20-Apr-23, 07:28:11 AM
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24286
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Anything Else / Totally OT / Strange light in Norwegian sky sparks mystery
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on: 10-Dec-09, 07:32:12 AM
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The Norwegian Metrological Institute has received hundreds of phonecalls from confused observers but so far has been unable to identify its origin. Some experts have speculated that the phenomenon might have been caused by a Russian rocket launch. However, the Russian embassy insists such claims are completely unfounded. Neither meteorologists, astronomers, or the Armed Forces have offered a solution to the matter. The light was captured by amateur photographer Jan Petter Jorgensen while he was on his way to work at a salmon factory. "The light appeared for 2-3 minutes. I could not believe my eyes, and got the shivers and was quite shaken by it", Mr Jorgensen said. Morten Kristiansen, who saw the light phenomena from Sortland in northern Norway, added: " A large ring appeared, and then spread out, sending a green beam down to earth, "says  |
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24289
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Killing one owl to save another
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on: 10-Dec-09, 06:19:21 AM
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Scientists want to determine if killing the aggressive barred owl that has invaded old growth forests of the Northwest would help the protected spotted owl.
Federal biologists are doing a formal study to decide whether to do the experiment, and laying out the terms if they go ahead. The study will be available for public comment and is expected to be completed by fall 2010.
"This is to be done experimentally so we can nail down whether, in fact, removing barred owls could improve spotted owl demographics, and also to look into the feasibility of doing that," Fish and Wildlife biologist Robin Bown, who is overseeing the evaluation, said Wednesday.
He said a small-scale experiment with killing barred owls in northern California in 2005 created an uproar so Fish and Wildlife held meetings with interest groups to consider the ethical and moral implications of a larger experiment, and secured their agreement to look into an experiment.
"There is a range of opinions" among scientists and interest groups, said Bob Sallinger, conservation director of the Portland Audubon Society, who took part in the ethical discussion. "We are still struggling with where we come down."
The highest priority needs to be placed on avoiding extinction, Sallinger said. But unless habitat protections continue for old growth forests where the spotted owl lives, "killing barred owls is not going to accomplish anything."
The spotted owl went from a seldom-seen denizen of old growth forests to the cover of Time magazine in the 1990s as environmentalists forced the federal government to cut back logging on Northwest national forests to protect its habitat.
Despite the cutbacks, spotted owls continue to decline, most steeply where there are high populations of more aggressive barred owls that are native to eastern North America.
Scientists believe barred owls migrated from eastern Canada across the Great Plains in the early 1900s, using forests that popped up as people controlled wildfires and planted trees around farms. They arrived in Washington in 1973, and their numbers have taken off in the past decade.
Bigger, more aggressive and less picky about food and forests than spotted owls, barred owls drove spotted owls to marginal territories, sometimes mating with them and sometimes killing them.
Controlling barred owls was a central strategy of the Bush administration's overhaul of the spotted owl recovery plan to make way for more logging. That plan was challenged in court by environmental groups and is being reconsidered by the Obama administration.
Fish and Wildlife is considering doing the experiment in existing spotted owl study areas near Cle Elum, Wash.; the Coast Range of Oregon; and the Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon, Bown said.
The work could involve trapping or killing barred owls in half the area and comparing the reaction of spotted owls there to those in the area still beset by barred owls, Bown said.
"If we are going to remove them, a shotgun will probably be the method of choice, because it is most reliable," she said. "There will be very strict conditions to have close to a 100 percent kill rate. We don't want to be wounding animals. We don't want to be teaching them. And we don't want to be removing nontarget species."
Public comments on what should be considered in the study will be taken until Jan. 11.
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24290
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Re: $2500 reward offered for info on whooping crane shooting
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on: 10-Dec-09, 06:16:39 AM
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Dec 9
Cayuga, IN - The US Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to a conviction in the shooting of an endangered species.
It happened near Cayuga in Vermillion County. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is also investigating.
The crane was shot sometime between Saturday, Nov. 28, when it was observed by an International Crane Foundation staff member, and Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009, when an ICF volunteer found the carcass along West County Road 310 North, just west of North County Road 225 West.
The crane was identified by a leg band, and determined to be the seven-year old mother of "Wild-1," the only whooping crane chick successfully hatched (in 2006) and migrated from captivity.
There are approximately 500 whooping cranes left in the world. The crane and its mate were among 19 whooping cranes migrating from their summer grounds in Wisconsin to their wintering grounds in Florida.
