Record number of rare, snowy owls showing up in Ohio

A record number of rare snowy owls are appearing in Ohio.

According to Jen Brumfield, a naturalist with Cleveland Metroparks, a record number of the beautiful owls are appearing in northern portions of the state.

The source of this unusually huge movement of snowy owls is yet to be determined, but it is very likely tied to a successful nesting year in the Arctic, Brumfield said.

At least 10 snowy owls were recently found on the break wall near downtown Cleveland, with more showing up in outlying communities.

Sightings in Ohio are very uncommon, but naturalists say they are not unheard of in southern portions of Canada during the winter months.

The arctic birds are typically nomadic in summer months, nesting around large populations of small rodents. In winter, they take on a wide variety of prey, including geese and other birds.

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ODNR says bird deaths on I-680 in Youngstown ‘unusual’

Testing reveals none of them suffered from influenza

By WKBN Staff

Published: March 7, 2016, 3:03 pm  Updated: March 7, 2016, 9:51 pm

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – The mystery as to what a caused the deaths of about 25 crows on Interstate 680 in Youngstown has been solved, for the most part.

It looks as though the birds suffered trauma by being struck by vehicles, according to Ohio Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Technician Laurie Graber.

Graber said the carcasses were sent to a lab in Wisconsin where initial findings indicate the birds suffered trauma that killed them.

Other testing ruled out influenza, but Graber said she is still waiting on results to determine if the birds carried the reovirus, however she doesn’t expect that testing to come back positive.

Graber said there were high winds the day the birds were found and that could have made it hard for them to adjust. She also added that it is very unusual for crows to die this way because they are strong birds.

The crows are part of a large migration that have lived in that area for many years.

Source…

Pigeon pill: Bird birth control planned for Ohio courthouse

16 hours ago

WOOSTER, Ohio (AP) — Love birds, beware: One Ohio county is planning to spike bird seed with birth control in hopes of keeping pigeons from despoiling the renovated exterior of its 19th Century courthouse.

The (Wooster) Daily Record (http://bit.ly/1Cl0DWt) reports Wayne County is spending millions to renovate a courthouse built in 1878 in downtown Wooster. But the county has long had a problem with pigeon droppings on metal statues and other ornamental elements atop the courthouse.

Read on ...

Countless crows, droppings rankle Ohio residents

By LISA CORNWELLDecember 11, 2014 1:18 PM

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Thousands of crows roosting at night in a western Ohio city's downtown have some residents comparing the landscape with the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds" as they work to drive them away.

The crows troubling Springfield aren't aggressive, as birds in Hitchcock's 1963 thriller were portrayed. But their overwhelming presence on trees and buildings causes concern over damage and potential health hazards from droppings, said Roger Sherrock, CEO of the Clark County Historical Society.

The society operates the Heritage Center of Clark County, one of the buildings favored by the federally protected crows.

"It can be unnerving to walk outside and see thousands of crows on trees, buildings and everywhere, especially if you're familiar with Hitchcock's movie," Sherrock said.

He estimates as many as 50,000 crows gather downtown after scavenging for food by day in fields surrounding the city of around 60,000, some 80 miles northeast of Cincinnati. State wildlife officials say there has been a roost in the area for decades, but Sherrock says crows began roosting downtown in huge numbers about three years ago.

No one is sure what draws the crows to downtown Springfield. Some experts say thermal heat from cities provides more warmth than rural areas in winter months when roosting occurs and loss of habitat to urbanization is probably a factor. The lack of predators in urban areas may also play a role, said Jim McCormac, an aviation education specialist with the state's Division of Wildlife.

"Crows are very smart and probably have learned they are safer in urban areas," he said.

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Survey: Inmates on Ohio death row say birds, bird droppings get into cells through window

Reported: Monday, May 19, 2014 12:56 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio

Inmates on Ohio's death row are complaining about birds and bird droppings getting into their cells through open windows.

Prisoners responding to a survey by a state prison inspection committee are asking for screens on windows to keep the birds out.

The report released Monday by the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee also found that many inmates like the fact that windows open and let in fresh air.

The committee received 94 responses from the approximately 138 inmates on death row at Chillicothe Correctional Institution south of Columbus.

Inmates also complained about having to be handcuffed when taken to the showers and the lack of hot water in cells.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction promised a response later Monday.

http://www.wvah.com/newsroom/ohnews/201405191656_1ec5ddf.shtml

'Fowl' discovery: Bird leg found inside unopened spinach bag

Shopper waiting for explanation from Dole

Bob Jones, newsnet5.com

Apr 18, 2014

17 hours ago

newsnet5.com

WADSWORTH, Ohio - An Ohio woman, who eats a salad nearly every day and makes spinach smoothies, has lost her appetite for her favorite vegetable after making a "fowl" discovery.

Inside an unopened bag of Dole spinach, Rose Carducci, 28, found what appears to be the leg of a bird with feathers still attached.

"As I started looking some more, I saw what looked like nails, like talons and realized, 'Oh my Gosh, this is part of a bird and was horrified." Carducci said.

The mother of two children ordered her groceries online from Buehler's in Wadsworth on Monday.

