Yeah, I stopped my brother in law from trimming his hedges on the side of his house. I noticed a sparrow going in and out. I checked it out and there were 3 babies in 1 teeny tiny nest. Wow, they grew and flew very quickly. Within days they were gone. He would have clipped the nest for sure. I'm always looking for nests.     

[I reckon so there Miss Bobbie]

(You reckon this could be categorised as "General Nature Discussion"?)

I reckon so there Miss Bobbie  

Yup, skinny legs Archer.
He's still there, almost 2 hours. 

[Have a good one dale]

Have a good one dale

[pop]

   That's pretty nifty!      

Even I can make one of them, go figure, a pop bottle. 

Very cool looking "Stained Headed" birds Bobbie. Looks natural, who knew? Thanks.

Nine wild whooping crane chicks in remote Canada are wearing high-tech jewelry, courtesy of a pair of Nebraska scientists.

The endangered chicks were outfitted with miniature Global Positioning System transmitters and color-coded identification bands during a milestone research initiative by the Crane Trust, based near Wood River, Neb.

The telemetry banding was a first for wild whoopers in their nesting grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Northwest Territories, Canada.

“It's a historic moment for whooping crane conservation and for the Crane Trust,'' Dr. Felipe Chavez-Ramirez said Monday. Chavez-Ramirez, the Crane Trust science director, led the Canadian enterprise.

The GPS devices, he said, will document whooping crane movements throughout the North American migratory route and help identify actual or potential causes of death, such as power lines.

Migration period mortality accounts for more than 80 percent of annual whooping crane deaths, Chavez-Ramirez said. Nearly three dozen whoopers died migrating in 2009. Despite the widely known plight of the species, scientists do not know the main cause or locations of whooper deaths during their migrations.

Only about 260 wild whooping cranes remain. Once nearly extinct, about 500 whoopers exist in three North American flocks.

The Crane Trust owns or manages more than 10,000 acres of land along the Platte River to provide habitat for whooping cranes and other migrating birds.

Wood Buffalo National Park is the only known nesting site of whooping cranes, one of the world's most endangered species.

Chavez-Ramirez's team included Jessica Rempel, the Crane Trust's GPS project leader, and a couple of Canadian biologists. The team scouted the area in a small airplane one day and dropped into the wetlands via helicopter the two next days.

The researchers pursued chicks on foot across wet and brushy terrain and captured the birds by hand. Each chick was measured and weighed, fitted with a telemetry device and checked by a veterinarian. Blood was drawn to determine gender and other things. The birds were released unharmed.

“It was an intense experience,� Chavez-Ramirez said. “We tried to intercept them as they ran. They'd lay flat on the ground, or freeze in vegetation, to hide. Once you get close, they'd try to get you with their beak. We learned to distract them with one hand and grab behind their head with the other.''

Eleven targeted chicks got away.

Chavez-Ramirez said the team was proud of reducing stress on the birds — some birds were captured, handled and released within 17 minutes from the time the researchers jumped out of the helicopter. The longest pursuit and handling time of any bird was 22 minutes.

Each telemetry device is riveted to two bands placed on a chick's left leg. The device weighs less than 3 ounces. It's about 2.5 inches long, 1 inch wide and 1.5 inches high. It has a 6-inch antenna. The solar-powered devices have a life expectancy of at least three years.

The devices don't interfere with the cranes' ability to fly, pair up and nest, Chavez-Ramirez said.

Data from each device is recorded every six hours and uploaded to a satellite every 52 hours.

Chavez-Ramirez said scientists already are tracking the chicks' movement around the wetlands.

The scientists also put three colored bands on each crane's right leg to allow researchers to identify the crane long after the transmitter quits working,

The chicks were born in early June and already have reached their adult height of about 5 feet, Chavez-Ramirez said. The Wood Buffalo National Park cranes will start to migrate south in mid-September.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/video/24648751/index.html 

 A COMMON garden variety of bird is proving a dazzling rare sight.

The pure white plumage of this starling caught residents’ eyes as it flew over Weymouth rooftops.

Bird experts say that a totally albino starling like this pale-feathered visitor is very unusual.

The bird was spotted in Littlemoor by residents Jan and Pat Hinton.

Jan, 53, said: “We always have a lot of starlings on our TV aerial.

“I’ve seen them for years but I’ve never seen a white starling before.

“I was in the garden one day and saw this one up on the roof. It stayed there for about 15 minutes.

“It did have a slight squabble with the others but it managed to hold its own and it was still there after they’d gone.�

Pat was so taken by the unusual bird that he ran indoors for his camera.

The RSPB’s Tony Whitehead said partial albino birds are a much more common sight.

“I often see birds that are partial albinos, we have a house sparrow in our garden at the moment with quite a few white feathers.

“But to see a bird such as this starling, that’s almost totally albino, is a lot more unusual.

“Trouble is, they do stand out a bit, so let’s keep our fingers crossed this one manages to avoid predators.�

Peter Morgan, deputy chairman of the Portland Bird Observatory, said a pure albino starling is a rarity.

“There’s a gene for albinoism in a large number of birds and it only comes out if both parents carry it.

“They don’t occur that frequently in starling populations and might struggle to survive.

