German Shepherd Saves Ducklings From Death

by Amy Posted on 30 May 2006

A German Shepherd in Edinburgh discovered two lost Mallard ducklings in some undergrowth. Much to the amazement of his owner and the local SPCA, Duke picked up the helpless birds in his mouth and brought them to the safety of his blanket, where he proceeded to give them a tongue bath. You can read the whole story Good shepherd plucks lucky ducks to safety with his jaws at the Edinburgh Evening News.

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

Baby Storks Perish In Bad Dutch Weather

by Amy Posted on 28 May 2006

The cold and wet spring in the Netherlands this year has proven fatal for this year’s stork hatchlings.

In the Rhee area in the province of Drenthe, four dead stork youth have been found. In a preserve near Meppel, eight dead storks have been found.

Storks live in open nests, which means that adverse weather will affect the nests directly. Parent birds try to protect their young but in not leaving the nest they are unable to feed the hatchlings. Either the exposure to the extreme cold and wet, or lack of food can prove fatal to young, growing birds.

The problem has struck stork nests all over the country. Experts expect more dead stork youth will be discovered in the coming days and weeks.

Source: Ooievaarsjongen sterven door kou en regen

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

Rare Birds In London Halt Fireworks Show

by Amy Posted on 25 May 2006

A pair of Peregrine Falcons nesting in London have put a halt to a scheduled fireworks show to kick off a Mozart festival. The protected birds could be disturbed by the pyrotechnics so the festival will offer attendees a free glass of champagne on opening night in lieu of the fireworks. There are currently five breeding pairs of Peregrine Falcons active in London. Read the full story Rare birds put stop to fireworks on the BBC.

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

Mink Destroy Bird Colonies In Scotland

by Amy Posted on 25 May 2006

Mink are blamed for decimating a colony of seabirds on the Western Isles of Scotland. A colony of 200 pairs of adult terns are struggling to raise just 5 or 6 chicks this season, where normally the group would have at least 100 surviving hatchlings. The mink prey on other native species, including voles. The mink are believed to have been brought to the island from the US to stock fur farms, but were set free as the demand for fur dropped. Read the full story Mink ‘run amok’ in bird colonies on the BBC.

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

The Bird Hospital Of Delhi

by Amy Posted on 24 May 2006

In March as part of our visit to Rajasthan in India we had the chance to visit a bird hospital in Delhi. The hospital is run by Jains at the 16th-century Digambara Jain Temple.

Jain Bird Hospital, Delhi, India
Mural on the Jain Bird Hospital

Followers of the Jain religion revere all life and are vegetarians. Some strict observers wear cloths in front of their mouths in order to avoid accidental inhalation of insects, and brush the ground before them as they walk, so as not to step on any living thing.

Unfortunately we arrived at the hospital after the normal opening times and could only have a quick look at the facility. Here are some photos we took at the hospital.

Top left to bottom right: The exterior of the temple complex; the hospital facility; some patient roosts; the “small birds ward”.



The exterior or the temple complex


The hospital facility


Patient roosts


“Small Birds Ward”

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

Expedition To Search For Dodos

by Amy Posted on 24 May 2006

An international research team will try to reconstruct the habitat of the extinct dodo bird during an upcoming expedition to Mauritius. The team wants to determine the cause of the dodo’s habitat destruction and ultimate extinction.

The team also hopes to find complete skeletons of adult and young dodo birds. In October 2005 researchers in the southeast of Mauritius found a large burial site with bones of dodos and other domestic animals.

The team will depart the Netherlands on Friday, 2 June and returns on Monday, 3 July. The team is maintaining a weblog of their adventures, which is available at www.dodo-expeditie.nl (in Dutch).

Source: Expeditie op zoek naar oorzaak verdwijnen dodo’s

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