http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCiJ08Nr-Rc&feature=related

Does it ever end?   

A cell in the eye may be worth two in the beak, at least when it comes to a migratory bird’s magnetic compass. In European robins, a visual center in the brain and light-sensing cells in the eye — not magnetic sensing cells in the beak — allow the songbirds to sense which direction is north and migrate correctly, a new study finds. The study, appearing October 29 in Nature, may improve conservation efforts for migratory birds.

“This is really fascinating science,� says biophysicist Klaus Schultenof the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who was one of the first to suggest that migrating birds can sense magnetic fields.

Researchers have known that built-in biological compasses tell migrating birds which way to fly, but the details of how birds detect magnetic fields has been unclear.

“This is basically the sixth sense of biology, but no one knows how it works,� says study coauthor Henrik Mouritsenof the University of Oldenburg in Germany. “The magnetic sense is by far the least understood sense in the natural world.�

Some researchers had proposed that iron-based receptors in cells found in the upper beaks of some migratory birds sense the magnetic field and send that information along a nerve to the brain. Other scientists favor the hypothesis that light-sensing cells in birds’ eyes sense the magnetic field and send the information along a different route to a light-processing part of the brain called cluster N.

Special proteins called cryptochromes in the birds’ eyes may mediate this light-dependent magnetic sensing, Mouritsen says. Light hitting the proteins produces a pair of free radicals, highly reactive molecules with unpaired electrons. These electrons have a property called spin which may be sensitive to Earth’s magnetic field. Signals from the free radicals may then move to nerve cells in cluster N, ultimately telling the birds where north is.

To find the location that houses the magnetic compass, Mouritsen and his colleagues caught 36 migratory European robins and made sure that the birds could all orient correctly under natural and induced magnetic fields. Next, the researchers performed surgeries on the birds to deactivate one of the two systems. The team either severed the nerve that connects the beak cells to the brain, or damaged the brain cells in cluster N that receive light signals from cells in the eye.

Birds with the severed beak-to-brain nerve — called the trigeminal nerve — still oriented perfectly, Mouritsen says. “No information from those iron crystals could get to the brain, but the birds oriented just as well,� he says, suggesting that the beak cells are not important for orientation.

On the other hand, birds with damaged cluster N regions could no longer sense and orient to magnetic fields. These robins failed to pick up both the Earth’s natural magnetic field and the artificial fields created by the researchers.

The new study “nicely confirms that the trigeminal nerve is not involved in this direction sensing,� says John Phillips,a neuroecologist at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. “This is an important advance in what we know about these systems.�

Mouritsen thinks the cells in the beak might play a different role in magnetic sensing, such as picking up minor changes in the strength of the magnetic field along a north-south axis, he says.

Understanding more about how birds navigate and sense the environment may have important conservation implications, Mouritsen says. Migratory birds that humans have relocated often fly back to the original migratory grounds. But if researchers can figure out how the birds navigate, conservationists may be able to trick the birds into staying where it’s safe.

28-10-2009

Two recent studies have revealed new information on the migration routes of Eleonora’s Falcon Falco eleonorae, tracking the birds 9,500 km from their European breeding colonies to their main non-breeding grounds in Madagascar.

Eleonora’s Falcon is a patchily distributed breeding visitor to rocky coasts and islands in the Mediterranean. It is unusual among birds of prey in having a reproductive cycle adapted to match the southward migration of passerine birds, which it eats. This means it breeds much later than many other species, with the young hatching in late August. The species was named after Giudicessa Eleonora de Arborea (1350-1404), a Sardinian princess who fought for Sardinia's independence from the Kingdom of Aragon, and who drafted the first laws in Europe protecting birds of prey.

Until recently, it was believed the species migrated east through the Mediterranean, then south via the Red Sea and the east coast of Africa to Madagascar, where 70% of the global population is estimated to converge in the winter. However, the new studies used satellite transmitters to show that these birds reach their destination by flying right across the centre of the African continent. Other secrets uncovered include the finding that they migrate by both day and night, crossing huge barriers such as the Sahara Desert. Some of the birds took two months to complete their mammoth journeys, including a stopover in West Africa.

Their return route to European breeding grounds in spring also crossed the heart of the African continent, but involved a longer crossing (1,500 km) of the Indian Ocean than in the autumn. Adult birds returned directly to the Mediterranean, whereas immature falcons spent their first summer in the tropical Africa.

These studies provide valuable new insights into the migration routes of this raptor, and also underline its vulnerability to threats it may face en route, such as hunting, collisions, habitat loss and desertification.

BirdLife International is working to try and save migratory birds on their amazing journeys. Earlier this year, we launched the Born to Travel Campaign to protect migratory birds along the African-Eurasian flyway.

“Every time a migratory bird manages to cross a continent, it tells us an extraordinary story of courage and successfully overcoming the many obstacles along the way�, said Ania Sharwood Smith, European coordinator of the Born to Travel Campaign. “To follow migratory birds satellite tracking is a fantastic technology that greatly improves our understanding of where the main dangers may lie�.

