Songbirds find success nesting in introduced shrubs

Date: June 10, 2015

Source: Central Ornithology Publication Office

Summary: Everyone likes things that are bad for them sometimes --including birds. When an animal makes choices that are harmful for it, by reducing their lifespan, reproductive success, etc., this is known as an 'evolutionary trap.' If birds prefer to build their nests in non-native plants but these nests are less successful, they've fallen into such a trap, and researchers recently set out to determine whether this is the case for Veeries nesting in invasive shrubs.

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Parksville eagles engage in unusual method for setting up a 'household'

Neil Dawe / Special To The Daily News 

June 12, 2014 12:00 AM

There's an unusual ménage à trois within Parksville city limits. A trio of Bald eagles has set up its household and is in the midst of rearing two young.

I first noticed this arrangement while keeping an eye on a pair of Bald eagles at their nest. On one occasion, a third adult eagle flew in and perched on a snag, about 250 metres away from the nest. The nesting pair made no fuss.

This was quite unusual because Bald eagles are normally monogamous and defend their territories vigorously.

Over the next few days, I saw all three eagles chase and evict other eagles from the territory.

As an intruder got too close, the nesting trio would begin their alarm calls, which have been described as "a discordant series of metallic chitters and squeaks that sound like a rotating clothesline pulley needing oil."

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Deer feeding puts birds at risk, research shows

Date:

March 6, 2014

Source:

Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Summary:

By comparing the fate of artificial nests close and far away from supplementary feeding sites located in the forest for ungulates, such as deer and wild boar, researchers found that those nests in the vicinity of feeding sites were depredated twice more. This “predation hotspot” effect extends far away from the feeding site itself: in a radius of 1-km the probability of nest survival is lowered. When accounting for all feeding sites in the study region, this would mean that in one fifth of the area ground-nesting birds will have little chance to see their eggs hatching. These sites attract not only deer and wild boar- the boar is also a nest predator-, but also corvids, rodents, bears and other species of nest predators, which are not the target of feeding. Therefore, this management practice comes into conflict with the conservation of ground-nesting birds, such as grouse species, which are declining worldwide.

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Birds start nesting around Kudankulam N-plant

Moscow/Chennai, Sept 4 (IBNS): Birds, including rare gray pelicans, started nesting in the area surrounding the main subject of the Russian-Indian cooperation in the field of nuclear energy – the “Kudankulam” nuclear power plant (NPP) located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Locals say that before the construction of the NPP, no birds had been found around here. 

“Before the power plant started to be built, soil in this area had been cracked, with vegetation mainly represented by cacti and thorny bushes. The landscape had been enlivened by huge termite mounds. Birds had hardly lived here," a local villager noted. 

The matter is that the construction of the “Kudankulam” NPP had been preceded by the works related to greening the nuclear plant’s territory as well as the surrounding area, said an official spokesperson. 

The Indian Atomic Energy Regulatory Board gave clearance for the start-up of the “Kudankulam” NPP. 

“As a result, rains returned, trees grew up and birds started nesting in the area,” he added.

Anu Vijay Township of the “Kudankulam” NPP was founded in 2001, on the sea shore, eight kilometres to the west of the plant. 

The territory of the township is crossed by the bed of the seasonal rivulet called Uppar. Following the development of the river’s bank as well as its realignment, a lengthy pond was created within the area of the township.

The pond is nearly two kilometres long and twenty meters wide.

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