Bird disease found in Tiverton mosquito pool

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- State environmental officials say a mosquito sample in Tiverton has tested positive for the bird disease known as Highlands J virus.

The Department of Environmental Management said Monday the sample was from mosquitoes trapped on Aug. 13 in the southern part of Tiverton. The species of mosquito that tested positive bites birds.

Highlands J virus is a bird disease that doesn't affect humans, but finding it means conditions are right for the transmission of other mosquito-borne viruses, including West Nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis.

Officials said test results from the remaining 126 mosquito pools from 33 traps set statewide the week of Aug. 13 are negative for both diseases.

No human cases of West Nile or EEE have been reported in Rhode Island yet this year.

http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20130826-bird-disease-found-in-tiverton-mosquito-pool.ece

Pelicans blown north by Sandy get ride home to Florida

Two brown pelicans blown to Rhode Island by the winds of Hurricane Sandy were flying back Saturday to their natural habitat in Florida -- via a private plane.

The first of the large birds, whose wingspans measure 6 to 7 feet, was found on the side of a road at Fishermen's Memorial State Park on Nov. 7, nine days after the storm made landfall in New Jersey, said Jennifer Brooks, clinic director at the Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island.

The bird, a juvenile likely from a nest in North Carolina, had been tagged by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and records showed it was presumed to have died, she said.

The second pelican landed on a fishing boat about 120 miles south of Block Island the following day, she said. The crew of the boat, which provides fish to SeaWorld theme parks, fed the bird for several days before docking.

"They were a little bit thin, they were a little beat up from the storm," Brooks said of the birds. They had lost tail feathers and suffered scratches to their throat pouches, which are prone to frostbite in northern climates, Brooks said.

Animal workers had been keeping the birds in an outdoor shelter before moving them into a camping tent inside the clinic.


Continued: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/17/15241573-pelicans-blown-north-by-sandy-get-ride-home-to-florida?lite