Threeding and Artec 3D to scan and digitize more than 55 endangered birds for 3D printing

Mar 30, 2016 | By Kira

3D printing marketplace Threeding has launched yet another joint venture with 3D scanning hardware and software company Artec 3D to promote education, scientific knowledge, and the preservation of rare avian species. For this latest project, the two companies are teaming up to 3D scan and digitize more than 55 endangered and threatened birds, all of which will be made available to students, ornithologists, veterinarians, and biologists in a 3D printer-friendly format.

Browsing through your favorite 3D printing marketplace, you can find just about any 3D printable modelyou’re after—home décor, furniture, video game content, engineering tools, kitchen supplies…really, anything. But Bulgarian 3D printing marketplace Threeding doesn’t just want to make the everyday available, its goal is to capture the rare, historical, and the irreplaceable, and to preserve it all via 3D scanning and 3D printing technology. For its part, Artec 3D provides some of the most advanced 3D scanning solutions on the market, and is well aware of the power of 3D scanning to help preserve and recreate life as we know it.

Artec 3D and Threeding’s collaboration goes back to 2014, when the two companies set out to 3D scan historical artifacts from leading Central and Eastern European museums. Earlier this year, the two collaborated again, this time 3D scanning and digitizing a large collection of Ancient Greek artifacts.

With the 3D ornithology project (ornithology is the study of birds), Threeding will use Artec’s high resolution Spider and EVA 3D scanners as well as Artec’s Studio software to produce textured, high resolution scans of rare bird species, including the Eastern Imperial Eagle, White-Tailed Eagle, Boreal Owl, Humboldt Penguin, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Long-Eared Owel, and more.

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Supplemental feeding for endangered avian species

Date:

March 9, 2015

Source:

University of Kent

Summary:

Reproductive benefits and hidden costs of supplemental feeding for endangered avian species have been explored in a new study. The research examined the successful recovery of the once critically endangered Mauritius parakeet using more than twenty years of data spanning several generations.

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Offshore drilling plans threat to New Zealand's endangered seabirds: conservation group

English.news.cn 2014-05-26 10:50:47

WELLINGTON, May 26 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand has more threatened seabird species than anywhere else in the world and planned deepwater oil and gas drilling could drive them to extinction, a leading conservation group warned Monday.

The Forest and Bird group issued the warning with the release of a report on important bird areas (IBAs) for New Zealand seabirds, part of a global effort to identify marine IBAs and ensure protection.

More than a third of the world's seabird species lived at least part of their lives in 69 IBAs New Zealand's territorial seas and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters, Forest and Bird seabird advocate Karen Baird said in a statement.

"New Zealand also has more seabird species that breed only within its jurisdiction than any other country in the world. We have 36 species. Mexico is next on the list, with only five species," said Baird.

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The world’s top 10 most unique and endangered birds - in pictures

Scientists name world's 100 most unique and endangered birds

'Little dodo', flightless parrot and giant ibis among species ranked by evolutionary distinctiveness and global extinction risk

Jessica Aldred

theguardian.com, Thursday 10 April 2014 17.00 BST

The "little dodo", a flightless parrot and the world's largest ibis are among the world's 100 most unique and endangered birds, according to a new study.

Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Yale University assessed the world's 9,993 bird species according to their evolutionary distinctiveness and global extinction risk to produce a list of the world's 100 most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (Edge) species.

Topping the list is the rare and striking giant ibis (Thaumatibis gigantea) – the world's largest ibis weighing in at 4.2kg and reaching more than one metre in height. With only 230 pairs estimated to remain in the wild, it is a critically endangered species. Habitat loss, human disturbance and hunting have reduced its range to an extremely small, declining population concentrated in Cambodia.

