Ocean Sentry
(From scoop.co.nz)- Monitoring shows even careful visitors to nest sites cause a doubling of the penguin’s heart rate with the birds needing up to half an hour to recover. As a result of disturbance, the birds are more likely to abandon their nests and chick feeding may be disrupted, leading …
August, 2008
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14 August
Sea Eagles fly in for an east coast return
(From edinburghnews.scotsman.com)- Four sea eagles have been released into the wild as part of a programme to bring the birds back to Scotland”s east coast. Sea eagles were common in this part of the world before Victorian persecution hunted them to extinction. It is expected that about 75 per cent …
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13 August
Murray Sea Plan Threatens Birdlife
(From abc.net.au)- The Wilderness Society says a birdlife survey in the lower Murray region highlights what will be lost if the lower lakes are cut off from the river and flooded with sea water. About 40 species, or 250,000 birds, are evident despite environmental decline. But if we are to …
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12 August
African Penguins May Be Extinct Soon
(From thetimes.co.za)- African penguins caught in the recent oil spills off the Cape Town coast have more to worry about, they might be extinct within 16 years. Venessa Strauss, chief executive of the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, said this scientific prediction was based on current …
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9 August
Oamaru Penguins Under Threat
(From tvnz.co.nz) New Zealand- Conservationists in north Otago fear coastal erosion is destroying an important penguin nesting site, and they say the situation is not being helped by a fence put up by the local council. Angry seas are gobbling up a delicate coastline and for the Oamaru Creek Little …
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9 August
Fears For Future of Bird Sanctuary
(From scarborougheveningnews.co.uk)- Officials at Royal Society for the Protection of Birds” Bempton Cliffs nature reserve have voiced fear for the future of their famous puffin colony. The news of the fall in numbers comes just days after the National Trust announced numbers at the colony on the Farne Islands, off …
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8 August
Breeding Shags Hit By Parasites
(From news.bbc.co.uk)- Parasites found in the stomachs of North Sea birds on the Isle of May are reducing their ability to breed, Edinburgh biologists have found. A study by the city”s university discovered parasites in the stomachs of European shags were preventing mothers feeding their sons enough nutrients. As a …
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7 August
Success in Attempt to Protect Terns
(From eveningnews24.co.uk)- RSPB wardens and volunteers are celebrating the success of their latest painstaking efforts to protect Yarmouth”s most loyal VIP visitors. Since little terns – one of Britain”s rarest seabirds – arrived on North Denes beach in May, wardens have mounted a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week protection operation, running to more …
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6 August
Local Pelicans Injured by Fishing Lines
(From abclocal.go.com) Capitola, CA – The Capitola Wharf is closed to fishing after a wave of pelican injuries. All human fishermen and women were kicked off the Capitola Wharf, at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning to keep the pelicans safe. Several pelicans were bloodied and maimed after getting caught up …
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6 August
‘Net Losses’ for South African Seabirds
(From birdlife.org)- A study of trawl fishing in South Africa suggests that around 18,000 seabirds may be killed annually in this fishery, highlighting trawl fisheries as a major threat to seabirds, especially several species of albatross already facing a risk of extinction. The vessels were trawling for hake, and the …
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6 August
Endangered Pelicans Thrive, Hitting 40-year Peak
(From marinij.com)- The endangered brown pelican, which faced extinction in California 50 years ago, is returning in record numbers to the Farallon Islands, according to the Point Reyes Bird Observatory. The bird observatory – now known as PRBO Conservation Science- has been monitoring wildlife on the islands since 1968, when …
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2 August
Bird Rehab Gives Young Pelicans a Second Chance
(From latimes.com)- They were among about 130 juvenile pelicans discovered, emaciated and ill, in the last two months in a variety of unexpected places from Long Beach to Santa Barbara — in backyards, condominium complexes and shopping mall parking lots. “A lot of these birds are basically starving to death,” …