After a final sighting in 1991, the Madagascar pochard was thought to have vanished for good. But this diving duck was rediscovered in 2006 when a flock of 22 individuals was found on Lake Matsaborimena in northern Madagascar by conservationists during an expedition. Soon after Madagascar pochard eggs were taken and incubated in a joint […]
Tag: birds
Sunspots
There’s been a marked decline in the number of sunspots over the past decade or so. That’s what NASA scientists say, and I have no reason to doubt their research findings. Luckily, I haven’t observed any reduction in the terrestrial version of this phenomenon. Hardly a day has passed lately when I’ve not been blinded […]
Saviours or villains: controversy erupts as New Zealand plans to drop poison over Critically Endangered frog habitat
New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) is facing a backlash over plans to aerially drop a controversial poison, known as 1080, over the habitat of two endangered, prehistoric, and truly bizarre frog species, Archey’s and Hochsetter’s frogs, on Mount Moehau. Used in New Zealand to kill populations of invasive mammals, such as rats and the […]
Costa Rica Update
My second tour complete, so naturally, lots of editing waiting on the hard drives. Both of the 2013 tours were very successful, wonderful guests, amazing nature to see and photograph. This most recent trip was exceptional as we were able to stand in a farmers field and watch Quetzals with their nest. A tree line […]
An insidious threat to tropical forests: over-hunting endangers tree species in Asia and Africa
A fruit falls to the floor in a rainforest. It waits. And waits. Inside the fruit is a seed, and like most seeds in tropical forests, this one needs an animal—a good-sized animal—to move it to a new place where it can germinate and grow. But it may be waiting in vain. Hunting and poaching […]
Proposed coal plant threatens Critically Endangered Philippine cockatoo
One kilometer off the Philippine island of Palawan lays the Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary; here forest grows unimpeded from a coral island surrounded by mangroves and coral reefs. Although tiny, over a hundred bird species have been recorded on the island along with a major population of large flying foxes, while in the waters below […]
Humans killed over 10 percent of the world’s bird species when they colonized the Pacific Islands
Around 4,000 years ago intrepid Polynesian seafarers made their way into an untamed wilderness: the far-flung Pacific Islands. Over a thousands or so years, they rowed from one island to another, stepping on shores never yet seen by humans. While this vast colonization brought about a new era of human history, it also ended the […]
For Easter: a baby horned screamer chick (photo)
A chick — typically a baby chicken — is a common symbol for Easter. Today we’re highlighting another type of chick: a young horned screamer from Eastern Colombia. The horned screamer (Anhima cornuta) is a large bird that lives in wetland areas of tropical South America. It is related to ducks, geese and swans and […]