Category Archives: Offbeat

Game Warden Arrested For Illegally Moving Pheasants

by Amy Posted on 6 December 2006

A 62-year-old game warden from Assen, the Netherlands, was arrested last week for having 40 pheasants in his car. The police were conducting a routine ‘control’ (random traffic stops) when an officer noticed moving gunnysacks in the backseat of the perpetrator’s car.

Ten sacks each held four living birds. The man was arrested for transporting the birds without having rings and not in proper cages. The warden was in possession of the birds for some days before being caught. It is thought that he planned to slaughter the birds for consumption or resell them.

The man risks losing his hunting license.

Source: Jachtopzichter rijdt rond met levende fazanten

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

Subspecies Of Winter Wren Reunited In Canada

by Amy Posted on 16 November 2006

“Two sub-species of a singing bird have met in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. the first sighting since the eastern and western winter wren split apart during the last Ice Age. Up until last year, scientists weren’t even sure if the two populations co-existed since nobody had ever been able to find their elusive contact zone.” Read about the discovery by zoology professor Darren Irwin at Canada.com.

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

Sheepdogs To Monitor Penguin Colony

by Amy Posted on 9 November 2006

An unconventional trial is taking place in south-west Victoria, Australia in a bid to save a dwindling penguin colony on Middle Island. A maremma sheepdog will be brought to the island in order to protect the birds from foxes. During the trial period, which will take place from 13 November until 8 December, a sheepdog will try to keep the colony of about 100 birds from becoming prey of local foxes and dogs. The colony numbered 5,000 birds just five years ago. Sheepdogs have been used with some success to protect chickens from foxes in the past. Read more in the article Sheepdogs to protect Aussie penguins.

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

Decline In Vultures Causes Religious Controversy In Mumbai

by Amy Posted on 8 November 2006

Parsis, a religious minority group living in Mumbai, India, are facing a crisis. The group is suffering declining numbers worldwide: there are an estimated 130,000 left in the world, 43,000 of whom live in Mumbai. And now an important part of their religious faith is being questioned – the way they dispose of their dead. Their age-old tradition calls for corpses to be left as carrion for vultures. In Mumbai, corpses are brought to the Towers of Silence, but today they are left to rot as the vulture population on the subcontinent has been in decline for years. In Mumbai, vultures are virtually extinct, which means that the Parsi corpses are taking months to decompose as they are left out to the elements. Read more about the controversy at the BBC.

Share the birds, share the love!
Posted in Aside, Endangered, India, Offbeat | Leave a comment

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

Balloonist Fined For Disturbing Birds

by Amy Posted on 7 October 2006

A 36-year-old hot air balloonist has been fined 300 euros by a judge in the Hague for disturbing breeding birds in a protected nature area.

The balloonist flew his balloon too low over the Nieuwkoopse Plassen (lake) in June 2005 and frightened hundreds of breeding birds. The judge found the balloonist responsible for keeping the birds off of their nests during incubation which proved fatal for many of the nests.

Changes in the wind caused the balloon to drift towards Schiphol Airport. In order to avoid breaching that prohibited area, the balloonist decided to bring the balloon down in the protected lake area instead.

Source: Ballonvaarder beboet voor storen broedende vogels

Share the birds, share the love!
Posted in Netherlands, Offbeat | 1 Comment

Seniors Forbidden To Feed Pigeons

by Amy Posted on 29 September 2006

An elderly couple from the Dutch town of Leeuwarden has been forbidden to feed pigeons within a two kilometer radius from their house. That was the judgement from the Frisian court on Thursday. Thirteen neighbor families brought the senior couple to court for attracting dozens of pigeons to their neighborhood, along with the nuisance of pigeon poop and coos. Food that was not eaten by the pigeons also attracted vermin to the neighborhood.

The offenders will be allowed to keep fifteen domestic pigeons in their yard, but they may only be fed in a caged area to prevent wild birds from returning to the garden.

Source: Bejaarden krijgen verbod op voeren duiven

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