Category Archives: Aside

Conservation Groups Sue U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

by Amy Posted on 3 December 2006

Two conservation groups in Wyoming are suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service for refusing to protect the Mountain Plover under the Endangered Species Act. The two groups, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance and Forest Guardians, claim that the Fish and Wildlife Service rejected expert advice on the threat to the Mountain Plover population. The groups claim politics are to blame in the denial of protection for the plovers. Read more about the lawsuit.

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Posted in Aside, Law, North America | Leave a comment

Arctic Gull Spotted In California, Attracts Birders

by Amy Posted on 2 December 2006

A Ross’ Gull sighting earlier this month in California attracted about 150 birders hoping to get a glimpse of the bird normally not seen south of Alaska. The bird was spotted in the Salton Sea, a lake located between Imperial and Riverside counties. It marks the first sighting of the gull, which normally breeds in Siberia or Greenland, in California. Read more about the Ross’ Gull’s southern visit.

Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea)
Ross’s Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) by dominic sherony, Creative Commons on Flickr

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Dry Rajasthan Means More Birds For Delhi

by Amy Posted on 29 November 2006

Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India received very little rain during the monsoon season this year. With the popular bird area virtually dry, migratory birds are expected to visit areas around India’s capital in larger numbers than usual. Read more in the New Kerala article More migratory birds to frequent Delhi this year.

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Rare Bird Sighting Boosts Small Town Economy

by Amy Posted on 28 November 2006

The sighting of a Western Reef Heron in Kitttery Point Maine this summer proved to be a boost to the small town’s economy in the last days of the summer tourist season. During the 10 days the bird was known to have been in the area, it is estimated that 300 to 400 birders visited in hopes of catching sight of the heron, whose normal habitat is in Africa. Results of an internet survey showed that the average visiting birder spent 1.38 days in Kittery and spent about $26. Read more about the heron’s impact. Thirty survey respondents said they had no plans to visit Maine before hearing about the rare bird. Read more about the bird’s economical impact.

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Duck Thought To Be Extinct Rediscovered

by Amy Posted on 25 November 2006

Researchers recently rediscovered the Madagascar Pochard, a duck that was previously considered extinct. The biologists were working for the Peregrine Fund and conducting a survey in the northern part of Madagascar when they found nine adult and four juvenile pochards. The last known sighting of the duck was in 1991. Read the full article.

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Posted in Africa, Aside, Endangered, Extinct | Leave a comment

Duck Hunting Disallowed In Friesland

by Amy Posted on 23 November 2006

A judge in the Frisian town of Leeuwarden placed a ban on duck hunting last Friday. Frisian government officials had previously granted hunters the right to shoot wild ducks in case the birds might cause damage (to property). The Dutch wildlife protection group Faunabescherming found this allowance too vague and took it up with the courts.

The province must now draft a new law if it wishes to allow duck hunting. The law must be more clearly written.

Source: Streep door afschieten wilde eenden in Friesland

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Proposed Airport Expansion Threatens Barn Swallows

by Amy Posted on 22 November 2006

More than 1% of the global population of Barn Swallows winters in the Mount Moreland Reedbed, an Important Bird Area in South Africa. The site is close to Durban, where an airport expansion threatens to clear the area to make way for landing aircraft. BirdLife South Africa opposes the proposal. The swallows breed in Europe and then migrate down to South Africa to spend the winter there. Read more about the proposed expansion.

Juv Barn Swallows
Juv Barn Swallows by chapmankj75, Creative Commons on Flickr

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Unprotected Dutch Natural Monument Is Deadly For Red Knots

by Amy Posted on 19 November 2006

The migratory path of the European Red Knot brings it to the Wadden Sea flats in the northern part of the Netherlands each year. There, the birds feed on cockles before continuing their migration, which can be up to 16,000 kilometers in distance. The flats are protected by two different acts, yet suction dredging was sanctioned by the Dutch authorities until 2004. As a result, the cockles’ meat has diminished significantly, causing a quarter of the Red Knot population to have died out. Read more about the Red Knots at New Scientist.

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Birder Disturbs Osprey Nest, Fined £300

by Amy Posted on 18 November 2006

A birdwatcher in Scotland has been fined £300 for pitching a tent 60 feet from the base of tree housing a nest used by a pair of ospreys. When he was discovered by RSPB officials, the adult ospreys were seen circling around the nest, one with a fish in its mouth, apparently afraid to return to the nest because of the tent. Read more about the incident in The Scotsman.

Fledgling Ospreys in Nest
Fledgling Ospreys in Nest by Mr. T in DC, on Flickr

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Posted in Aside, Europe, Law | Leave a comment