Rare birds make a winter appearance in Dunfanaghy

While the storms that battered the Donegal coast are not a rare sight in the depths of winter, some feathered visitors to our shores, believed to have been blown off course, certainly were.

Over the Christmas holidays an eagle-eyed father and son duo from Marble Hill, near Dunfanaghy, spotted a the very rare sight of two “Glossy Ibis” birds as they travelled along the road.

Malcom Parke and his son Ian captured images when they spotted the striking birds taking shelter in fields near Dunfanaghy golf course and the local soccer field.

As they observed the birds they soon came to the conclusion they were not the more familiar sight of the Curlew.

Continued

Caltrans Agrees to Stop Using Bird-Killing Nets

by Chris Clarke

on January 16, 2014 5:09 PM

California's transportation agency has agreed to stop using bird netting at its construction sites that ended up killing what may be hundreds of protected cliff swallows at a bridge construction project site in Sonoma County, and the agreement will influence how it conducts its projects elsewhere in the state.

According to an announcement released Thursday, Caltrans will remove netting that was intended to keep swallows from nesting on the Petaluma River Bridge and Lakeville Highway Overpass as the two adjacent Route 101 viaducts are being upgraded.

Continued

Tagged osprey chick found dead in Spain

AN osprey chick being monitored by the RSPB has died after flying into cables in Spain.

The bird had been expected to fly home to Loch Garten, near Strathspey, in the Highlands, after wintering in the sun.

However, the chick, named Caledonia by local schoolchildren, was found dead in the grounds of a convent in Seville. She flew into cables supporting a lightning rod at the Monasterio de San Clemente during fog and her body was found in the cloisters.

Continued

Rare Mandarin duck sighted on the first day of water-bird census

January 18, 2014 by Imphal Free Press 

IMPHAL, January 18: A rare migratory bird Mandarin duck was seen around the Loktak Lake this year after a gap of 34-35 years.

The migratory birds were sighted during the first day of the water bird census 2014, which kicked off today.

After the two-day long Loktak Water-bird census held at Toubul High School on January 13-14, the Water Bird Census, 2014 commenced from today under the aegis of the Department of Forest, Wildlife Wing.

Continued

300 Egyptian vultures spotted in Banaskantha

PALANPUR: There is good news for bird lovers of Banaskantha as more than 300 Egyptian vultures were spotted in the district on Tuesday. These birds were rarely spotted in the last several years in the area.

"Even the Birds Conservation Society of Gujarat (BCSG) has not mentioned such a big colony of vultures in the last several editions of their journal 'Vihangam," an executive member of BCSG and a teacher at RR Mehta Science College Suresh Prajapati said.

Read more at:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/28922959.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Chester Zoo sends an expedition to search for a rare parrot in Ecuador

January 2014: A team of 10 experienced conservationists, bird and horticultural experts, depart this month to survey the remote Cerro Blanco Forest in South West Ecuador, with the aim of tracking down and collecting vital data on the Ecuador Amazon parrot.

Until recently, the Ecuador Amazon parrot was considered to be part of a group and therefore not seen as a conservation priority, but it has been newly recognised as a species in its own right.

Years of research by the zoo’s director general, Dr Mark Pilgrim, has led to its reclassification, and a conservation action-plan is now being put in place.

continued

Attack! How Falcons Stalk Their Prey in Flight

By Denise Chow, Staff Writer | January 15, 2014 06:02pm ET

When a falcon swoops through the air and spots a flock of birds, these crafty predators use a special aerial attack strategy to capture prey in midflight, according to a new study.

To gain insight into the hunting practices of falcons, researchers at Haverford College in Haverford, Pa., outfitted falcons across the United States and Europe with miniature helmet- and backpack-mounted video cameras to record footage of raptor attacks in action.

Continued