Ocean Sentry
(From publicbroadcasting.net)- A few months ago, scientists in St. Louis and the Galapagos Islands discovered a parasite in the island”s penguins. Researchers are concerned because the parasite causes avian malaria, a disease that lead to the extinction of half the population of endemic birds in Hawaii. KWMU”s science reporter Julie …
September, 2008
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13 September
British birdwatchers risk hunters to stop avian slaughter
(From telegraph.co.uk)- British birdwatchers are fanning out across Malta this weekend armed only with binoculars and video cameras to try to stop the annual slaughter of thousands of migratory birds by shotgun-wielding hunters. Volunteers were ready before dawn on Saturday for the start of a two-week operation to disrupt the …
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11 September
Up to 300 birds die in Canada oil spill
(From ap.google.com) Calgary, Alberta- Up to 300 ducks and other birds died when they flew on to a pool of oil that leaked from an idle well in Alberta, Canadian wildlife officials said Wednesday. The deaths came just months after a similar incident dented the public image of Alberta”s oil …
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10 September
‘Junk food hypothesis’ explains bird decline in the Baltic Sea
(From iar.org.uk)- New research has suggested that a superabundance of food could explain why one species of Baltic bird is struggling to survive. They explained that the young of the species are fed herring-like fish called sprat. Since the 1990s, these sprats have become unusually abundant because of a decline …
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9 September
Penguins marching toward Endangered Species Act Protection
(From biologicaldiversity.org) San Francisco- A federal judge today approved a settlement between the Center for Biological Diversity and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the fate of 10 penguin species imperiled by global warming. Under the settlement, the Service must by December 19th complete its overdue finding on whether …
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7 September
186 illegal hunting reports in four days
(From timesofmalta.com) Malta- Birdlife called upon the government and the police to take “immediate action” after the ornithological organisation recorded 186 incidences of illegal hunting in the first four days of the hunting season. “On Monday, I observed two hunters shooting within the Salina bird sanctuary at 5.30 p.m. If …
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5 September
African penguins latest victims of rough and stormy weather
(From theherald.co.za)- The latest victims of this week‘s enormous seas, eight African penguins with broken feet, were rescued yesterday from Bird Island. Addo Elephant National Park section ranger Guy Padayachee, whose jurisdiction includes Bird Island, said the birds had probably been trying to scramble out the water when they were …
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3 September
Scientists axed in battle of flamingo dam
(From birdlife.org)- Three high-ranking scientists face disciplinary action and the loss of their jobs because of their work to save rare lesser flamingos in South Africa. All three were employed by the Northern Cape provincial government which has suspended them after discovering their links to a campaign to save Kamfers …
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3 September
Cruel attack on pelicans
(From narooma.yourguide.com.au)- Four members of the Australian Seabird Rescue (ASR) South Coast treated 10 injured pelicans in Bermagui last week. Eyewitnesses to the cruelty reported children male and female between the ages of eight and 16 attacking pelicans at the boat ramps in Bermagui. The youths were seen throwing rocks …
August, 2008
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30 August
Protected birds ‘gunned down’
(From timesofmalta.com)- BirdLife Malta said today that illegal hunting on protected birds was on the increase again, even before the hunting season opens on Monday. Last week, BirdLife Malta received a Cory’s Shearwater (picture), a Little Egret and a Purple Heron , all with severe gunshot injuries. A dead juvenile …
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29 August
New Life in the Arctic
(From russia-ic.com)- Members of scientific expedition “Arctic 2008” discovered a large colony of rare bird species – ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) – on the Geiberg Islands, located in the Kara sea. Ivory gull is a rare and poorly studied bird species, dwelling only on the Arctic islands. The gull is …
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29 August
Oil slick kills more than 200 penguins in Brazil
(From ap.google.com) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil- More than 200 oil-slicked penguins have washed up dead on the beaches of a popular Brazilian resort, and officials say they are searching for a cause. Authorities said they have counted nearly 200 dead penguins found on the beaches of the island city of …