April 9, 2016 - VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES - Two dozen dead birds, believed to be European starlings, were found Friday along a road in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County.
No cause could be determined for the deaths of the birds found near Avion Parkway and Lee Jackson Memorial Highway.
Nothing suggested that the deaths were the result of malice, but the
birds appear to be among the most unwelcome of creatures, often because
of the wastes they leave in trees and on buildings.
Although large numbers of dead starlings are found throughout the area
from time to time, starlings represent a story of startling
multiplicative power.
Sixty were introduced to this country in 1890,
and, by 2000, their number was more than 200 million. The deaths will be
investigated. - Washington Post.
April 9, 2016 - BANGLADESH - Roughly 5,000 birds of different species were killed as a nor'wester
wreaked havoc at Tirerhat village in Jessore Sadar upazila on Wednesday
night.
Locals said they found around 5,000 birds, including Doel, Shalik,
Masranga, Bulbuli and Ghughu, lying dead at different places of the
village after the storm on Thursday morning, according to a news agency
report.
Later, they buried the dead birds at the village.
Dr. Saibur Rahman Mollah, dean of the Environmental Science Faculty of
Jessore University of Science and Technology, said the death of such a
large number of birds will certainly have a bad impact on the
biodiversity of the area. - Financial Express.
Pick-up van: A religious
festival went awry when an elephant began picking up vehicles and
smashing them. Devidasan was
taking part in a festival at the Bhagavathi
Temple in Kerala on Thursday
February 27, 2016 - EARTH - The following constitutes the latest reports of animal attacks on humans.
Indian elephant goes on the rampage during holy festival smashing vehicles in its path
A religious festival went awry when an elephant began picking up vehicles and smashing them.
The great creature, named Devidasan, was taking part in a festival at
the Bhagavathi Temple in the south Indian state of Kerala on Thursday.
However he proved to be at the end of the tether when he started destroying vehicles in his path.
He picked up a motorbike with his trunk before proving his herculean
strength by grabbing an auto-rickshaw as though it were a toy and
smashing it on the ground.
Violent: However he proved to be at the end of the tether when he started destroying vehicles in his path including a motorbike
Powerful: The elephant proved
his herculean strength by grabbing an auto-rickshaw as though it were a
toy and smashing it on the ground
Devidasan then turned his violence on a nearby pick-up van, throwing it
into the air three times before overturning it on its side.
Two mahouts (people who work with elephants) were on the back of the animal throughout the ordeal trying to control him.It took several hours to finally bring the beast under control.
Nobody was injured.
WATCH: Elephant goes on a rampage in India.
The Bhagavathi Temple is one of the most ancient temples in India as well as one of the richest.
A four day festival is held there every year around January-February time.
The Thalappoli festival features a big music-filled procession headed by richly caparisoned elephants such as Devidasan. - Daily Mail.
Belligerent bird brings traffic chaos to Prague
Rush-hour tailbacks are frustrating for motorists at the best of times,
so when a stubborn swan decided to hold up traffic on a Prague bridge,
you can imagine that commuters got pretty narky.
Local police arrived on the scene where the graceful bird had
decided to park itself – right in the middle of the road, stopping
oncoming cars in their tracks and causing significant delays.
WATCH: Swan disrupts traffic in Prague, refuses to move.
However, law enforcement officers appeared to be making an even bigger production of things than the swan itself, as a video shows them furiously taking notes while apparently conferring about the best course of action.
There was also a police car and van on hand for backup.
All the while, the snooty swan remained defiant and unmoved, not in the least bit intimidated by the prospect of the parking ticket imminently coming its way.
When it comes to traffic disruption, swans have style. This one put on a decent show while blocking cars on Samuel Beckett Bridge in Dublin.
WATCH: Swan holds up traffic on the Samuel Beckett Bridge.
Yet these avian menaces couldn’t quite capture our hearts in the same way as a sloth in Ecuador that recently became a social media star after being snapped clinging to a crash barrier in the middle of a highway. - RT.
Pony dressed up as mythical unicorn leads California Highway Patrol officers on a nearly four-hour chase outside of Fresno
It was like a crossover between ‘Once Upon a Time’ and ‘Cops’ after a unicorn escaped ‒ twice ‒ from a fairy-tale photo shoot. A horned pony led California Highway Patrol officers on a nearly four-hour chase outside of Fresno. Juliet, a regular old Shetland pony, was dressed up as the mythical forest creature during a children’s photo shoot in Madera Ranchos, when she got fed up and busted loose Thursday afternoon.
The 500 or 600-lbs. grey darted away from her child handler around 2:30 pm, but was quickly recaptured.
Juliet wasn’t ready to finish her romp around town, however, escaping from another kid three hours later. This time, she wasn’t so easy to catch, running out “onto the roadways,” Madera CHP spokesman Officer Joshua McConnell told KTVU.
Police were alerted by drivers calling about a "unicorn-like" creature galloping down the road.
"Initially [the dispatcher] thought it might be somebody out there on drugs, seeing things," McConnell told the Los Angeles Times. "It was a little unreal to hear calls of a unicorn running around on the roadway."
