Feds agree to decide on bird status in 4 years

BY LISA RATHKE, ASSOCIATED PRESS : SEPTEMBER 24, 2013 : Updated: September 24, 2013 2:17pm

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A national environmental group said Tuesday it had reached a settlement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over endangered species status for a rare songbird, giving the federal agency four years to decide whether Bicknell's thrush should be protected.

The Center for Biological Diversity says climate change threatens to destroy the habitat of the sparrow-sized bird, which nests on mountaintops in northern New England, the Adirondacks and eastern Canada. The group sued the Fish and Wildlife Service when it did not meet a legally mandated 2012 deadline to decide if it should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Mollie Matteson, the center's Northeast representative based in Richmond, Vt., called Monday's agreement a "ray of hope."

"Time is growing short for the thrush and its vulnerable habitat," she said.

Meagan Racey, a spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Northeast region in Hadley, Mass., said the agency hasn't seen a settlement agreement and therefore can't comment.

The center had petitioned the federal agency seeking protective status for bird, and maintained that the agency was required by law to issue a decision one year after finding that the bird was being considered for endangered species status.

The federal agency completed a 90-day review in August 2012 and found that the habitat of the Bicknell's thrush faces threats from climate change and forestry, energy, and recreational development such as ski areas.

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Follow Up: Bird Deaths Over the Weekend Remain a Mystery

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Last weekend, we told you about the strange sight of up to 100 dead starlings found at the intersection of E. Erieand Fremont Ave.

On Monday, Francis Skalicky with the Missouri Department of Conservation told KOLR10 News the nature of the starlings may help explain what happened.

"A multiple starling death such as this may be unique for the intersection of Fremont and Erie in Springfield, but each year in North America it's not that uncommon to have an event like this."

Skalicky says during the winter months, this species of birds flies in huge flocks from hundreds to thousands for safety reasons. He says there are several theories to why birds would suddenly die.

Starlings are ground feeders, so Skalicky says the birds may have been feeding and were hit by a large vehicle. Or perhaps they were startled overnight and flew into buildings or wires.

Continued:  http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=731162

Birds killed by truck?

A big vehicle plowing through a flock of startled starlings may have left 50 to 100 birds dying in the street over the weekend.

That’s one theory the Missouri Department of Conservation has come up with to explain the birds’ demise, according MDC Media Specialist Francis Skalicky.

“A Conservation agent investigated the scene and there’s no evidence of foul play,” Skalicky said late Monday. “He did collect two birds and the Health Department was asked if they wanted to test them, but they said no. We believe it was a single event at that location. It may be unusual to see on a street within the city limits, but it’s not an uncommon event in the wild for large numbers of starlings to die all at once.”

People began reporting the presence of a large number of dead birds at the intersection of Fremont Avenue and Erie Street on Saturday. Skalicky said starlings tend to form large flocks, especially in cooler weather.

It’s possible a flock was feeding on the ground in the area and flew into a large vehicle as it passed by, he said.

“It has happened in other places,” he said. “A second theory is that there may have been an overnight roost disturbance, but we don’t really know what caused them to die.

“It’s a head-scratcher.”

Because the incident happened in one small location — and no other bird species appear to have been affected — Skalicky said MDC isn’t planning any further inquiry into the bird deaths.

“We’re certain it was a single event, but we don’t know for sure what that event was,” he said.

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http://www.news-leader.com/article/20121120/NEWS01/311200024/springfield-bird-kill-caused-by-truck?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp

BTO cuckoo update

First birds have reached DRC

October 2012. The first of the cuckoos that BTO are tracking have reached Congo! Chris's tag first started transmitting from the country in the early hours of 25 September and since then he has continued south. He is now 56km (35 miles) due south of the location that he spent most of last winter, in similarly wet, swamp forest. His arrival in Congo this year is around two weeks earlier than last year, when he arrived on 10 October 2011. 

Meanwhile, Roy isn't far behind, having crossed from Central African Republic into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He has moved from a savannah landscape with gallery forest to a landscape dominated by forest but with some open patches.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/cuckoo-drc-october.html