Diving birds follow each other when fishing

Date:  September 23, 2019

Source:  University of Exeter

Diving seabirds watch each other to work out when to dive, new research shows.

Scientists studied European shags and found they were twice as likely to dive after seeing a fellow bird go underwater.

The study is the first to investigate why large groups (known as "rafts") of shags dive together at sea.

University of Exeter scientists filmed the birds off the Isles of Scilly to examine their behaviour.

"Our results suggest these birds aren't just reacting to underwater cues when deciding where and when to dive," said Dr Julian Evans, who led the study as part of his PhD at the University of Exeter.

"They respond to social cues by watching their fellow birds and copying their behaviour.

"They're essentially using other flock members as sources of information, helping them choose the best place to find fish."

Read on

Defra to review release of game birds after legal threat

Government agrees to examine impact of shooting industry’s release of 50m non-native birds

Patrick Barkham

Thu 12 Sep 2019 10.20 BST Last modified on Thu 12 Sep 2019 11.56 BST

The annual release of more than 50 million non-native game birds into the countryside with no environmental assessment is to be reviewed by the government after campaigners announced a legal challenge.

Chris Packham, Mark Avery and Ruth Tingay, of the campaign group Wild Justice, argued that the massive and unregulated increase in the number of pheasants and red-legged partridges put into the British countryside for shooting each year – up from 4 million in the early 1970s – contravened the EU habitats directive.

Under these laws, the impact of game birds on the biodiversity of protected areas must first be assessed. Pheasants and partridges can prey on native reptiles and amphibians, while recent scientific evidence has shown an association between game birds and higher numbers of foxes and avian predators such as crows, which in turn prey on rare species such as curlew.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed there will be a review of the way game birds are released on or near protected areas such as special areas of conservation in England.

Continued

Sculptor crafts $125k extinct bird creation out of scrap metal

Jo McKenzie-McLean 05:15, Sep 16 2019

Wanaka artist Luke Wilson created the sculpture of two extinct birds in combat to show the flight of our native animals.

A Kiwi artist has resurrected two extinct native birds using cutlery, hot water cylinders and horse shoes.

Luke Wilson's Haast Eagle Vs Moa took more than two years to make using scrap metal – a skill he discovered while working at Wanaka recycling and reuse shop Wastebusters.

"I'd been working at Wastebusters processing their metal recycling for about a year and realised I had a knack for putting things together with odds and ends. It got me wanting to work with material that has a story behind each piece that comes in."

Wanaka-based artist Luke Wilson, 31, will exhibit his giant scrap metal sculpture of a Haast eagle and moa at a St Andrew's College fundraiser in Christchurch on September 20 alongside several other artists.

The 31-year-old's engineering background has helped produce the sculptures, as has late nights, copious amounts of coffee, a No.8 wire mentality and a passion to portray the world's natural beauty in his art while raising awareness about the plight of native birds.

"I work up a mountain and there is kea up there. Their population is declining and they are really special birds."

Read on and watch video here

Experts concerned over non-sighting of Lesser Floricans in MP

---

PTI Indore

 Updated: 15-09-2019 18:45 IST Created: 15-09-2019 18:45 IST

The delay in the arrival of the world's most endangered migratory bird, Lesser Florican or Kharmore, in the Sailana sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh for the annual breeding season so far has left ornithologists worried. Experts, who are seeking to find out the causes behind the winged creatures missing their annual date, have raised concerns over the presence of windmills and nilgais (blue bulls) in the vicinity of the sanctuary, spread over 1300 hectares in Ratlam district.

"This is probably the first in the 36 year history of the sanctuary that no Kharmore has visited the area during the breeding season. Last year, four Kharmores were seen in this sanctuary," ornithologist Ajay Gadikar, who is working for the conservation of the rare birds with the state Forest department, told PTI on Sunday. Gadikar said the absence of the birds is a cause of concern because the sanctuary has lush green grass and is the ideal habitat for them.

"We suspect that the windmills that have come up near Sailana area in the last decade are disturbing the Kharmores who generally fly at the height of the windmills," he said, adding that the presence of Nilgais or large Indian antelopes might be the another cause. According to Gadikar, Kharmore is a very shy bird who prefers either flying away or hiding after sensing any unusual movement.

