and information about the proposed sale.

Read more at BirdLife International.

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Posted in Aside, Endangered | Leave a comment

Cambodian Vulture Colony Discovered

by Amy Posted on 15 February 2007

A remote colony of about 100 Slender-Billed Vultures was discovered earlier this month by the Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia. The birds are critically endangered.

A dramatic decline in vulture numbers is due to the use of diclofenac in cattle, a pain reliever used for livestock. Vultures that subsequently fed on carcasses that had been treated with diclofenac later died from the drug.

Read more about the discovery.

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Posted in Asia, Aside, Endangered | 1 Comment

U.S. Navy Proposes Airfield By Wildlife Refuge

by Amy Posted on 28 January 2007

Record numbers of ducks and geese have been spotted at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina this winter. The U.S. Navy wants to build a landing field nearby, a plan opposed by naturalists.

The lakes are located about 5 miles from the site that the Navy wants to use for the landing strip. Environmentalists believe the proximity of the landing strip to the Refuge will harm wildlife and increase potential for collisions between aircraft and birds.

Read more about the proposed airfield.

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Posted in Aside, North America | 1 Comment

Duck, Thought Extinct, Found In Madagascar

by Amy Posted on 27 January 2007

The last Madagascar Pochard, a diving duck, was seen in 1991. This month a group of conservationists discovered a group of at least 25 pochards while searching for a rare hawk on the island.

Most ornithologists believed the duck, Aythya innotata, to be extinct. The living colony of pochards were found by a steep-sided volcanic lake, a different environment than the marshy lakes they were believed to prefer.

Read more about the rediscovered ducks.

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Posted in Africa, Aside, Endangered, Extinct | Leave a comment

Netherlands Wildfowl Illegally Shot

by Amy Posted on 25 January 2007

Approximately 25 waterfowl on the Dinkel in Twente, the Netherlands, were found illegally shot last week. The majority of corpses found were those of geese, all of which had been filleted after being shot.

On Monday 15 January, hikers found the cadavers spread over a kilometer along the banks of the Dinkel. The geese and ducks were killed with shot. The killers filleted the birds for their meat and dumped the decimated corpses in or next to the water. The police are seeking witnesses.

Source: Stropers schieten tientallen watervogels in Twente

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Posted in Aside, Law, Netherlands | Leave a comment

EU To Ban Wild Bird Trade Permanently

by Amy Posted on 24 January 2007

“The EU Commission has announced that the ban on imports of birds caught in the wild is to be made permanent throughout the European Union later this year.”

“The move comes after a temporary ban was imposed within the EU in October 2005, after birds in a UK quarantine centre were found to have avian influenza.

The ban is to take effect from the 1 July 2007.”

Read more about the ban.

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Posted in Aside, Europe, Law | Leave a comment