Researchers at Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama, who have been conducting a two year study focusing on the diets of Tiger Sharks in the Gulf of Mexico, have made a surprising discovery: not only are the sharks feeding on fish and other marine organisms, they are also feeding on land-based birds, such as woodpeckers, […]
Legal Problem Grounds a Bird Migration
Birds and planes don’t mix, as was demonstrated strikingly three years ago when Canada geese were sucked into both engines of a USAir flight from LaGuardia, forcing the plane into the Hudson River. But it turns out that a more benign interaction, using ultralight planes to teach endangered whooping cranes their migration route, has its […]
Birding in Saudi Arabia – Challenges
Birding in Saudi Arabia is a relatively challenging task for a number of reasons but the main one is probably not the one you are expecting. Saudi Arabia has a relatively poor press in Western countries as well as elsewhere in the world and this press makes the country out to be a dangerous place […]
Some who welcome the drought in Oklahoma
Mornings dawn bright in Oklahoma, and one of my favorite places to revel in the awakening landscape is Lake Carl Blackwell, west of Stillwater. In addition to the reservoir itself, the park’s mix of forest, shrub woodlands, and native prairie provides great opportunities for birding and other wildlife viewing. I took advantage of all of […]
Responding to a Proposed Eagle Take Permit
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering an application from West Butte Wind Power LLC for a permit under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The permit would allow for the incidental take of a limited number of Golden Eagles at their proposed facility in central Oregon. This application is the first […]
Pneumonia Outbreak Endangers Markhor
If they didn’t have enough to worry about from dodging poachers, snow leopards, and landslides in Central Asia’s rugged mountains, a population of endangered markhor—a majestic wild goat species—has contracted pneumonia, detected for the first time by the Wildlife Conservation Society and partners in Tajikistan and France. Markhor are known for their impressive corkscrew horns […]
Climate changing outlook for harp seals
Warming oceans and melting sea ice may have a major impact on harp seals, the doe-eyed animals that are the prime target for Canada’s annual seal hunt. Researchers from Duke University in the US found that sea ice in the seals’ breeding grounds has shrunk by about 6% per decade over the last 30 years.In […]
Community service for former gamekeeper who poisoned four buzzards
A 45 year old man, has been ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service after admitting to poisoning four buzzards. Today at Lanark Sheriff Court, David Alexander Whitefield was sentenced for killing the protected birds of prey whilst working as a gamekeeper at the Culter Allers Estate in South Lanarkshire in 2009. On […]