Juliet hoofed it through town in her horn and pink bridle.
“She went through 13 orchards and five miles,” Sandra Boos, the photographer who owns Juliet, told BuzzFeed. “It was crazy. The sun started going down and it started getting dark.”
Because of the pony’s white coloring, Boos was worried for the equine’s safety, and called the highway patrol.
“She’s all white and she’s small which made finding her difficult,” Boos said. “The highway patrol called in a helicopter and they actually used infrared heat to find her.”
Juliet was “finally located in an orchard by the CHP H40 helicopter, using the heat seeking FLIR radar," McConnell told KTVU.
The community came together to help rescue the wayward unicorn.
“We had people stopping traffic,” Boos said. “And people came out from a horse rescue.”
After her friend Renee helped corral Juliet, a highway patrolman radioed, “Please be advised the unicorn is in custody,” Boos said.
She has owned the frisky pony ‒ a gift to her 5-year old daughter Tatum ‒ for about a year.
The unicorn-induced mayhem had its scary moments.
"No injuries were reported but there were several near-misses [by cars]. The pony was just lucky. It was returned to its owner unharmed and was secured. No citations were issued in this case, but had the pony been hit by a car ‒ it would have been a different story. The business or owner providing the pony would have been financially liable for all injuries, property damages and other costs, which could have been significant," McConnell said.
"Children should not be tasked with restraining any animal near roadways, especially the large ones," he added.While Tatum was happy to hear that Juliet was found safely, it turns out that the “naughty unicorn” was really just the devil in disguise. - RT.
January 17, 2016 - IDAHO, UNITED STATES - With a group of 20 small birds attacking the seeds on the birch trees at
Beaver Dick Park, seeds littered the snow turning it into a tan brown
carpet.
"Common Redpolls," I thought as I got out of the truck for a closer
look. They moved a little higher in the trees, but did not stop their
eatingin the bitter cold of a minus 12 degrees.
This winter is the first time I had seen flocks of them since the winter
of 2012-2013 when they invaded most birch trees in the Upper Snake
River Valley. While following big game migrations from the mountains two
weeks ago, I found a small flock on the desert, north of the St.
Anthony Sand Dunes. They have also been recorded in Ashton and on the
Rexburg and Howe Christmas Bird Counts. In the last few days they have
been visiting my backyard to feed on Niger seeds.
Common Redpolls are an Arctic breeding bird with most of their
summer range above the Arctic Circle. They are not migratory, but are
one of the irruption species, meaning they move to find food. At
times they will join mixed flocks of other finches in their movements
and are usually seen with American Goldfinch and Pine Siskins. Their irruptions usually coincide with a successful breeding season followed by winter food storage in Canada and Alaska.
Redpolls
Redpoll
When birch and alder trees fail to produce large amounts of catkins for
the redpolls' winter food they head south in large numbers. Three years
ago flocks from 30 to 100 were observed along the highways of
southeastern Idaho. Most observed redpolls are singles or small groups
mixed with other wintering finches.
Redpolls have several interesting habits and adaptations. One is they
have a sac inside their throat area where they store seeds. During the
winter they may knock seeds off plants, swoop down, store the food in
these sacs, then fly to a more secluded area to shell and eat seeds. On
windswept stubble fields, they may forage in waves of large flocks
across the fields.
Another interesting habit for them is during cold weather they will fly
from a high tree diving into the deep snow. They will then create a snow
tunnel about a foot long as a roosting chamber. This allows the snow to
act as insulation against the cold. Ruffed Grouse and Boy Scouts use
these same techniques - though Boy Scouts shouldn't dive into the snow
but dig snow caves. - East Idaho News.
May 04, 2014 - NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA- Birdwatchers in Torbay had a treat this week when a rare Ross's Gull was
spotted. Bird expert Bill Montevecchi says the seagull is recognizable
for its pink colour, making it perhaps the flashiest gull on the water.
Montevecchi says the bird, along with many European golden plovers, have
made it here because they have been blown off-course by strong northerly and northeasterly winds.
Ross's Gull at Torbay, Avalon Peninsula, NewfoundlandBruce Mactavish
He says birders looking for rarities are watching the weather. He says
these winds are the most interesting because that's how European birds
wind up here.
Montevecchi says for birds blown off course, Newfoundland is a welcome rest for them before they get back on their way.
He says a lot of the birds probably don't make it, and perish in the
ocean. But for the ones who do, they get a chance to refuel. He says
they most likely do get back on track after they rest. - VOCM.
April 10, 2013 - TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) was yesterday investigating the cause of death of almost 190 vultures, locally known as corbeaux, at the Second Infantry Battalion Heliport, Chaguaramas.
EMA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Joth Singh, told Newsday the organisation received reports of scores of corbeaux dropping out of the sky at about 7 am. The initial count was 140 dead, with 50 dying on the ground.