Read on

Warning signs: why street artist ATM is painting London's endangered birds

The snipe, barn owl and great bustard have appeared on walls around the capital. Caspar Henderson talks to the artist who is capturing the birds that are vanishing from Britain

Caspar Henderson

The Guardian, Saturday 22 March 2014


More than a few artists have been moved to produce work that speaks to a long history of humans as the "overkillers" of other species – a record that appears to be culminating in a mass-extinction event at least as great as the one that killed the dinosaurs. Maya Lin's remarkable ongoing project What is Missing? allows anyone with an internet connection to view the abundance of rich and strange life forms that once existed in places where now there are concrete, cars and monoculture, and to reimagine the lives of strange and wonderful animals, from the dodo and steller's sea cow to the passenger pigeon and the Tasmanian wolf. A volume titled Ghosts of Gone Birds reproduces paintings by well-known artists of the diverse and astonishing birds that humans have eliminated in the last few centuries, from the red-moustached fruit dove and the snail-eating coua to the laughing owl.

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Endangered vultures find no home in Goa

By Paul Fernandes, TNN | 17 Mar, 2014, 05.29AM IST

PANAJI: Just two of 15 critically endangered bird species mentioned in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) latest list were sighted by birders in Goa in recent years, but now no longer are these seen.

IUCN has included 15 bird species in India as critically endangered (CR) in its red list of birds (2013). "Indian vulture and white-backed vulture are the only two species from this list of 15 that were being sighted in Goa till a few years ago," Goa bird conservat .. 

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ENDANGERED BIRDS: USU to host sage grouse summit in Salt Lake City Tuesday

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah State University will host a summit Tuesday and Wednesday to enhance conservation efforts among federal, state and private natural resource agencies for the greater sage grouse, a candidate for the Endangered Species list.

The summit will help wildlife managers collaborate in preventing the bird from becoming listed as endangered, according to Terry Messmer, professor and extension wildlife specialist at USU's S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources.

"Through this discussion, we'll hopefully be able to demonstrate the resolve of these partners in doing the right thing, not only to protect this species and its habitat, but also the communities and working landscapes which drive Utah's economy," Messmer said.

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Inexcusable: two endangered whooping cranes shot in Louisiana

The whooping crane is protected under the federal Endangered Species and Migratory Bird Treaty Acts and by state law.

Science Recorder | James Fluere | Sunday, February 09, 2014

Some crimes are just inexcusable and this is one of them: the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fishers reports that two endangered whooping cranes were found shot in Jefferson Davis Parish on Friday. The LDWF believes that the birds were shot sometime on Thursday... To continue reading, subscribe toScience Recorder today.

Read more: http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/inexcusable-two-endangered-whooping-cranes-shot-in-louisiana/#ixzz2tJ5dzUfq

Pakistan urged to ban Arab sheikhs from hunting endangered birds

Special licences given to high-rolling dignitaries to kill houbara bustard, which is considered to be at risk of extinction

Jon Boone in Karachi

theguardian.com, Tuesday 4 February 2014 07.00 GMT

Pakistan is witnessing a mounting backlash against Arab sheikhs who spend part of their winters hunting a rare bird that conservationists warn is at risk of extinction.

Activists in the country say they are determined to end the annual killing of houbara bustards, an elusive bird that migrates each winter from central Asia to Pakistan's warmer climes.

Although the birds are officially protected, VIP visitors from the Gulf enjoy their traditional hunts with falcons and believe the houbara's meat has aphrodisiac properties.

"Is there any more ridiculous reason to kill an animal?" said Naeem Sadiq, a Karachi-based activist who petitioned the Lahore high court to ban the practice. "If it's illegal for Pakistanis to kill these birds why should the Arab sheikhs be allowed to do it?"

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Watch for rare birds

CATHIE BELL

Last updated 09:44 16/01/2014

Endangered black-billed gulls have been killed on the banks of the Wairau River, near Blenheim, and birders are pointing the finger at motorists.

Ornithological Society volunteer Claudia Mischler said she found several bodies of young gulls by the Selmes Rd entrance to the river this week.

The birds were clearly killed by a four-wheel-drive vehicle, she said.

"The chicks are huge. Some have fledged and the rest are close, so it's a real shame for them to be killed after their parents have invested so much energy into them."

