Bird rescue group dealing with unusual number of injured swans

Thursday, August 16th 2018, 11:01 pm BDTThursday, August 16th 2018, 11:15 pm BDT

By: Chelsea Donovan, General Assignment Reporter

A local bird rescue group says it has received six injured swans in 30 days. The birds from southeastern North Carolina require constant care.

"It is very unusual for us to receive this many at a time with various injuries," said volunteer Amelia Nash with Skywatch Bird Rescue.

Two of the injured swans came from Landfall, one came from Leland and another from Myrtle Beach.

"Many have to be tube fed," Nash said. "There are various injuries to wings, one with a limp, and the small cygnet has what we call angel wing, where it was fed poorly when it was young so the wing did not grow outward. It now can't fly."

It is costing the New Hanover County rescue group about $200 a month per swan for the rehabilitation process.

"These swans are not native species," Nash said. "They came over long ago from Europe so they can survive, but they cannot thrive here."

Nash said people like to have swans as pets for decorative purposes in their ponds, but doing so can shorten their lifespan.

"People buy these for ornamental purposes, but these birds are so far from home, they can't survive," Nash said. "People think they are helping when they give them bread and corn — empty nutrients — but it really adds to their detriment."

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Raleigh turns out the lights for birds

 City agrees to dim lights at performing arts and convention centers

Lights confuse migrating songbirds, causing some to hit buildings

‘Lights Out’ program dovetails with Raleigh’s conservation efforts

The city of Raleigh has begun turning off lights at some of its downtown buildings late at night for the benefit of songbirds who migrate through North Carolina each fall and spring. Both the lights used to illuminate the exteriors of buildings as well as lights left on inside can confuse birds, coaxing them to fly into walls of glass or fly in circles until they get exhausted and drop. The Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts is responsible for the most bird collision deaths in Raleigh according to the Wake Audobon Society.Chris Seward cseward@newsobserver.com

BY RICHARD STRADLING

rstradling@newsobserver.com

RALEIGH 

The city has begun turning off lights at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts and the nearby convention center late at night, mostly for the benefit of some out-of-town visitors.

For many songbirds that migrate through North Carolina each fall and spring, the bright city lights can be deadly. Lights that illuminate the exteriors of buildings as well as those left on inside can confuse birds, coaxing them to crash into windows or fly in circles until they drop from exhaustion.

Read more here:

Audubon Society helps track wood thrushes to protect population

By Lewisboro Ledger on July 19, 2014 

The Bedford Audubon Society is joining forces with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, National Audubon’s International Alliances Program, and Forsyth Audubon in North Carolina for an innovative research effort to discover why wood thrush numbers are down more than 50% in the past 40 years, according to a press release.

The wood thrush’s flute-like song has long been considered a harbinger of spring in eastern forests, but the sweet tune is becoming rarer each year.

National Audubon identified the wood thrush as a priority species for conservation in 2012, largely due to a steady population decline at a rate of almost 2% each year since the mid-1960s.

Wood thrushes are neotropical migrants; they breed in the Northeast, but winter in Central America. In order to track the migratory movement of wood thrushes, Audubon teams in North Carolina and New York deployed 44 lightweight geolocators on adult male wood thrushes. The geolocators will record 50 waypoints of fall migration, overwintering, and their return north to their breeding grounds in the spring. An additional allotment of geolocators will be deployed in Minnesota this summer.

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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

Rare Sabine’s gulls sighted at Lake Norman in September

Many serious birders occasionally will take an offshore birding trip in hopes of seeing some open-sea birds that are rarely seen from land. I’ve been on about a dozen such trips over the years out of Hatteras, Virginia Beach and Morehead City. The trips are not cheap, the drive is long and weather is always a concern. Recently, I have preferred boat trips on Lake Norman, the “inland sea.” During the right times of year some interesting birds can be found, some of them real rarities.

Last Sunday, I was able to grab a seat with 10 other area birders on a boat headed out onto the lake. A rare Sabine’s gull had been found earlier in the day and the large group was eager to try to relocate it.

The trip had a promising start when some white diving birds were spied off in the distance. We motored over to the area along Davidson Creek and soon were surrounded with a mixed flock of about 40 common, Forster’s and black terns – species you often see along the coast, but ones that also show up on large lakes in the fall. A particularly cooperative group sat tight on the water while we approached.

Continued:  http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/09/27/3560084/rare-sabines-gulls-sighted-at.html

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/09/27/3560084/rare-sabines-gulls-sighted-at.html#storylink=cpy

Cooy