Sea Birds

August, 2009

• 19 August

  Interior Department Denies Endangered Species Act Protection to Imperiled California Seabird Ashy Storm Petrel Threatened by Climate Change, Pollution, Predation

  

  The Department of the Interior today denied protection for the ashy storm petrel, an imperiled California seabird, under the Endangered Species Act. The Department acknowledged that this seabird faces threats from multiple sources, but contends that broad-ranging impacts from predators, light pollution, oil pollution, and climate change, including lower ocean …
• 9 August

  Seabirds Could Be Wiped Out, Says RSPB

  

  The UK”s seabird population could be all but wiped out unless new marine legislation is toughened up, according to the RSPB. 600,000 birds have died in the last decade and some breeds have vanished from our coasts, the charity said. The plummeting numbers are the most dramatic evidence of climate …

July, 2009

• 15 July

  Blue penguins hit by cars on coastal Wellington roads

  

  Drivers are being urged to slow down on coastal Wellington roads because of deaths among the blue penguin population. About 600 nesting pairs of blue penguins exist and while the species is not endangered, it is in decline. The Department of Conservation says three of the penguins, the smallest in …
• 7 July

  Driver plows through protected birds near Astoria

  

  For the second time in a week, a driver has deliberately driver over protected sea birds, this time, on Sunset Beach area by Fort Stevens State Park. On June 26, a driver plowed through birds in Ocean Park, on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula north of Astoria, killing 34.
• 2 July

  Volunteers needed to save rare birds

  

  Simoneau helps to watch over a Black Skimmers colony on Indian Shores. Black Skimmers are birds of a species of special concern –birds whose populations are dwindling. “We have about over 300 adults and about 100 chicks on the beach,” Simoneau said. “They are roped off by the St. Pete …

June, 2009

• 18 June

  Feds say protection for rare seabird should stay

  

  The marbled murrelet in Washington, Oregon and California should remain protected as a threatened species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday. The agency finished its five-year status review of the small seabird that nests in old-growth timber. Federal biologists found that the birds in the three states are …
• 11 June

  Bird numbers decline ‘worrying’

  

  Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) said the major cause was almost certainly a shortage of food due to a drop in the number of small fish, such as sandeels. SNH said the fish were probably being affected by rising sea temperatures. Declines have been greater in areas such as the Northern …
• 2 June

  Fire ‘severely damaged’ habitat

  

  The blaze at Dunnet Head, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), in April was thought to have been caused by moor burning getting out of control. Scottish Natural Heritage has now assessed the damage, and said it could take years for the habitat to recover. A police inquiry is …

May, 2009

• 24 May

  More than half of the world’s threatened birds are threatened by invasive species

  

  Invasive alien species are affecting native wildlife in almost every corner of the Earth. “An unwanted by-product of globalization, non-native species are harming ecosystem services, livelihoods and economies throughout the world”, said Ban Ki-moon – United Nations Secretary-General.
• 21 May

  African penguin numbers in sharp decline: scientists

  

  African penguins are disappearing at an alarming rate, as commercial fishing decimates food stocks and global warming affects breeding patterns, experts said Wednesday. “Last year there were only about 26,000 pairs of African Penguins left in southern Africa (this represents their global population) — a decline of about 121,000 breeding …
• 19 May

  The birds are dying, and no one knows why

  

  Chilean scientists are investigating three mysterious ecological disasters that have caused the deaths of hundreds of penguins, millions of sardines and about 2,000 baby flamingos in the past few months. The events started to unfold in March, when the remains of about 1,200 penguins were found on a remote beach …
• 13 May

  Seabird numbers drop alarmingly in Iceland

  

  The stock of common cliff-nesting seabirds in Iceland has dropped by 20 to 40 percent in the last two decades. The five most numerous species (except the puffin) were counted on bird cliffs in 2005-2008. The census was a rerun of a similar count in 1983-86. When the results were …