Rare tropical brown booby sighting stuns Charlotte bird world

JUNE 22, 2016 7:14 AM

Tropical bird almost never makes an NC appearance

It’s one of the most unusual species to ever occur in our area

By Taylor Piephoff

I have written about rarities that are attracted to large inland reservoirs, but I never thought I would be writing about this one: A brown booby has appeared at Lookout Shoals Lake on the Catawba County/Iredell County line, specifically at the Sharon Boat Access area.

I have seen the species only twice in North Carolina, both times at the coast. The species is considered a true rarity anywhere in the state, even along the coast or offshore.

Boobies are a family of large, mostly tropical, heavy-bodied plunge-divers. One northern species, the Northern gannet, is a familiar winter sight from our coastal beaches. The other species are found over tropical open oceans where they dive head-first for fish in the warm waters or along the warm Gulf Stream as it flows north. Occasionally an individual of one of several species will show up on a Southeastern beach, jetty or buoy marker.

Read more here: 

Charlotte airport works to reduce plane, bird hits

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Charlotte Douglas International Airport is working to reduce the number of bird collisions with aircraft.

The Charlotte Observer reported that aircraft collided with wildlife 125 times last year. That's slightly better than the 140 incidents reported in 2011. Almost all of the collisions involved birds.

But officials are concerned because there were only 29 such incidents a decade ago. Part of the increase is because of increased flights and better reporting.

Airport officials patrol each day and will try to compile a census of all local wildlife species.

Airport wildlife expert David Castaneda sometimes uses noise makers to scare away the birds. But he says the best defense is to make the airport property unattractive to the birds.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the airport's program meets federal regulations.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Charlotte-airport-works-to-reduce-plane-bird-hits-186932981.html

Audubon Society wants building lights dimmed during migration Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/09/26/3556147/audubon-urging-uptown-skyscrapers.html#storylink=cpy

Each morning for more than a month, well before dawn, a pair of Mecklenburg Audubon Society volunteers has patrolled the sidewalks of uptown Charlotte. It is somber duty for bird lovers, because they’re collecting corpses.

Fall is when migratory birds wing their way south down one of the four broad flyways that span North America. Many fly at night, the moon and stars guiding them to ancient wintering grounds.

But eons of evolution never prepared birds for cities. The bright lights of tall buildings attract the migrants, which often crash into them or circle, confused, until they drop exhausted to the ground.

Millions of birds a year die that way, researchers calculate. That’s why Jill Palmer and fellow Audubon volunteer Sarah Linn walked Tryon Street, peering into niches and under shrubs, in the early morning dark Tuesday.


Continued: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/09/26/3556147/audubon-urging-uptown-skyscrapers.html