Birdwatchers did not want to stop people using the river, but encouraged them to look out for the birds. The black-billed gulls were one of two endangered species nesting on the banks of the Wairau River. The gulls and the black-fronted terns breed in braided riverbeds in Marlborough and Canterbury.

Last month, Environment Canterbury (ECan) sent a warning letter to the owner of a vehicle seen driving across the Ashley River bed, near Rangiora, allegedly disturbing black-fronted terns. A member of the public took a photo of the 4WD and reported it to ECan.

Read on

Safe haven for rare parrots doubles in size

A coalition of conservationists has bought nearly 15,000 acres of land in Bolivia, more than doubling a key habitat for the critically endangered blue-throated macaw.

The blue-throated macaw is one of the most endangered birds on Earth, down to an estimated 120 survivors in the wild. Any new refuge for such a rare bird is a welcome surprise, but this brightly colored Bolivian parrot just hit the conservation jackpot.

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53 endangered birds rescued from Vashi flat

VASHI: The state forest officials from Thane wildlife department along with activists of Thane Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) raided a flat in Vashi and rescued 53 birds that were kept under bad conditions there.

"Thane SPCA had received several oral and written complaints from citizens of Vashi about a family that had kept innumerable birds inside a window balcony, covered by a green net on the outside. We decided to raid the place on Thursday along with the forest department," said Shakuntala Majumdar of Thane SPCA.

The 53 birds include alexandrine parakeets, ring-necked parakeets, budgerigars and pigeons. They were reportedly packed together.

The identity of the family that had hoarded these birds has not been disclosed yet because of legal reasons. Forest department will reportedly take formal action against the accused.

Many of the birds were not in optimum health and few of them even had injuries on their wings and legs. They are being treated.

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How Northern Ireland's endangered birds are getting the space to thrive

Many of Northern Ireland's bird species are heading for the brink – but the RSPB is celebrating after a bumper summer delivered a hugely successful breeding season.

Numbers of breeding common terns rocketed by 45% on its Northern Ireland reserves in just one year, while the threatened lapwing is up 38%.

Curlew and redshank, which are included on the 'red list' of species of conservation concern, rose by 18% and 22% respectively, while black-headed gulls are up 29%. Breeding pairs of amber-listed snipe are up 36% since summer 2012.

However, RSPB NI director Dr JamesRobinson stressed these huge gains were seen on RSPB reserves and land managed for wildlife by 300 farmers who were taking part in the EU-funded Halting Environmental Loss Project (HELP) in Glenwherry, Lough Beg and Lough Foyle – outside these areas, the picture may well be less than rosy.

The breeding successes come against a grim backdrop of sharp wildlife declines over recent decades. This year's State of Nature report revealed that 60% of UK species are showing long-term declines and one in 10 is on the brink of local extinction.

This summer's bonanza shows what can be done when the right land management practices are put in place to halt the loss of habitat that is causing many of these declines, Dr Robinson said.

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Sudan’s killer power line to be replaced to protect Endangered Egyptian vultures

Sudan government acts on "killer power line"

September 2013. A workshop of the Migratory Soaring Birds (MSB) project led by BirdLife International and the United Nations Development Program has prompted the Sudanese government to replace one of the most deadly power lines in Africa for large migratory birds , the Port Sudan "killer line".

Thousands of Endangered Egyptian vultures killed

In particular the 31-km long power line is estimated to have killed hundreds and perhaps thousands of Egyptian Vultures since it was constructed in the 1950s. The most recent survey found, during the month of September alone, the carcasses of 17 Egyptian vultures along the power line. All the carcasses were found under power poles, 15 under metal poles and two under concrete poles, making electrocution the most likely cause of death.

The March 2013 workshop, funded by the MSB project, was presented by the Sudanese Wildlife Society (SWS) who is the local non-governmental partner in the project. The opening session was held at the offices of the Sudanese Company for Electricity Transmission. Guests included the Director General and senior engineers of the Electricity Transmission Company, the Director of the Sudanese Electricity Distribution Company, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, and the Director General of the Wildlife Conservation General Administration.