Chief Conservator of Forests (Ujjain Range), Ajay Kumar Yadav, has confirmed that no winged visitor has been spotted in the sanctuary so far. "Forest department will study the reasons with the help of experts to find out whether windmills and nilgais are acting as deterrents," he said.

Continued

A pelican in Nova Scotia? Unusual birds blown into Cape Breton by Dorian

Some rare birds have found their way to the Maritimes after Dorian blew them off course.

Alexandra Mae Jones, CTVNews.ca writer

Published Tuesday, September 17, 2019 11:08PM EDT

After a storm as big as Dorian, residents in Cape Breton probably expected to find a few strange things that had been blown in by the winds. But a pelican?

A large brown bird has been spotted strutting around Glace Bay wharf this past week, far from its usual tropical waters. Experts say the bird was probably as surprised to find itself in Atlantic Canada as the residents of Cape Breton were to see it -- it's thought that the bird was blown off course.

The eye-catching bird has become a sensation in the area.

 “There’s been people coming here from as far as East Bay to take photos,” resident Dylan Yates told CTV News Atlantic. “It’s just not something you see every day.”

Jeannie Fraser snapped more than one photo of the bird, saying it was “pretty exciting to see, in spite of the fact that it shouldn’t have been here.”

If the pelican wasn’t actually aiming to set up camp in a Nova Scotia harbor, where was it aiming to go?

David McCorquodale, a biology professor at Cape Breton University and an avid bird watcher, said that the pelican was blown from the coast of the southern U.S., confirming that the storm was at fault for the bird’s massive displacement.

And the pelican wasn’t the only bird whose flight plan went through a drastic change due to storm winds.

Continued

Police seize illegal bird trap in a park

 24th September

By Kloe Hackett

POLICE seized an illegal trap used to catch wild birds.

The officers were called to a park in Wickford to deal with the large metal illegal device.

They have not revealed where the park is in the town.

A spokesman for Basildon Community Policing Team posted on Facebook: “Today, we have seized a device used in the illegal trapping of wild finches.

“This was located in the Wickford area.

“Please make us aware if you see any similar devices.

“Possession or control of a wild bird is an offence.

“Anybody possessing wild birds is obliged to show, on a balance of probabilities, that their possession is lawful.

“Finches listed on Part I Schedule 3 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 can only be legally sold if they have been bred in captivity from lawfully held parent birds, and if they are fitted with Government approved close-rings.”

A wildlife charity conservationist has blasted the illegal bird catchers.

Macbraden Bones, 48, Essex Wildlife Trust landscape conservationist area officer for the south east, said: “I have never heard or come across this before.

“This is the first time I have heard of this and have not seen a problem like this in our area.

“I am stunned by this, there are a number of concerns with this.

Continued

San Diego Zoo Releases 7 Hawaiian Crows to Help Rebuild Species in Wild

POSTED BY CHRIS JENNEWEIN ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 IN TECH | 29 VIEWS

The San Diego Zoo announced Tuesday that its researchers in Hawaii released seven ‘alala, a critically endangered species also known as the Hawaiian crow, into the wild earlier this month.

Researchers at the zoo’s Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program and their partners with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the birds into the Pu’u Maka’ala Natural Area Reserve on Mauna Loa.

The three entities launched a partnership two years ago known as the ‘Alala Project to reintroduce the species back into the wild. The team released five males and two females into the reserve to join other groups of ‘alala already living in the area. Roughly 20 birds now live in the reserve’s forests despite the species once being extinct in the wild.

“Recovering threatened and endangered species is bigger than any one community or agency: it takes everyone working together,” said Michelle Bogardus, a geographic team leader in Hawaii with the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The research and conservation group documented multiple pairs of `alala showing breeding and courtship behaviors, including birds that were first released in 2017. The ‘Alala Project members expect the species’ recovery to take many more years, but say they are already seeing positive signs.

“‘Alala form complex bonds as breeding pairs and must work together to build their nests,” said Alison Greggor, a research associate with the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program. “Having released ‘alala engage in the full suite of breeding and nest- building behaviors in their first season as adults represents a huge step forward for the program, and their recovery as a species.”

— City News Service

Continued