PetHobbyist.com Site Blog - BirdHobbyist

Another oil spill threatens birds

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:00:22 -0500

The Audubon Society blog describes the bad news from the South Atlantic Ocean. A ship ran aground, endangering thousands of penguins that live in the area:

Wildlife rescuers are in a race against time to save up to 20,000 endangered rockhopper penguins doused in oil after a shipwreck off a South Atlantic archipelago last week. A cargo ship, the MV Oliva, ran aground on March 16. Its crew was rescued, but the accident left thousands of the distinctive birds, with their punk-rocker hairdos, coated in crude.

To read the remainder of the article and watch a video, click here.

Featured Pet Photo: Firefighter Bird to the Rescue!

nospam@example.com (Cheryl Cooper) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:01:54 -0600

Be sure to tell mamajodi you liked it here!

There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

New bird species discovered

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:45:37 -0600

Scientists have found a new bird in Madagascar. Audubon Magazines blog emphasizes the importance of this discovery:

In western Madagascar, scientists surveying the areas flora and fauna found a new bird: a forest-dwelling rail. Its size, plumage, and genetics differentiate it from its eastern cousin, making it unique to the Beanka Forest, an isolated and largely intact part of the countrys remaining western dry forests.

This bird theyve known about for decades, but no one has been able to go find it and get a specimen of it. Its not a common thing at all, and its really hard to find, said researcher Nick Block, a graduate student at the University of Chicago who is based at the citys Field Museum.

Article continues here.

Cranes leave for Louisiana

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:55:20 -0600

In the hope of restoring the wild population of whooping cranes, wildlife officials plan to release young cranes in Louisiana. The Baltimore Sun tells their story:

Ten young whooping cranes raised in Maryland are taking to the air today, as federal wildlife biologists and technicians who've tended them since they were chicks release them in Louisiana to join the annual winged migration of their fragile species.

The gangly birds were reared at the U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, as seen in the photo above. Their "parents" were human caretakers wearing white crane-like costumes, who exercised them, took them for walks and swims and fed them as chicks using a bird puppet.

To read the remainder of the article, click here.

Count birds this weekend

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:49:43 -0600

Looking for an activity this weekend? Get outdoors and count birds in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count. Anyone can participate and count birds from your back yard to the neighborhood park. Birdsource.org reports on their Website:

Blackbirds made the headlines when a flock of thousands fell from the skies in Arkansas on New Years Eve. Now bird enthusiasts across the continent are counting the birdsnot just blackbirds, but birds of more than 600 speciesin the annual Great Backyard Bird Count. During February 1821 the event will create an instantaneous snapshot of birdlife across the U.S. and Canada for all to see.

For more information on how to join in, click here

No Valentines day for many birds

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:58:44 -0600

Only a few species of birds are faithful to their mates. In Valentines Day? Not For Birds, enature blog reports:

Unlike humans, who seize the opportunity at Valentines Day to proclaim their love for their mate and reinforce the bonds of love over a lifetime, most birds are of a different feather.

The use of DNA by scientists has provided new food for thought to people who had assumed that most birds were faithful to their mates, if not for a lifetime, at least for a single breeding season. Alas, its just not true. There is more hanky-panky going on in the back fields and woodlands of the country among birds than anyone could imagine. DNA studies of songbirds have shown that among any four baby birds in a single nest, it is typical that only an average of two are the creation of the parent birds that are raising them. The other two nestling have either a different father or mother, or both. In other words, it is a common practice among songbirds to copulate with birds other than their mates, thus producing broods of nestlings with mixed parentage.

Article continues here.

Leaving the nest

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 11:28:57 -0600

Ever wondered about the life of a young bird when it leaves the nest? In Flying The Nest - The Wildlife of a Young Bird, BBC Earth tells the story of this exciting time for a Cape Gannet baby.

Flying the nest, as most of us know can be a terribly exciting but also nerve-wrecking time in a young person's life. And its at this time of year that the Cape Gannet chick goes through exactly that.

After approximately three months, they have put on enough weight making them even heavier than their parents and are ready to put those strong wings to good use.

To read the remainder of the article and watch a slideshow, click here.

Time to count backyard birds

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:33:42 -0600

Unlike Audubons Christmas Bird Count during December and January, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is held this month from February 17 through 21. Anyone can participate in this count. In What is the GBBC?, BirdSource.org reports:

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. Its free, fun, and easyand it helps the birds. We'll be adding updated GBBC materials for the next count as they become available.

For more information, click here.

Unusual English visitors

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:51:34 -0600

The winter weather in Europe has caused some unusual bird sightings in England. In Europe's big freeze brings flocks of rare birds to Britain, The Observer reports:

The deep winter freeze across northern Europe and Russia has driven many exotic and unusual birds into Britain's back gardens on a weekend when more than half a million people are taking part in the world's biggest wildlife survey.

Amateur ornithologists are being told to "expect the unexpected" as they turn out for the annual RSPB [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds] Big Garden Birdwatch, including spectacular flocks of rarely seen waxwings that have been forced into towns and cities across the UK by a shortage of berries in their native Scandinavia and Russia.

Article continues here.