The President of SWS, Professor Ibrahim Hashim, gave a presentation about the impact of power lines on migratory soaring birds, with the emphasis on the Port Sudan "killer line". He then introduced the MSB project guidance materials on bird-sensitive power line development.

"Responses from the distinguished speakers were positive", said Ibrahim Hashim. "All of them stressed the importance of solving the killer power line. The Director of the Electricity Company emphasised the impact of the killer line on birds, as well as the power loss due to electrocution, and he promised to solve the problem."

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/egyptian-vultures-sudan.html

US grant aids tree-planting to aid endangered bird

BAGLEY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. is giving a private nature protection group $171,000 to expand habitat in northern Michigan for the endangered Kirtland's warbler.

WCMU-FM (http://bit.ly/1a5QFxA ) says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife grant goes to the group Huron Pines. It's based south of Gaylord in Otsego County's Bagley Township.

The group has matching funds so that more than $300,000 to plant 2 million jack pine seedlings in Kirtland's warbler management areas.

Huron Pines project coordinator Abigail Ertel says the aim is to maintain a habitat of jack pine trees from 5 to 15 years old for the nesting songbirds.

Ertel says the program started in July and runs through September 2014.

http://www.westport-news.com/news/science/article/US-grant-aids-tree-planting-to-aid-endangered-bird-4733370.php

First Wind Takes Steps to Protect Threatened Native Bird Species on Maui

Endangered shearwaters will now have a safe haven at a new bird enclosure about ten miles west of Wailuku. First Wind, an independent U.S.-based renewable energy company, unveiled the first of two bird enclosures this week. The Makamaka‘ole seabird mitigation project is part of an extensive program undertaken by First Wind to provide conservation benefits to the area near its Kaheawa Wind projects several miles away.

The Makamaka‘ole seabird mitigation project was designed in collaboration with leading experts in Pacific seabird conservation, and is exceptional in its technological sophistication and long-term commitment to monitoring. The enclosures will each encompass between three and four acres where shearwaters and petrels can nest and raise young safe from predators. 

“This is a major milestone for the project, and we are thrilled to have nearly completed the first enclosure and to be starting on the second. When fully operational these enclosures will protect and bolster Maui’s endangered native bird species for years to come,” said Dave Cowan, vice president for environmental affairs at First Wind. “The project has been shaped with input from the community and with the support of local and international experts. We look forward to seeing the site come to serve as a gathering place and safe haven for these vulnerable birds.”

The nearly completed bird enclosure is designed to protect the federally endangered Newell’s Shearwater, and construction is underway on a second enclosure designed for the Hawaiian Petrel. The shearwater enclosure includes barriers intended to keep out non-native predators such as rats, mongoose and cats. Artificial burrows, custom decoys and sound systems broadcasting bird calls are being installed to attract shearwaters and petrels to nest. The enclosures will be kept in place indefinitely, and biologists will monitor the project over the course of the next 20 years, including using cameras installed in the enclosures to monitor behavior and nesting habits.

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Brazil has the largest number of endangered birds

Birdlife International released a report last week showing that one in eight bird species worldwide are at the threat of extinction. According to the report State of the world’s birds, 1,313 species of bird are threatened worldwide. The majority (55%) are classified as ‘vulnerable’ which is the lowest level of danger but 30% are classified as ‘endangered’ and 15% as ‘critically endangered’.

The study shows that Brazil is the country with the greatest share of endangered bird species, unsurprising as it’s one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world with a wide variety of bird species. 152 species are endangered and of these, 73 are endemic (only found in Brazil).

According to the organisation, the main threats to birds are habitat destruction through deforestation and farming, the introduction of exotic species, air and water pollution and climate change. The study estimates that in order to protect these species, there needs to be an investment of roughly $80 billion a year on bird conservation.

http://ilovebrazilnews.com/2013/07/01/brazil-largest-number-endangered-birds/1140

Birds under threat

FIJI'S native endemic birds remain under threat from introduced species, particularly the invasive mongoose.

