That’s hen-tertainment… cockerels pose as movie stars for calendar

A dozen cockerels have become unlikely pin-ups.

The preening poultry feature in a calendar recreating famous Hollywood moments.

One copies John Travolta’s dance moves in Saturday Night Fever while others give James Bond, Batman and crime drama The Usual Suspects a rooster makeover.

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Almost 2,000 bird species and a world record for Colombia

December 2013: For the first time the official numbers of bird species registered in Colombia has exceeded 1,900, according to the scientific publication Conservación Colombiana.

This represents a new world record and firmly establishes Colombia as the world's most biodiverse country.

This year, a sixth annual review was published through a collaboration of ornithological experts from Colombia, the USA and Europe, verifying the number of species registered within Colombia. A total of 1,903 species have now been recorded inside Colombia.

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Rare birds threat could decimate giant Strathy wind farm plan

Credit: The Northern Times | 06/12/2013 | www.northern-times.co.uk ~~

The developers of a proposed 47-turbine wind farm near Strathy in Sutherland could be forced to reduce that number to only four.

This forecast has come from RSPB Scotland, as Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) this week confirmed it was continuing its opposition to the scheme in a bid to safeguard many of Britain’s rarest birds in the area.

Its experts say golden eagles, hen harriers, red-throated divers and greenshank are only some of the most iconic species which would be affected if the Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) plans for a Strathy South wind farm go ahead.

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Rare birds flourishing at Staffordshire nature reserve

After carrying out a number of bird surveys, the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust has announced species including oystercatcher, lapwing and redshank are living and continuing to breed at Croxall Lakes near Alrewas.

All three species are in decline across the country, with the lapwing’s breeding population having fallen by more than 40 per cent in the last 18 years. According to figures from the British Trust for Ornithology, the redshank has declined by more than 60 per cent in the last 35 years. As a result, the bird has been put on the ‘red list’ by the RSPB for its rarity.

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4 Things That Kill More Birds Than Wind Farms

Duke Energy, the operator of two major wind farms in Wyoming, was recently fined $1 million dollars for eagles and other birds killed by wind turbines. Although I’ve got little love for Duke Energy (they single-handedly killed 900,000 fish in North Carolina), I do care about the continued expansion of wind power in this country.

This case brings the cyclical debate of wildlife vs. clean energy to the federal level. Yes, I meant cyclical. Here’s how it usually goes (in my head):

1. “Fossil fuels are killing the planet and everything on it (including birds). Let’s switch to renewables like solar and wind.”

2. “Oh man, birds are being killed by wind turbines, and I love birds and believe endangered species should be protected.

3. “Punish the wind farms for killing birds!”

4. “Wait, if we stop building wind farms, or use $1 million fines to discourage companies from building them, it just continues our dependence on fossil fuels.”

5. “See number 1.”

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/4-things-that-kill-more-birds-than-wind-farms.html#ixzz2nNm5c28f

Magpie parents know a baby cuckoo when they see one

Cuckoo fledglings are fed less frequently by magpie parents when raised together with magpie nestlings

December 2013: Cuckoo fledglings left in magpie nests are fed much less frequently by their foster parents when raised in mixed broods with the magpie’s own nestlings, according to research led by Manuel Soler of the Universidad de Granada in Spain. The findings are published in Springer’s journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. Cuckoos often lay their eggs in the nests of magpies so that their chicks can be raised by the latter.

Very little is known about the relationships between foster parents and fledglings of brood parasites, whose offspring are incubated and raised by members of other species. 

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Cold spring causes a decline in corncrake numbers

Corncrakes had been recovering following decades of decline

Numbers of one of Scotland's rarest birds, the corncrake, have dramatically declined, according to RSPB Scotland.

The charity said the number of male birds counted had decreased by 23% from 1,260 in 2012 to 971 in 2013.

It said the cold spring had halted the growth of tall grasses which were essential to the species' habitat and for breeding.

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