Update on hawk in Library of Congress

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:57:39 -0600

Jefferson the hawk has been rescued! On their Website, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife tells the story of her capture:

After spending a week trapped in the Library of Congress, a female Cooper's hawk was safely captured Wednesday January 26 and taken to a rehabilitation center in Virginia. The hawk, nicknamed Jefferson eluded rescuers as it swooped overhead in the dome of the Thomas Jefferson Building's Main Reading Room. The hawk may have flown in through a broken window.

Article continues here.

Neglected cockatiel finds loving home

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:00:25 -0600

After a rough start in his life, Chulo left the animal shelter and flew into a loving home. The San Francisco Chronicle tells the story:

When Patricia Saura wanted to adopt a cockatiel, the shelter staff tried to warn her about Chulo. "He isn't tame," they warned. "He bites hard." Which the bird was more than happy to demonstrate with a sharp chomp on the volunteer's gloved hand. Still, Patricia had made up her mind and took Chulo home to meet her husband, Jonathan Harris.

Back at the apartment, Chulo sat depressed for days, hardly eating or drinking, barely responding to human attention. We guessed he must have been neglected and confined in a small space for a long time. He didn't know how to play. He wouldn't step up onto a finger and was hostile to hands, hissing and retreating each time they came close, never letting us touch him. Saddest of all, he didn't even know how to get in and out of his own cage.

Article continues here.

Hawk visits Library of Congress

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:07:29 -0600

The Library of Congress may have had some unusual visitors through the years, but the latest unexpected visitor is a hawk! In Hawk still flying free in Library of Congress, Audubon Magazine reports on their blog:

College students take heed: Coopers hawks know how to hit the books. One of these medium-sized raptors has been holed up in the grand Main Reading Room at the Library of Congress since January 19.

I just came from the Main Reading Room, and it is an awe-inspiring sight: a beautiful, majestic bird against the backdrop of one of the most magnificent buildings in the world, Matt Raymond wrote on the Library of Congress blog on Friday. The hawk has confined its hopping and circling to the cupola just below the dome itself, so curious people in the reading room probably wont get any close encounters.

A rescue team, which includes folks from the Washington Humane Society and the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia, has been trying to catch the juvenile female hawk for five days. Theyve baited cages in the rooms dome and pulled a mesh net across the dome opening in the Main Reading Roomto prevent her from descending or catch her should she fall.

Article continues here.
Lets hope the wildlife officials are successful in capturing and releasing this hawk back into the wild!

Renewal for Iraqi birds

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:03:18 -0600

Despite years of war, the marshes in Iraq are undergoing restoration. BirdLife in Iraq is giving new life to these marshes that were drained under Husseins rule. In Miracle in the marshes of Iraq, BirdLife International reports on their Website:

A film documentary on the regeneration of Iraqs Mesopotamian Marshes, a project led by Azzad Alwash, the CEO of BirdLife Affiliate Nature Iraq, will get its first public screening tomorrow on the UKs BBC TV Channel. The documentary is being shown at 2000 GMT on BBC2s Natural World series.

The Mesopotamian marshlands are one of the most extensive wetland ecosystems in western Eurasia, and are home to a rich diversity of life, including a number of endemic and threatened bird species.

But in the 1990s Saddam Hussein drained the Mesopotamian Marshes to punish the indigenous Marsh Arab tribes, who had risen against him after the first Gulf War. Within months, the marshes, which had covered 15,000 square kilometres, were reduced to less than 10% of their original size.

Article continues here.

California's winter bird visitors

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 12:26:47 -0600

Three California wildlife refuges are providing winter homes for migrating ducks and water birds. In Attention all ye bird watchers, The Albany Patch reports:

Well folks, its that time of year again. No, no, Im not talking about the holidays and resolutions for the New Year. Im talking about goings-on at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, and the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, and maybe even the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area near Sutter Buttes (reputed to be the smallest mountain range in the world).

Whats happening is that around three million assorted ducks and big water birds, plus at least half a million snow geese, are taking up their winter quarters. All this adds up to about 30 percent of the Pacific Flyways waterfowl population, which show up every year from Alaska and other points north to winter in the Sacramento Valley.

Article continues here.

Birds need no passport

nospam@example.com (Gail McMahon) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 11:14:13 -0600

North American scientists conducted a study that showed native birds cross the borders of three countriesCanada, Mexico, and the United States. These countries need to work together to conserve more than 100 of these species that are endangered. On their Website, BirdLife International reports:

A recent study carried out by scientists from Canada, Mexico and the United States, including several BirdLife Partners found that of the 882 native landbirds shared across borders, 17% (148 species) need immediate conservation action.

The report, Saving Our Shared Birds, an initiative of Partners in Flight, assessed the status of all 882 shared landbirds, and used their findings to rank the vulnerability of each species.

Article continues here.

PetHobbyist.com Site Blog - BirdHobbyist

Another oil spill threatens birds

Featured Pet Photo: Firefighter Bird to the Rescue!

New bird species discovered

Cranes leave for Louisiana

Count birds this weekend

No Valentines day for many birds

Leaving the nest

Time to count backyard birds

Unusual English visitors

Update on hawk in Library of Congress

Neglected cockatiel finds loving home

Hawk visits Library of Congress

Renewal for Iraqi birds

California's winter bird visitors

Birds need no passport

No Valentines day for many birds