“Sometimes their feathers aren’t as strong because the pigment is what makes the feathers stronger.�

But Mr Morgan doesn’t think that twitchers will come flocking to see the white sight.

“I don’t think it will get bird watchers going, sadly, but it will still be of interest to many people here,� he added.

Starlings have recently become red-list species, meaning that the RSPB classes their conservation importance as high. These species, which include the house sparrow and the cuckoo, have experienced a severe decline in UK breeding population over the last 25 years.

Unable to ignore the straggly foliage or unruly tree branches seemingly taking over your garden at the moment?

You are among the millions of gardeners who will be thinking about trimming them ready for winter in the next few weeks.

But the RSPB is appealing to people to wait a while until cutting their hedges if possible.

If you cut them this early you could be starving birds and mammals of a vital fruit supply, as many plants will still have an abundance of berries which could see the birds through the winter.
Last year’s winter larder of berries on shrubs and hedges meant the difference between life and death for many resident birds and winter visitors.

You could also disturb late nesting birds as you hack away at greenery as they may still be resident in shrubs and hedges

Peak breeding season has ended but garden birds like pigeons and collared doves have extended breeding periods and may still be nesting.

Most garden birds breed between March and August but some species will be on their nests until late into September.

All bird’s nests and eggs are protected by law and it is illegal to deliberately destroy nests in your garden and the wider countryside.

The RSPB is also urging local authorities to hold back on cutting hedges for a few weeks yet where possible.

Many have to cut hedges for path access or horticultural reasons for example, but where there is flexibility, the wildlife charity suggests waiting until the end of summer.

If maintenance is unavoidable at this time, the RSPB asks that gardeners, local authorities and contractors consider nesting birds and do preliminary inspections.

The RSPB’s Val Osborne, says: “Many calls to the RSPB’s Wildlife Enquiries line at the moment are from people that have started hedge trimming and discovered a nest.

“It is very disturbing for gardeners to think they have upset their garden birds and they worry that they may fly the nest and the young won’t survive.

“Save yourself a job and avoid it for a few weeks yet, ideally until late September at the earliest. But if you do need to do it sooner for safety reasons perhaps, try and replace any greenery as much as possible so as not to deter the birds.�

EVERY day they put their lives on the line to rid our streets of dangerous criminals.

But when South Wales Police came under siege from a feathered menace even they had to call for help.

The force recruited four birds of prey to ward off a colony of seagulls wreaking havoc at its Bridgend headquarters.

The unlikely guardians were called in after the aggressive gulls started swooping officers, staff and visitors.

In an attempt to protect their nests, the gulls had also taken to accurately releasing their droppings from a great height.

Staff were even forced to start carrying umbrellas to defend themselves from the dive-bombing creatures.

“They were literally attacking the officers and staff; it was really quite dangerous,� said Layla Bennett, from pest controllers Rentokil.

“As part of their defence mechanism they were also pooing and regurgitating all over people walking in and out of the building.�

The 26-year-old has been making weekly visits with a pair of specially trained Harris Hawks named Hope and Jasper.

Monty, a Gyr hybrid falcon, and Jimmy, a hybrid peregrine falcon, have also taken to the skies over the police headquarters.

The birds of prey do not attack or kill the gulls, but simply frighten them away with their presence. They have already managed to scare off many of the unwanted birds since the start of the nesting season in April.

Miss Bennett said it was the most humane and natural method to deal with problem gulls or pigeons.

“The idea is that if we fly the hawks there regularly they will think that there is a bird of prey living there,� she said. “And if they are distressed in that area then they won’t choose to nest their next year. It’s very simple and effective.�

It is thought many of the gulls had flown in from a nearby industrial estate that is home to thousands of birds.

Dan Ferris, environmental manager at South Wales Police, said it was an environmentally-friendly way of dealing with a growing seagull population.

“Their presence deters the seagulls from making nests and laying eggs, as they feel the site isn’t a safe environment to lay and raise chicks,� he said.

“This programme is recognised as the most humane method in discouraging nesting at the site, in order to prevent the issues that can arise with parent seagulls in terms of property damage or injury to staff.

“The programme further reinforces the commitment of South Wales Police to continue to deliver its core business in the most environmentally sustainable manner possible.�

That was a Hoot Ei, thanks. So cute they are.

as per Carol's tweet.

Osprey Diary 17th August
August 17th, 2010 by E Rawling, Perthshire Ranger SWT

  Good morning all, Emma here , back after another wee four day break, which means I have been busy catching up this morning on all our wildlife news with the team here at Lowes. I am so glad to hear our male was still around yesterday- I have become very fond of him this season and wouldn’t have wanted to miss saying ‘goodbye’. He has more than proven himself as a father and proved me wrong as his biggest doubter!

 The chicks however are conspicuous in their absence from the nest, but who can blame them- the draw of the wild world to explore must be strong. Only the need for food will be strong enough to tempt them back to the nest. However, in the local area, chances of seeing young birds are very good indeed if you have the patience to stake our local waterways.

 Our general sightings of ospreys locally will now start to climb too, as more and more birds start passing through the district on their way south.

 Hopefully more news today of our osprey family- I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks Emma Rawling

[Have a very ~~HAPPY BIRTHDAY~~ Suzette.]

     Have a very ~~HAPPY BIRTHDAY~~ Suzette.