Reward Offered for Info in Shooting of Brown Pelican

by Chris Clarke

March 24, 2015 1:30 PM

Someone shot a pelican in Southern California recently, and a bird rehab organization is offering $5,000 for information that leads to the shooter's arrest and conviction.

According to the International Bird Rescue, an injured male brown pelican that could not fly was captured in Redondo Beach March 12. Redondo Beach Animal Control brought the pelican to International Bird Rescue, where staff determined via X-ray that a bullet had shattered its ulna.

International Bird Rescue veterinary staff operated to repair the fracture and clean shrapnel from the wound, but though vets are guardedly optimistic, the bird's survival is by no means certain. Injuring brown pelicans is a violation of the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, with fines of up to $2,000 and two years' imprisonment possible for a single offense.

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Reward Offered For Information On Bird Deaths On Arkansas River

Times Record Staff

A reward is being offered for information regarding the deaths of several birds found on an island in the Arkansas River.

Federal and state endangered species regulations protect least terns, according to a news release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The endangered birds are found anywhere along the Arkansas River from the Oklahoma state line to the Mississippi River. Their main nesting area is a section of the river from Clarksville downstream to Pine Bluff, the release states.

The dead birds were found late last month, and several spent shotgun shells also were discovered on the island, the release states. Egg shell fragments also were found. Earlier in June, researchers found more than 50 adult terns and two active nests on the island. Researchers believe the birds were beginning re-nesting activities following a June 12 flood, according to the release.

A reward of up to $8,500 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the deaths, the release states. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust is offering the reward.

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RSPB reward over rare bird found dead in Derbyshire

10 May 2014 Last updated at 15:18

A wildlife charity has offered a £1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction after a rare bird of prey was found dead on a Derbyshire estate.

The female Goshawk was found dead, with both legs broken, by a passer-by on the Chatsworth Estate in April.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said a post-mortem examination suggested the bird had been caught in a spring trap.

The estate's owners said they "condemn the illegal control of raptors".

Bob Elliot, from the RSPB, said: "If misused, spring traps are the bird equivalent of landmines; totally indiscriminate and lethal."

Sgt Darren Belfield, wildlife crime officer for Derbyshire police, said: "The misuse of spring traps where they are deliberately set to catch birds of prey is a barbaric act of cruelty."

The RSPB said that goshawks had been repeatedly targeted in the northern Peak District and were now on the brink of disappearing from the area completely.

It added that the area was one of the worst in the UK for the persecution of birds of prey. If the culprits are caught they could face six months in jail and a £5,000 fine.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-27355925

RSPB offers £5K reward to catch raptor poisoner

The number of birds of prey illegally poisoned in Scotland doubled last year

by ALISTAIR MUNRO

Published on the 01 April 2014 

A £5,000 reward has been offered to help find those responsible for a spate of raptor poisonings in the Highlands.

Nine red kites and four buzzards have been found in a small two-mile area of land near Conon Bridge, Ross-shire, in just 10 days.

Tests on the first seven raptors have so far revealed that six of them were illegally poisoned.

The figure equals the total number of raptors known to have been poisoned in Scotland last year.

The latest discoveries are thought to be the worst bird of prey poisonings in Scottish history.

Duncan Orr-Ewing, of RSPB Scotland, said the charity was now offering a “substantial” reward for information leading to a successful conviction.

He said: ”This appalling incident highlights the very real threat illegal poisoning poses to fantastic species like red kites. The vulnerable Black Isle population in particular has been repeatedly hit by deaths due to illegal poison use.

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$1000 reward for information leading to capture of a pest bird

The reward for sighting information that leads to the capture of an invasive pest bird - the red-vented bulbul - has been increased from $300 to $1000.

Red-vented bulbuls can cause significant damage to fruit and vegetable crops and are known to chase and attack other birds. The Ministry for Primary Industries, Department of Conservation (DOC) and Auckland Council are working together to track and eradicate the red-vented bulbul confirmed to be in Auckland.

On October 10, a reward of $300 was offered to anyone providing information leading to the capture of a red-vented bulbul by the response team working to eradicate this pest bird, which comes from Asia.

"The reward has raised awareness of the red-vented bulbul that’s been sighted throughout Auckland," says DOC spokesperson Liz Brooks. "We’ve had more than 70 calls about possible sightings since we offered the $300 reward, a month ago, but are still working to capture one of these birds."

Continued http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/1000-reward-information-leading-capture-pest-bird/5/173842

$3K reward offered for killing of rare whooping crane in Red River Parish

NEW ORLEANS — A hunter in northwest Louisiana has shot and killed one of the first whooping cranes brought to Louisiana in an attempt to re-establish the highly endangered species in the state.

State and federal authorities are offering a $3,000 reward for information about whoever killed one of the world’s rarest birds. There are only about 600 alive.

One clue is that a somewhat unusual cartridge was used to shoot the 3-year-old female crane.

Gabe Giffin, a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement division spokesman, says the National Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Ore., analyzed a plastic fragment found in the bullet’s track. He says scientists believe it came from a .264-caliber or 6.5mm bullet with a polymer tip.

“That’s not the only thing we’re hoping on. But we can hopefully get some information on our tip hotline because of that,” he said Monday.

About 412 whooping cranes live in the wild and about 200 in captivity. This one was among 10 released in March 2011, when federal and state authorities began trying to build a self-sustaining flock in southwest Louisiana. Forty have been released in all. Twenty-five are still alive.

“The shooting of this whooping crane is an insult to all law abiding hunters. We ask the public to please share any information that will lead us to the shooter,” said Luis Santiago, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agent in charge for the Southeast Region.

Giffin said the plastic fragment was found during necropsy at the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis.

Scientists in Madison are still trying to learn the cause of a younger whooper’s death in May, said Robert Love, administrator of Wildlife and Fisheries’ coastal and nongame resources division. That bird was emaciated but apparently died of natural causes, he said. It was in a group of three; when it didn’t move on with the other two, biologists went looking for it.

Based on data from the older bird’s GPS tracker, investigators believe it was shot between April 10 and April 14. The body was found April 16, about two miles northwest of Loggy Bayou in Red River Parish — the spot where the last GPS transmission was made April 14. The last movements tracked were nearby on April 10.

Read on

RSPB offers £1,000 reward after eagle body found close to Highland layby - update

A charity is offering a £1,000 reward after the discovery of the body of a golden eagle, which it said suffered a lingering death.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Scotland said the body was found lying face down, with its wings folded, under a tree branch, close to a layby on a quiet country road near Aboyne, and was seized as evidence by officers from Grampian Police.

The eagle, which had a satellite transmitter attached to it, was found on 5 May this year. Both its legs were broken.

The carcass was taken for a post-mortem examination at the Scottish Agricultural College laboratory in Aberdeen. This concluded that the bird had suffered two broken legs due to trauma ‘that could be consistent with an injury caused by a spring-type trap’ and that the severity of these injuries ‘would prevent the bird from being able to take off’.

Continued:  http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/2012/09/24/rspb-offers-1000-reward-after-eagle-body-found-close-to-highland-layby