She's grateful that she never opened the package because she could have easily missed the bird part.

"If I would have found it making a smoothie or in a salad, I don't know what I would have done."

Dave Cleckner, Buehler's manager, said the store was alarmed by the discovery and contacted their wholesaler, Caito Foods out of Indiana.

Cleckner said store workers also inspected other similar produce on the shelves.

"It definitely was a concern for us, so that's why we looked at our product. We did not find anything on our end," Cleckner said.

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RARE BIRDS: Nature Conservancy, volunteers help rare bird

March 2, 2014

By WARREN DILLAWAY - warren@starbeacon.com

Star Beacon

MORGAN TOWNSHIP — Eighteen volunteers gathered Saturday to increase the likelihood of the Common Tern’s survival in the state of Ohio.

Volunteers created 100 wooden bird shelters to make a habitat for the Common Tern just a little bit better and safer.

Shelters will be inserted in a converted portion of the Ashtabula Breakwall designed to attract the Common Terns during migration.

“We are building these very simple shelters that will keep the birds from the sun,” said Central Lake Erie Watersheds Project Manager for the Nature Conservancy Karen Adair.

“It (the Common Tern) is endangered in Ohio. Part of what this project does is create habitat that no longer exists,” she said.

Read on

Bluebirds struggle to find happiness on island paradise

Date:

January 27, 2014

Source:

University of Chicago Press Journals

Summary:

A recent study shows that Eastern bluebirds in Ohio differ in a variety of ways from their relatives in Bermuda.

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A Possible First: Lawsuit Over Birds Stops Federal Wind Energy Project

by Chris Clarke

on January 29, 2014 5:02 PM

This is well outside California, but it may well have ramifications in the Golden State: A lawsuit threatened by a pair of bird conservation groups has halted a wind power development the federal government had planned along the Lake Erie shore in Ohio.

The project, on the Camp Perry Air National Guard Station just east of Toledo, had already been reduced in size due to pressure from bird protection groups. The military base occupies a stretch of lakeshore that's been identified as one of the most crucial bird migration corridors in the northeast, if not North America.

But the Air National Guard's downsized plan still included a 600-kilowatt wind turbine on the base. That, according to wildlife activists and state and federal agencies, posed an unacceptable risk to migrating birds including the federally Endangered Kirtland's warbler. The national group American Bird Conservancy (ABC), and the Ohio-based Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) threatened to sue to block the project January 8: the Air National Guard yanked the project in response on Tuesday.

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Second trumpeter swan dies day before hunters' conviction

CLYDE — A trumpeter swan shot Oct. 12 by hunters at Pickerel Creek Wildlife Area in Sandusky County died overnight Monday at Back to the Wild in Castalia.

The swan was one of three shot by two hunters, both of whom appeared and were convicted, in municipal court in Clyde on Tuesday.

Huron father-son hunters Robert and Mitchell Hagstrom, 54 and 20, respectively, pleaded no contest to shooting a trumpeter swan, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, in Clyde Municipal Court.

A third defendant, Charles Catri, 72, pleaded no contest to shielding and harboring an offender and providing false information.

Catri was given a three-day suspended sentence and fined $283 and must serve 20 hours of community service. His Ohio hunting privileges are suspended for six months, Bury said.

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Pet bird alerts Galion resident to burning house

GALION — A pet bird may have saved the life of a Market Street man in Galion over the weekend.

A house fire early Saturday claimed the lives of a dog and several cats.

But the squawking of a bird alerted the lone occupant of the house, according to information James Wiesner provided to first responders.

“That’s what he stated to us. That the bird woke him up,” Galion Fire Department Lt. Jeff Pennington said.

Pennington said the bird survived the blaze.

“It’s interesting with the other animals in the house that the bird would be the one,” Pennington said.

Wiesner was unavailable for comment.

Firefighters got the call at 3 a.m. and found the two-story house at 385 N. Market St. fully engulfed in flames. The house was a total loss. The cause is under investigation.

The house had no battery-operated smoke detectors.

Firefighters were on the scene until about 8 a.m. Bucyrus, Crestline, Galion and Whetstone fire departments helped and the American Red Cross is assisting the resident.

The blaze remains under investigation.

aconchel@nncogannett.com

http://www.bucyrustelegraphforum.com/article/20121231/NEWS01/312310012/Pet-bird-alerts-Galion-resident-burning-house?nclick_check=1

Bird sanctuary director turns over all but eight birds as part of plea agreement

The director of an exotic bird rescue and sanctuary in Moraine agreed Tuesday to turn over all but eight of the birds seized in an April raid by authorities.

Deborah Shell, 62, of Kettering, was found guilty of six counts each of animal cruelty and neglect during a hearing in Kettering Municipal Court.

Judge Robert Moore delayed sentencing as part of a diversion agreement in which Shell relinquished custody of more than 100 birds to the Humane Society of Greater Dayton.

Shell, director of the Wings Over the Rainbow rescue and shelter, was charged with 15 counts each of animal cruelty and neglect after authorities found more than 130 birds allegedly living in poor conditions at the group’s shelter in Moraine.


Continued: http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/crime-law/bird-sanctuary-director-turns-over-all-but-eight-b/nSD5B/