A Ministry of Health official wears protective gear as he carries a dying corbeaux past several others that are dead or dying at the Chaguaramas heliport yesterday. The birds began literally falling from the skies in mysterious circumstances. PHOTO: ABRAHAM DIAZ
As the birds fell from great heights, some burst open, while others were able to glide weakly to the ground. Liquid could also be seen dripping out of the beaks of the sick birds. And, while some of them were too weak to move, others fed on their dead.
“We have been working in the area doing investigations. The EMA’s main purpose was to determine whether any environmental factors, such as toxic gases or chemicals released in the area, were involved in the deaths. However none were identified,” stated Singh.
He said the EMA called the Ministry of Health and the Poultry Surveillance Unit, who both collected additional samples of the dead and dying birds for further investigations into whether or not it was a biological issue. “The Poultry Surveillance Unit was looking for biological causes. A number of preliminary tests were carried out but they did not reveal avian influenza so they are trying to identify the cause through elimination,” he said.
Instead, Singh said they were working with the theory that the birds fed off an animal that had been laced with poison. The organisations were continuing the investigation as there was no confirmation on the cause of death.
However, Singh expressed concern about the disposal of the carcasses. He said if they were not buried, the problem would be perpetuated as other corbeaux fed on the dead birds. He said they were working with the Chaguaramas Development Authority to find a suitable location where they can be buried. - Newsday.
January 16, 2013 - NEPAL - Bird flu (H5N1) has been confirmed at least four places in Pokhara, the sub-metropolitan city on Tuesday.
Belongings being removed from a Cowseghari‚ Pokhara based chicken farm owned by a cooperative after the confirmation of Bird Flu (H5N1) on Wednesday January 16‚ 2013. Bharat Koirala.
All the chicken, used materials in the farms of all four places have been destroyed during this evening after the Bird Flu confirmation.
Regional Director at the Western Regional Animal Health Directorate Dr. Bamsi Sharma said that the officials from the directorate culled over 2200 chickens, destroyed their wastes, grains and medicines from five sheds of all four Bird Flu hit farms.
All the culled chicken, destroyed grains, their waste and medicines have been buried and all confirmed sites have been put under surveillance.
Dr. Sharma informed that the farmers were asked not to run any poultry farms in Bird Flu hit sites for at least another two months.
According to Sharma, further decision of letting farms run or not would be made after two months. - The Himalayan Times.
A rare duck normally only seen in Asia has somehow turned up in California, drawing excited bird watchers from all over the U.S. and Canada to a wildlife refuge in the state's Central Valley.
Wildlife officials say a male falcated duck, a bird common in China, was first spotted at the refuge on Dec. 8. Since then, thousands of birders have observed it paddling among mallards, pintails and geese, said Lora Haller, who works at the Colusa Wildlife Refuge's visitor center. More than 2,000 cars packed with visitors have streamed into the refuge over the last month — double the usual visitor numbers. "It's very exciting," she said. "It's extremely rare to see this kind of duck in California."
Most falcated ducks breed and live in China, and smaller populations live in Japan, North Korea and South Korea. The ducks can also sometimes be found in Alaska's Aleutian Islands, Haller said. The celebrity bird has a silvery plumage with iridescent green and bronze on its head. "Falcated" or "curved and tapering to a point" refers to the male duck's long wing feathers near the body that overhang onto the tail. There have only been a few previous sightings in California: One was spotted in Orange County in 1969 and one in Lassen County in the far northern part of the state in 2002 and 2003.
It's not known whether the rare duck somehow made it to California from Asia or has escaped from a private collection or zoo, Haller said. But the bird appears to be wild and isn't used to people, she said. Wildlife officials say the bird has been spotted nearly every day. It likes to swim in a pond near the refuge's viewing platform. The bird's presence, Haller said, is a rare occasion for birders, who keep "life lists" of the birds they hope to see or have seen in their lifetime. Bird watchers swarm the platform all day, awaiting the bird's arrival, she said. The refuge, one of several that make up the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex, is about 120 miles northeast of San Francisco. - Yahoo.
Botulism is the likely killer of hundreds of birds and fish found washed up on the shores of Georgian Bay from Collingwood all the way to Parry Sound, says the Ministry of Natural Resources.
“The cause of the die-off is unknown,” the ministry stated in a press release, “but botulism is typically the cause of this type of occurrence.” The first reported die-off came Aug. 22 in southeastern Georgian Bay, when the ministry was notified of the unexplained deaths of eight lake sturgeons and one carp. Sporadic reports were received in the following weeks, but the number and distribution increased recently. Wasaga Beach Provincial Park staff have disposed of about 120 dead sturgeons to date. Dead channel catfish, freshwater drum, carp, lake whitefish and one largemouth bass have also been reported.
Dead waterfowl have included loons, mallards, grebes, terns, mergansers, gulls, cormorants and Canada geese. In total, more than 300 dead birds have been reported. A sturgeon and a grebe were sent for analysis. Although botulism could not be ruled out, the results were inconclusive. Additional samples were sent for analysis on Oct. 6. Results are still pending. Botulism is a serious neuromuscular illness caused by a toxin that is produced by the bacterium clostridium botulinum. The threat to humans is minimal, although dead birds and fish should not be eaten. - Simcoe.