Will they allow a nest box, either there or at St. Anns? (Just in case)  

The Mall wouldn't be a good spot for a next box.  It's too low.  Not sure if St Ann's would allow one or not.  For now, I think we need to get a better idea of where Mariah is hanging out.

True.....

Dot - Yes, we've notified the DEC about Mariah and they were very happy to hear that she was doing well.  The Medley Center is just about empty except for two stores, Macy's and Sears, one at each end.  There are Pigeons and Gulls all over the mall and around it.  I don't think a little more poop art will even be noticed.   

I think someone posted that the DEC had been notified of Mariah being found at the Medley mall. Does anyone know if the DEC will get in contact with the mall personnel, so that they don't chase Mariah off their glass tower, or hurt her in any way? I wouldn't think they'd be too pleased with poop art all over the glass dome or partly-eaten prey remnants on their roof. Yes, I probably worry too much but would feel better if I knew they were aware of Mariah's presence and her status as a protected raptor.

Dot in PA

Will they allow a nest box, either there or at St. Anns? (Just in case) 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1223299/A-beautiful-plague-Australian-outback-town-invaded-swarm-colourful-budgerigars.html

Paul

  Thanks Paul

That had to be a fantastic sight. 

We see you coming, Ma!  Is this how you do that? 

Banding is changed til Nov 4th.

On Saturday morning, the the Marin Humane Society (MHS) and the Southern Marin Fire Protection District came to the rescue of an injured pelican in Sausalito Bay.
A local resident was the first to alert the Marin Humane Society about a juvenile brown pelican sitting on a pillar in the harbor with what appeared to be a broken wing. Marin Humane Animal Services officers were on the scene by 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning, but quickly realized that they would need a boat to reach the injured bird. Luckily the Southern Marin Fire Protection District, which has a large rescue boat docked in the area, welcomed MHS Officers aboard and helped to track and successfully net the big-beaked baby.

The pelican, who displayed a lively personality, was quickly dubbed "Snapper" by MHS officers. Snapper is currently recovering from a fractured wing at Wildcare in San Rafael and is expected to make a full and speedy (snappy?) recovery.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/pets/detail?entry_id=50332  pics and video here

[Kyle Holloway, outreach programs educator for the Canadian Peregrine Foundation in Toronto, and Oscar, an eight year-old-Peregrine Falcon, who was born in captivity.]

http://www.northernlife.ca/video/video/618/Students-meet-the-endangered-Peregrine-Falcon.aspx video

Kyle Holloway, outreach programs educator for the Canadian Peregrine Foundation in Toronto, visited Wembley Public School recently. He brought with him Oscar, an eight year-old-Peregrine Falcon, who was born in captivity.

Holloway talked about how the falcon is on the endangered species list because their numbers are affected by the use of chemical pesticide DDT, which was banned in Canada in 1969.

This pesticide caused the thinning of the bird’s eggshells, causing them to break open before the chicks were fully developed. The chemical is still used in some developing countries to fight against the spread of malaria. By the 1980s, there were none of these falcons left in Ontario.

They were later reintroduced. There are currently 200 in Canada. Peregrine falcons eat other birds and their only predators are eagles.

Image: Kyle Holloway, outreach programs educator for the Canadian Peregrine Foundation in Toronto, and Oscar, an eight year-old-Peregrine Falcon, who was born in captivity.

Paul

So Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She has a whole new world there. For US too. Maybe she will meander back to the cams, once the coast is clear. 

Congrats on your first post, Karen. Mariah may end up moving back downtown. It's been very quiet there.

Are you saying A&B may have left?

[jkpemt (Lord G):]

jkpemt (Lord G): Mariah spotted @Medley Center preening atop the glass pyramid.

Link:
http://twitter.com/jkpemt/statuses/5204717504

Great news again.... Jim

 Today at 10:53am
Hi everyone,

We just wanted to give everyone an update on where we stand as of this morning:

What you've accomplished so far:

1) 'World's most widespread day of political action' last Saturday, with 5245 actions in 181 countries

2) Saturation press coverage, that has helped drive the 350 number home. At one point this weekend, we were the top story (simultaneously) on CNN, The New York Times, Le Monde, Google News, and on and on all around the world. Millions of people now know that scientists say that 350 parts per million carbon dioxide is the most that we can safely have in the atmosphere.

3) 19,000 photos, and many hours of video, documenting the day's actions.

4) The first delivery of batches of those photos, to the Secretary General of the UN.

What comes next:

1) The delivery by local organizers everywhere of photos of their events to their local, regional, and national officials and a report (link here) on the response

2) Our core team is getting ready to go to Barcelona in a few days. It's the site of the last negotiating session before the big Copenhagen climate conference in December. We'll be distributing photos, factsheets, and scientific data to every delegate there, using the power of your events to insure they listen to the science

3) We're busy planning with other big organizations for how best to coordinate actions going into Copenhagen. We'll let you know as quickly as we can as plans develop. 

very blurry but Scout is there on top of nest box. Hope she finds a new mate in the Spring.