Unusually warm winter weather is helping spread the deadly salmonelosis virus among songbirds in Michigan and Wisconsin. Read the whole story on the WLUC-TV website, including tips from experts on what to do if you find a dead bird.
Bird spotters in Juneau, Alaska have noticed that local pigeons are acting lethargic. Salt on the roads and sideswalks may be affecting the birds, making them suseptible to attacks by ravens. Read the whole story in The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel.
The final section of the Great Florida Birding Trail (GFBT) was officially opened on 14 January 2006. The dedication ceremony was held at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, part of the South Florida Birding Trail.
The GFBT consists of 4 sections: the East Florida section ; the West Florida section; the Panhandle section; and the recently-opened South Florida section. The statewide 2000-mile trail was completed with the opening of the South Florida section. According to the GFBT’s official website, the trail is “designed to conserve and enhance Florida’s bird habitat by promoting birdwatching activities, environmental education and economic opportunity”.
The Trail consists of 446 sites in total.
The East section, which opened in November 2000, has 136 sites over 21 counties, including Seminole State Forest, the Disney Wilderness Preserve, and Ravine Gardens State Park.
The West section, opened in November 2002, has 117 sites over 18 counties, including Twin Rivers State Forest, Honeymoon Island State Park, and Sand Key Park.
The Panhandle section, opened in May 2004, has 78 sites over 14 counties, including Blackwater River State Park, Turkey Creek Park, and Point Washington State Forest.
The recently-opened South Florida section has 116 sites over 12 counties, and includes the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.
Now is a great time to go birdwatching in Florida, because the resident bird populations are joined by migrating birds who winter in Florida. Receding water levels help to concentrate bird populations around food sources. For birders, the cooler weather also makes for more pleasant days out.
So far at least 350,000 free trail guides have been distributed to requestors from all 50 states and nine different countries.
Sources:
New Fla. trail is a bird-watcher’s bliss
Great Florida Birding Trail
Related links:
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Florida Department of Transportation
Wildlife Foundation of Florida
Florida Park Service
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Audubon of Florida
Visit Florida
Three young Bald Eagles, rehabilitated by the organization Wings of Wonder, are to be released into the wild this Sunday, 29 January. The public is invited to view the release. Visit the Wings of Wonder website for more details.
Birdwatchers have been visiting Yates, New York, to glimpse the rare Northern Hawk Owl which has been spotted there. Some birders have brought a tasty snack to try and entice the bird to come out its perch – mice. Local homeowners have complained that the mice fortunate enough to escape the owl’s talons have taken up in their homes. Read the story Bird lovers ruffling feathers of homeowners by setting mice free on Syracuse.com.
The Cheboygan County Habitat for Humanity charity is going to recruit area locals to offer self-made birdhouses or bird feeders at their April 6 fundraiser. Read Erica Kolaski’s story Habitat fund-raiser is truly for the birds in the Cheboygan Tribune.
The judge in the case of the environmentalists vs. the planned Grand Prairie Irrigation Project in Arkansas has recused himself, delaying the proceedings until 6 February. The judge had donated to the Audubon Society in the past and recused himself after learning they had filed a brief in the case. Read Rob Moritz’s story in the Arkansas News Bureau.
Kaytee Products of Chilton Wisconsin is producing a wild bird feed with supplements such as ginger, garlic and echinacea, aimed at keeping the back yard visitors healthy. Read more in the Green Bay Press-Gazette story Chilton company boosts nutrients in wild bird food.
The National Wildlife Federation and the Arkansas Wildlife Federation will present oral arguments in Little Rock federal court this week to try and prevent the Army Corps of Engineers work on the Grand Prairie Irrigation Project. The environmentalists believe the project threatens the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, thought to be extinct since 1944 but spotted in Arkansas’ Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in 2004. The refuge is 20 miles from the current Irrigation Project construction site.
The groups want the project halted so that scientists can study the project’s environmental effects. Two previous lawsuits filed by the groups were defeated, but both of those suits were filed before the rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed.
The Grand Prairie Irrigation Project plans to draw 158 billion gallons of water each year from the White River – 1.5% of the river’s annual flow – and distribute it to approximately 1,000 area rice farmers. Project leaders say that failure to complete the project will cost farmers as much as $46 million per year. The project will take 13 years to complete at a cost of $319 million.
Supporters of the National Wildlife Federation’s attempt to stop the Irrigation Project from continuing can visit the NWF’s campaign website.
Sources:
Environmentalists say irrigation project would harm rare bird
Bird’s Advocates Challenge Corps
Woodpecker’s discovery brings call to stop irrigation project
A snowy owl has been spotted in California. Bird watchers noticed the bird on a road near Davis late last week. Snowy owls summer in Canada and migrate south for the winter. But their migration rarely brings them so far as Washington state or Oregon, let alone California. The last reported snowy sighting in California was in 1978. Read Crystal Ross O’Hara’s story in The Davis Enterprise.