According to the State of Birds Report 2013, published by NatureFiji-MareqetiViti (NFMV), Fiji is the only country in the world, as far as the organisation knows, which has two species of introduced mongoose.

These species go by their scientific names Herpestes javanicus and H.fuscus.

The mongooses not only pose a threat to the country's native endangered birds, but also reptiles and native frogs.

"Introduced predators are one of the major contributors of species extinctions on islands.

They also pose a threat to economic development, human health and food security," the report stated.

As a result of this, birds such as the Jungle Fowl (Toaniveikau), the Banded Rail (Bici) and the Purple Swamphen (Teri) can no longer be found on Viti Levu or Vanua Levu because of the introduction of the mongoose.

"Fiji's birds evolved in the islands without any mammalian predators, so it's not surprising that when introduced, these have had a devastating impact.

"There are a few forest and hence biodiversity-rich islands such as Taveuni, Kadavu, Gau, Ovalau and Koro that retain sizeable areas of biodiversity-rich forest without the mongoose.

Preventing mongooses from spreading to these islands is of the highest priority."

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=238031

Pa. to protect endangered birds on Susquehanna

By Myles Snyder - email

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -

The Pennsylvania Game Commission announced it will take steps to protect two of the state's endangered birds with a limited culling of double-crested cormorants, a species that has been increasingly dominating a nesting area on the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg.

Culling was first used in 2006, and was used again in 2011 and 2012, to protect a colony of great egrets and black-crowned night-herons on Wade Island.

Dan Brauning, supervisor of the Game Commission's Wildlife Diversity Section, said Wade Island is home to the state's largest nesting colony night-herons and great egrets.

Cormorants, which were at one time rare in Pennsylvania, have been increasing rapidly in their numbers, and their abundance has led to increased conflicts other birds, their food supply, and vegetation.

A Game Commission survey conducted earlier this month showed that great egret nests decreased slightly from 185 to 181, and night-heron nests dropped from 67 to 48, compared to May 2012.

Brauning said the current number of night-heron nests is the second-lowest in 28 years of nest surveys on Wade Island.

He said extreme care will be taken so that the nesting of endangered species on the three-acre island is not disturbed, and the culling efforts will be stopped immediately if there is a perceived threat to egrets or herons.

http://www.abc27.com/story/22398210/pa-to-protect-endangered-birds-on-susquehanna

Conservation agency approved cull of endangered birds, documents show

Natural England licensed cull of tens of thousands of lesser black-backed gulls on one of England's largest shooting estates

Tens of thousands of endangered birds have been shot, trapped and poisoned on one of England's largest shooting estates with the approval of the government agency responsible for protecting the species, a Guardian investigation has found.

The government has licensed an annual cull of lesser black-backed gullson the Abbeystead estate on the Bowland Fells in Lancashire for decades, officially to stop water pollution. However, some experts believe the culling was also partly to protect grouse shooting interests.

The regulator Natural England now admits that, since a government-led bird conservation review occurred in 2001, "confusion" over the legal protection status of the species has allowed the culling to continue, despite its population crashing in recent years.

Chris Packham, the BBC Springwatch presenter and naturalist, has described the situation as a "travesty" and the RSPB is now calling for an urgent review.

The 23,500-acre Abbeystead estate was bought in 1980 by a trust "on behalf" of the Duke of Westminster, one of the UK's richest landowners. The duke's Grosvenor Estate manages the Abbeystead estate, which hosts pheasant and grouse shoots.

The estate was first allowed to cull the gulls in the 1970s on the grounds that droppings were polluting the watercourse. The licence to cull was last renewed by NE in 1999. But a former Abbeystead gull surveyor has admitted that the culling has been conducted, in part, to protect the "economy of the shooting estates". The species is known to eat grouse eggs.

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