"To kill and abandon one of 500 remaining members of species shows a lack of reverence for life and an absence of simple common sense," said John Christian, FWS Assistant Regional Director for Migratory Birds. "It is inconceivable that someone would have such little regard for conservation."
Anyone with information on the shooting should call the Indiana Department of Natural Resources 24-hour hotline at: 1-800 TIP IDNR (800-847-4367), or the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at 317-346-7016. Callers can remain anonymous.
In addition to the Endangered Species Act, whooping cranes are protected by state laws and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
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Weather Grounds Whooping Crane Migration in Tennessee
Wednesday, December 09th, 2009, by Blake Farmer
An ultra light pilot guides the flock of whooping cranes south. (credit: Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership)
An ultra light pilot guides the flock of whooping cranes south. (credit: Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership)
Rainy weather has stalled a flock of 20 whooping cranes in Tennessee. The endangered birds are on their first migration south for the winter. An ultra-light aircraft leads the way from Wisconsin to Florida.
A dozen biologists and crew members are waiting out the rain with the birds northeast of Jackson in Carroll County. Liz Condie of Operation Migration says it’s not unusual for weather to get in the way.
“30% of the time we’re able to fly, and the other 70% of the time we’re on this migration we’re stuck on the ground, either waiting for favorable winds or for the rain to let up.â€
It takes roughly 25 flying days to make the trip, but last year the human-led migration lasted three months because of unfavorable weather conditions.
The Whooping Crane Recovery Team is working to bring the species back from the brink of extinction. These 20 juveniles were hatched in captivity. The project is halfway to its goal of reintroducing 150 individual cranes into the wild.
The pilots wear white suits and masks. Condie says they remain silent so the birds don’t get accustomed to humans.
“On one hand, they wear a mechanical crane puppet that looks like an adult crane head, and that’s what the birds focus on when the costumes are around them.â€
As the flock remains grounded, Condie says the human crew limits contact with the birds who are caged in an open field. In the spring, they will make the return migration trip north unaided.
Some of the birds reintroduced by the Whooping Crane Recovery Team have wintered in the wetlands of Bells Bend, just outside Nashville. Others spend the winter in South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.
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24291
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Re: California Condors to feather new nest in Idaho
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on: 09-Dec-09, 11:07:49 PM
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Unfortunately, lead poisoning in condors, and other vultures, is the leading cause of death (microtrash is a biggie but lead poisoning is #1). Our health center is the primary care center for condors that have been released. We have the best in the field taking care of them but sometimes, no matter how hard they try, the birds don't make it...and all because some idiot human is either too stupid or too stubborn to comply with the hunting laws and buy non-lead center shot ammunition. Makes me sooo  !!! I feel so bad for her...NOT NECESSARY  |
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24298
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Re: Breeding condor dies of lead poisoning. SO SAD
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on: 09-Dec-09, 07:45:48 AM
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The adult female condor that was part of the only breeding pair of California condors in the county recently died of lead poisoning, according to a press release from Pinnacles National Monument. Biologists rushed the endangered bird to the Los Angeles Zoo after it had shown unusual behavior - its legs were not moving properly and it stopped flying as often as it normally had, according to the Pinnacles' statement released Tuesday. After treatment to help the bird pass the lead out of its system and while showing signs of recovery over a two-week period, the condor perished. That particular condor was part of the breeding pair that laid an egg at the RS Bar Guest Ranch in Paicines in the spring. Biologists swapped the condor egg at the ranch with one from the LA Zoo that ultimately hatched, with the young condor taking flight in October, the first time in more than 70 years here. It originally was released in Monterey by the Ventura Wilderness Society but later successfully nested in San Benito County with a condor from the Pinnacles flock. Veterinarians who examined the bird determined it had an "extremely high level of lead" in its blood stream and digestive tract. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz then conducted tests for the source of the lead and concluded the fragment was consistent with that of lead-based ammunition, according to the press release. "The loss of this nesting condor is a blow to the recovery program for the species," said Dale Steele, program manager for the California Department of Fish and Game, in the press release. The worldwide population of California condors reached a historic low in 1985 when there were just 22 remaining. Recovery efforts like the one at Pinnacles, started in 2003, have helped the population increase to about 350, according to the monument. Lead poisoning is known as one of the primary causes of death for the endangered species. How awful
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the fool!
Not one of my favorite things! 
it. 
all the creative things your family makes for Sinterklaas. Now go put your tree up. 
, I see flooding in our future today...Oh boy 
