Huge Bird Fossil Found In Patagonia

by Amy Posted on 2 November 2006

Evidence of a so-called “terror bird” has been found in Argentina, scientists revealed last week. The bird, part of a family of flightless carnivores called phorusrhacids, reached up to three meters in height and was among the top carnivores in South America. Mammals hold that distinction in all other parts of the ancient world. Read the full story Big bird had swift legs at Nature.com.

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

Rare Bearded Tits Thrive In UK Park

by Amy Posted on 1 November 2006

Leighton Moss, a nature park in Lancashire, has seen its most successful breeding summer for the rare Bearded Tit in recent years. About 30 pairs of birds nested in the park this year, rearing about 80 chicks. Wardens at the park have distributed grit and erected wigwams in order to entice the British rarities to make the park their home. Read the full story Rare birds thrive at nature park at the BBC.

bearded tit
bearded tit by Mostly Dans, Creative Commons on Flickr

Share the birds, share the love!
Posted in Aside, Endangered, Europe | 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

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

Falcon Demonstrations Anything But Educational

by Amy Posted on 28 October 2006

BirdLife International’s Belgian partner Vogelbescherming Vlaanderen has expressed concern over the increasing number of demonstrations involving birds of prey. People calling themselves falconers offer their services to schools, groups and public events, which in turn are picked up by the media. But often the so-called falconers are what Vogelbescherming calls ‘pseudo-falconers’, people who are using the art of falconry as a means of income and not to promote the welfare of the animals. Sometimes the pseudo-falconers have large number of day and night birds of prey captured by unsavory means.

An increase in the number of ransackings and plunderings of raptor nests is a cause for alarm according to Vogelbescherming.

Pseudo-falconers keep their birds in small cages or use means to restrict the birds’ movement which is a serious form of maltreatment, according to Vogelbescherming. The birds are further abused by means of starvation used to allow them to be manipulated with food rewards.

Source: Roofvogeldemonstraties zijn allesbehalve educatief

Share the birds, share the love!
Posted in Europe, Law | Leave a comment

Gull Nuisance Conference Coming To Leiden

by Amy Posted on 26 October 2006

On November 1st the Dutch city of Leiden will host an international conference. The subject: Gull nuisance in city environments. Representatives from cities in the Netherlands and abroad will be present, along with city biologists and the Dutch partner of BirdLife International, Vogelbescherming.

Leiden is not alone as a city whose citizens complain of resident gulls. The birds open garbage containers in search of food and in the breeding season cause noise pollution as they seek mates and protect their young. Leiden has tried employing raptors and removing gull eggs from nests but these solutions did not significantly reduce the nuisance caused by the birds.

During the conference, the experts will exchange ideas and brainstorm solutions to gull nuisance problems. A new survey in cooperation with the University of Leiden is also planned. Political party CDA will propose discussion on two plans: using falcons to scare gulls away and dipping the gull eggs with oil.

City alderman John Steegh has sought an exemption from the Flora and Fauna law in order to fight the gulls by killing them, a plan opposed by animal rights groups. After the conference Steegh will decide how to proceed.

Source: Leiden houdt conferentie over meeuwenoverlast

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

Record Number Of Belgian Birds

by Amy Posted on 25 October 2006

The results from a February bird count sponsored by Natuurpunt in Belgium are in. A record number of birds were counted by volunteers. More than eight thousand participants counted 352,000 back yard birds, on average 43 birds per garden. The sparrow was the most counted bird and the blackbird the most widespread.

43 birds per garden marked a 30 percent increase over the number of birds counted in 2004 and 2005, when 33 and 31 birds per garden were counted, respectively.

In part a long cold winter caused the high number of birds to seek food from garden feeders, which lead to the high count.

A striking trend is the increasing number of small birds found at Belgian garden feeders. For example, the number of finches found in back yards increased dramatically.

The next Belgian back yard bird count will take place on 3 and 4 February 2007.

Source: Recordaantal vogels geteld

Share the birds, share the love!
Posted in Europe, Yard Birds | 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