Category Archives: Aside

Exterminators Stick Pigeons To Store Sign

by Amy Posted on 31 October 2006

Last week rescue crews worked to save about a dozen pigeons from a store sign in Wethersfield, Connecticut after they became stuck. The store had employed a pest control company to keep birds from roosting in their sign. A gel was applied to the sign in order to repel pigeons. When the temperature outside dropped, however, the gel became adhesive and pigeons became affixed to the sign. The birds were in the care of animal control and were expected to make a full recovery. You can read the full story Crews Rescue Stuck Pigeons at WFSB.

Share the birds, share the love!
Posted in Aside, North America, Offbeat, Pigeons!, Rehabilitation | 2 Comments

Wading Bird Numbers Up For South Florida

by Amy Posted on 30 October 2006

“An annual survey found nearly 55,000 nests in the Everglades and surrounding nature areas this season — the second time in four years breeding has reached levels approaching the 1940s, when flocks of white ibis, snowy egret and other birds could fill a marsh sky. And that’s a ‘conservative estimate,’ said Mark Cook, a senior environmental scientist with the South Florida Water Management District, which compiles the South Florida Wading Bird Report that was released this week.” Read the full story in the Miami Herald.

Share the birds, share the love!
Posted in Aside, Florida, North America | Leave a comment

Botulism – Linked To Invasive Species – Killing Lake Michigan Birds

by Amy Posted on 29 October 2006

“Hundreds of loons, grebes, mergansers, cormorants and other migrating birds have been killed in Lake Michigan recently, most likely from bacteria linked to non-native fish and mussels. Biologists at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore estimated this week that 2,600 dead birds have washed up on beaches during the past two months. It is the first large-scale bird die-off in Lake Michigan in decades.” Read the full story in the Star Tribune.

Share the birds, share the love!
Posted in Aside, North America | Leave a comment

Sixteen Dead Birds Found In Helmond Pond

by Amy Posted on 24 October 2006

In a small pond in the Dutch city of Helmond, an animal ambulance worker has found sixteen dead birds. The victims included ducks, geese, swans and gulls. The cause of death is not yet known.

Ambulance workers and firefighters removed the birds from the pond. The Dutch Food and Goods Authority will examine the birds to determine the cause of death. The results are expected next week.

Source: Zestien dode vogels in vijver Helmond

Share the birds, share the love!
Posted in Aside, Netherlands | Leave a comment

Anti-Dove Hunting Ads Precede Michigan Vote

by Amy Posted on 20 October 2006

A statewide TV campaign has begun to convince Michigan voters to vote against a proposed bill to allow dove hunting in the state. The birds are shot purely for sport, as they are not a nuisance nor suffer from overpopulation, and they are not eaten after they are shot. The state’s longtime ban on dove shooting was lifted in 2004 but petitioners suspended implementation of the law, leading to the upcoming November 7 vote. Read all about the campaign on M Live.

Share the birds, share the love!
Posted in Aside, Law, North America | Leave a comment

Bird Study Could Provide Memory Clues

by Amy Posted on 19 October 2006

“Scientists at the University of New Hampshire hope to learn more about memory and its evolution by studying the Clark’s nutcracker, a bird with a particularly challenging task: remembering where it buried its supply of food for winter in a 15-mile area. Like many animals preparing for the winter, every fall the Clark’s nutcracker spends several weeks gathering food stores. What makes it unique is that it harvests more than 30,000 pine nuts, buries them in up to 5,000 caches, and then relies almost solely on its memory of where those caches are located to survive through winter.” Read more about the study on Newswise.

Share the birds, share the love!
Posted in Aside, North America, Science & Tech | Leave a comment