About 100 oil-coated penguins have turned up dead in recent weeks off the coast of Argentina. Environmentalists are searching for the source, but so far no oil spills have been found. About a hundred live penguins have also been found covered in oil. Caregivers are trying to insure their survival.
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Newborn wood duck hatchlings jump 15 feet down from tree nest to join mother in the water – caught on film. Watch the young ducks take the plunge at the National Geographic website.
International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) is held every second Saturday in May, this year May 13. The purpose is to celebrate and support migratory bird conservation. The theme this year is Boreal Forest: Bird Nursery of the North.
The Boreal Forest is located across northern parts of Russia, Scandinavia, Canada and Alaska. It covers 6.5 million square miles.
There are 325 species of birds which regularly visit the North American part of the Boreal Forest. This includes residents, winter and summer visitors.
The first IMBD was in 1993. This year, more than 500 events will take place over the United States to commemorate this special day.
Related Link: International Migratory Bird Day
Officers at an outpost police station in India rescued an injured peacock about six years ago, and got themselves a mascot in the process. The wild animal was released into the forest by the police at least two times, but the bird always returned to the police station. The bird, called Sonya, “has a wing span of two meters (and) expresses his joy of living with (the police) through his dance and preference to stay at the outpost.” Read the full story Injured bird visits police, stays on as guest in the Times of India.
The population of Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) is rising in the Netherlands. This year park rangers and volunteers counted 23 of the bird in the National Park de Sallandse Heuvelrug in the province Overijssel. That’s the highest count in the last six years.
Last year only 13 birds were counted. In 2002 only 8 birds were found.
The Black Grouse is a protected species in the Netherlands and is extremely vulnerable. To preserve the species in this country, the agencies Staatsbosbeheer and Natuurmonumenten have been working together to improve the habitat for the birds.
The preservation agencies are working to improve the variety of plant species found in the heathlands where the birds live and breed. This will insure that insects thrive in the area, which is important for the Black Grouse as their young feed almost exclusively on bugs. Adult grouse feed on grasses, weeds and other plants. Improving the landscape for the grouse also has benefits for other ground-breeding birds, as well as lizards, butterflies, snakes and even deer.
The offspring of migratory birds arriving in the Netherlands this spring are starving to death. The chicks feed on caterpillars, but due to earlier spring weather the caterpillar population is peaking before the chicks have a chance to hatch. Read the full story Earlier Spring Starves Migratory Birds at LiveScience.
The Dutch central organization for animal sickness control, CIDC-Lelystad, is receiving fewer dead bird reports. In the past few months the organization has examined 6,382 birds for the deadly H5N1 virus.
Because most migratory birds are now at their summer location, the chance of finding the virus in the Netherlands this season is very small. For this reason, the organization will only examine dead birds when found in groups of 20 or more. In the case of swans, ducks or geese, a group of 3 or more will be examined.
“Demolition of a crumbling grain elevator has been halted as wildlife officials seek to determine for sure whether there are any eggs or chicks inside the nest of a red-tailed hawk discovered at the 210-foot-tall concrete structure.” Read the full story Demolition of grain elevator halted due to hawk nest on the La Crosse Tribune.
The Dutch organization Natuurmonumenten has created a bird hide which is accessible for wheelchair users, in cooperation with the Friese Poort College in Drachten. The hide is located by the Zuidwest (southwest) lakes in the Fochteloërveen natural area.
The construction is large enough to be sure that wheelchair users can move around the hide easily. The lookout points are on different levels so wheelchair users can use them as well as bird enthusiasts who arrive on foot.
Four students worked for approximately two months to build the hide, which was tested by wheelchair users and a forest ranger soon after it opened. Some users reported difficulty entering the hut, so the students will adjust the doorway for better future use.
The Fochteloërveen is already equipped with a wheelchair accessible path and observation tower. Natuurmonumenten is organizing an excursion to the park for wheelchair users on 17 June.
A Green Heron (Butorides virescens) which has settled in the Nieuwe Meer area of Amsterdam has attracted hundreds of birdwatchers from neighboring countries. Since the first confirmed sighting on Friday, 28 April, twitchers from all over the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany have come to see the bird.
The heron is a native of North America. The species is smaller than the native Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea ) of the Netherlands. The bird has settled along a ditch in the Nieuwe Meer area in the southwest of Amsterdam.
The bird, which is not ringed, has arrived from North America due to disorientation or unusually strong winds during migration, or the bird has “hitchhiked” to Europe on a ship.
