20-Apr-23, 08:30:15 AM
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16519
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Rare falcon escapes
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on: 12-Mar-11, 06:57:01 AM
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A rare falcon that was injured in Richmond, then nursed back to health, has escaped in Indiana.
The peregrine falcon flew from its trainers' car Wednesday morning after someone broke into the car and tampered with a specialized box containing the bird, officials said.
The trainers — Andrew and Eva King of Albemarle County — did nothing wrong, said Dave McRuer, director of veterinary medicine at the Wildlife Center of Virginia, an wild-animal hospital in Waynesboro.
"Everyone is just sick," McRuer said.
The female peregrine falcon injured its right eye and shoulder Oct. 12 in Richmond, possibly by flying into a high-rise window. A worker found it on the ground near Shockoe Slip.
The Wildlife Center treated the bird, then turned it over to the Kings on Dec. 13. They were training it for a planned return to the wild this spring.
The falcon can survive in Indiana, but leather straps attached to its legs could snag on tree limbs, trapping the bird and causing it to starve, McRuer said.
It's also possible the falcon could bite through the straps.
The Kings were returning from an educational event in Minnesota when they stopped Tuesday night at a hotel in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Unaware of the break-in, Eva King checked the box the next morning, and the falcon bolted out, the wildlife center said. The burglar had released the leg straps from a hitch.
Falconers often take their birds with them on trips to ensure they get proper care, McRuer said.
Wildlife experts in Indiana hope to catch the falcon.
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16520
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Peregrine falcons could be nesting at library Erie Pa
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on: 12-Mar-11, 06:54:54 AM
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Let's keep our fingers crossed, hoping that a pair of peregrine falcons will be nesting here in Erie. If they do, it would be a first for this endangered species in northwestern Pennsylvania.
So far, everything looks promising. Since early February, a pair of peregrines has been seen hanging out near the Blasco Library. Even better news is that they have been seen mating three times.
And there's another plus: One of the peregrines has been seen carrying a duck into the smokestack on the south side of the library. Yes, that's the tower that has had so many concerned people thinking of ways it could be used, so it would not be torn down.
Who could think of anything better? A mating pair of peregrine falcons, listed by the state and federal governments as an endangered species, hanging around an endangered local historic landmark, possibly even nesting in it. That's the makings of a dramatic documentary that would touch the hearts and lives of most everyone, especially naturalists and industrialists, as well as historians.
In 1940, when the authoritative classic "Birds of Western Pennsylvania" was printed, the peregrine falcon was called a "duck hawk." Its author, W.E. Clyde Todd, said, "It is perhaps unfortunate that throughout all its range the Duck Hawk is a rather scarce bird, for its appearance and habits are such as to command the admiration and respect of the most prejudiced observer."
The earliest record of a sighting here, according to Todd, was June 1931 at Presque Isle. Although peregrines now are seen almost yearly, with most observations made near the Lake Erie shoreline during migration, they are still considered very rare in winter and in summer, according to Jean Stull Cunningham and Jerry McWilliams, authors of "Birds of Erie County."
In 1983, thanks to Pennsylvania Game Protector Andy Martin, I reported on a malnourished peregrine that was treated like royalty. After it was fattened up on pheasant, grouse and pigeon, and given beef kidney with vitamin supplements and crushed chicken necks to supply it with much-needed calcium, it was put on an airplane and flown along the Atlantic Flyway from Erie to Bombay Hook, a national wildlife refuge in Delaware.
Soon after it landed along the mouth of the Delaware River, it went off after ducks -- a sign that it was strong enough to fly under its own strength the rest of its migration route to Central America.
The peregrine had been found two weeks earlier along Station Road. It was believed that it had migrated across Lake Erie and had not been able to catch small game along the way.
Normally, a peregrine would not attack a goose, but it saw some geese and went after them. When found, its weight was down to 18 ounces. The peregrine was rehabilitated by Rod and Ellen Gehrlein with the help of Dr. Ken Felix.
The peregrine's trip south was courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is entrusted with deciding the fate of endangered species.
Yes, peregrines gain a lot of attention. So, let's hope that the peregrines that are down by Blasco Library will stay and raise a family. It would be a first and bring good publicity. Erie is an important birding area. We know that it is. But we need to spread the news.
EVELYN ANDERSON is a freelance writer and photographer who writes about nature each week in the Erie Times-News.
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16523
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / This deserves it's own topic!!!
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on: 11-Mar-11, 10:06:13 PM
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Dead Birds Issue Going To Court Next Month
March 10, 2011 - International, National and Local News
Frank Butson Reports:
From THE TORONTO STAR
Curtis Rush Staff Reporter
For years, a volunteer group has been trying to get the message out about the migratory birds who die by slamming into the reflective glass of Toronto office buildings each year.
On Wednesday, they took this message to the Royal Ontario Museum, where they laid out close to 2,000 dead migratory birds on a canvas for the public to see.
And next month, they hope the message is further driven home in a Scarborough courtroom.
On April 7, the managers of The Consilium Place office towers in Scarborough will have to answer to charges under the Environmental Protection Act and the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
“This could be a precedent-setting case and a conviction could send a message to other businesses,” said Albert Koehl, a lawyer for Ecojustice, which has brought the private charges.
The trial is expected to last six days and fines could be substantial, Koehl said. In addition, a provision could be made to order changes to the glass structure thought to be a prime killer of migratory birds.
The towers, near Highway 401 and McCowan Rd., are covered in mirrored glass and are as high as 17 storeys.
In 2008-2009, more than 800 birds were recovered from the lawns around the complex.
Michael Mesure, 47, executive director of the Fatal Light Awareness Program, said he’s frustrated that existing buildings in Toronto are not being mandated to make design changes to protect birds.
Under the city’s bird-friendly guidelines, new buildings must meet certain performance standards that involve muting reflections and treating glass with density patterns.
The executive director of FLAP said simple adjustments such as visual markings on glass windows can help give birds an alternative point of focus.
At the ROM on Wednesday, spectators watched as volunteers laid down the carcasses of migratory birds — everything from birds of prey to small song birds.
“It breaks my heart,” said Kathy Nosich, who works in the biodiversity program for Ontario Power Generation.
She said the display of birds who met their fate by colliding with glass structures brings home the message.
“Nothing tells this story better,” she said.
Mesure, who began FLAP in 1993, says many people remain “in denial” about the problem of dead birds because they don’t see carcasses lying on the streets and don’t realize the ecological benefits of making sure they survive.
“They eat thousands of insects,” he said.
Staff volunteers like Brian Armstrong, who sold his legal practice several years ago, begin patrols throughout the financial district at 4 a.m., collecting injured and dead birds.
The injured birds are taken to the Toronto Wildlife Centre if the gulls haven’t swooped down and taken them away first.
The migratory bird season begins in a few weeks and runs to June.
Those are large numbers! OMG!!
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