By: Dan Gunderson,

Researchers for the state Department of Natural Resources have found evidence of petroleum compounds and the chemical used to clean up the oil in the eggs of pelicans nesting in Minnesota.

Scientists are looking for pollutants on a western Minnesota lake that is home to the largest colony of American white pelicans in North America. About 34,000 adult pelicans will raise about 17,000 chicks this year on islands in Marsh Lake. The area is a perfect place to look for oil spill effects. Most of the birds spend winters in the Gulf of Mexico, from Cuba to Texas. Young pelicans spend a full year on the gulf before they start breeding.

Pollutants inside the eggs could be a big problem, said Mark Clark, an ecologist at North Dakota State University who studies pelican eggs. Clark is helping DNR researchers look for oil-related contaminants. “Even if they’re present in small amounts they may have a large impact on the development (of pelican chicks),” he said.

Scientists are most concerned about polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons known to cause cancer and birth defects in animals. The other contaminant they’re testing for is Corexit, a dispersant used to break up oil slicks on the water that the Environmental Protection Agency says contains cancer-causing chemicals and endocrine-disrupting compounds. Endocrine disruptors can disrupt the hormone balance and affect embryo development.

Clark said very little research has been done on how petroleum affects developing bird embryos. Scientists don’t yet know how the effects might show up in newly hatched bird. But he said tiny amounts of specialized hormones guide the chicks development in the egg, so there’s a good chance adding pollutants to the eggs will increase the risk of damage to the embryos.

“Any contaminant that makes its way into the bird could be bad, but it could be especially bad if it gets into the egg because that’s where the developing embryo and chick starts,” Clark said. “And when things go wrong at that stage there’s usually no recovery.”

Petroleum compounds were present in 90 percent of the first batch of eggs tested. Nearly 80 percent of the eggs contained the chemical dispersant used in the gulf.

Source: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/231761/

Researcher Daniel Gustafsson has studied chewing lice on sandpipers around the world and investigated how host birds' migration patterns affect lice distribution and relatedness.

With no wings and very small eyes, chewing lice are, by and large, helpless away from their host.

Daniel Gustafsson has studied species of chewing lice that live on the birds' wings and compared them with species that live on their body feathers.

- Given that chewing lice are almost totally dependent on direct contact between two birds to spread, lice that sit on birds' wings should find it easier to use occasional contact between two hosts to spread than those that sit closer to birds' bodies, says Daniel Gustafsson.

Unexpected results

But contrary to expectation, it would appear that body lice can spread more easily than wing lice, even though they live on parts of their host that less frequently come into contact with other birds.

- This is surprising as body lice should be more limited to one particular species of bird," says Daniel Gustafsson. "The real opportunities for spreading should be between parents and their offspring in the nest, or between adult birds during pairing.

Genetic and morphological data from two different genera show complicated patterns.

- Wing lice from small bird host species are spread over more host species than those that live as parasites on larger bird host species, says Daniel Gustafsson.

Genetically almost identical

Another unexpected result is that the body lice on almost all sandpipers worldwide, with the exception of dunlins and ruffs, are genetically almost identical.

-Sandpipers are incredibly mobile, says Daniel Gustafsson. They breed around the North Pole but fly to the tropics during the Arctic winter, following specific migration routes known as flyways.

He has studied sandpipers in Sweden, Japan, Australia and Canada.

When sandpipers migrate they do so in enormous flocks, often tens of thousands strong and containing different species. These winter flocks should offer excellent opportunities for the lice to spread as the birds often stand in tight groups at high water and at night.

- But it would appear that several factors other than geography play a role, including the size of the host bird," explains Daniel Gustafsson.
Specific rest and wintering environments probably play a role too as some of the host birds that generally head for fresh water during the winter carry species of wing lice that differ from those that live on birds that head for the seashore.

Source: University of Gothenburg

 According to a Tuesday report in Yedioth Ahronoth, an investigation to that effect was launched in Ankara several days ago, after a farmer discovered a dead Merops Apiaster, commonly known as the European Bee-Eater, in his field. The bird had a ring reading "Israel" on one of its legs.

Bird-banding is a common practice in ornithology, meant to help scientists track bird migration routes. The band, however, was not the most damning piece of evidence against the bee-eater: Its nostrils were.

 The bird-beak in question reportedly sported "unusually large nostrils," which – combined with the identification ring – raised suspicions that the bird was "implanted with a surveillance device" and that it arrived in Turkey as part of an espionage mission.

The bird's remains were originally handed over to the Turkish Agriculture Ministry, which then turned them over to Ankara's security services.

News of the "spy bird" spread quickly within Turkey's ornithological community, and Israeli ornithologists soon got word of it as well. The Society for Protection of Nature in Israel was alerted and was able to confirm that the bird was banded about four years ago, as a matter of routine,

 Yoav Pearlman, of the Israeli Birdwatching Center, explained that Israel's north is home to a large bee-eater population, and that many more use Israel as a stop in their migration route, which includes Turkey, southern Europe and Russia.  "The Turkish authorities can rest easy – it's not a spy," Pearlman said.

 Israeli wildlife officials said that this was not the first time that Israeli birds landing in Arab countries as part of their migration were "detained" for alleged espionage. Such birds, they added, usually disappear.

In January of 2011, Saudi Arabia announced that it "detained" a vulture carrying an Israeli band.  The griffon vulture was carrying a GPS transmitter bearing the name of Tel Aviv University and was condemned for being a part of a "Zionist espionage plot."

Source:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4229295,00.html

It might get a little noisier at the Wadderin Sanctuary in Western Australia's Wheatbelt if the release program for the eerily squeaky-sounding Bush Stone-curlew birds is a success.

In a first for the species in WA, 12 of the birds bred at Perth Zoo and Caversham Wildlife Park will begin a new life in the wild.

It is only the third time Bush Stone-curlews have been released into the wild in Australia.

Four female and two male Bush Stone-curlews will be released, as well as six unsexed birds.

The birds, which are mostly nocturnal and let out an eerie wailing call at night, are aged between one and two years.

Perth Zoo director of animal health and research Peter Mawson said numbers had declined across southern Australia due to fox and cat predation and changes in land use.

"Surrounded by an 11km feral-proof fence, the 430ha sanctuary where the twelve birds will be released has been cleared of feral cats and foxes and is free from grazing by domestic stock," he said.

"This gives the birds and other animals room to thrive."

Wadderin Sanctuary is a water reserve aimed at re-establishing populations of the native species that once occurred in the region.

It is already home to several reintroduced native species including Red-tailed Phascogales, Woylies, Quendas, Brush-tailed Possums, Malleefowls and Western Brush Wallabies.

Dr Mawson said the Bush Stone-curlews would spend up to three weeks in a soft-release enclosure before being given access to the wider sanctuary.

He said the birds would be monitored with camera traps, sightings and recordings of their nocturnal calls to determine success of the release.

Perth Zoo has bred eight Bush Stone-curlews in the past two years and has plans to continue providing birds for release.

Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8468450/birds-bred-at-zoo-and-park-to-be-released

Monday, March 26, 2012

NEARLY one third of the bird species that lived in the eucalyptus forests near Weipa before mining started in the area have not returned to the rehabilitated areas because of habitat loss, new research shows.

Ecologist Dr Sue Gould said her research found that rehabilitation had established some vegetation at areas where bauxite had been mined, but it is not similar to the original eucalyptus forests that provided habitat for many bird species.

Palm cockatoos, pied imperial pigeons, brown treecreepers, varied sittellas, grey-crowned babblers and emus were some of the species not found at the rehabilitated sites, she said.

The findings are troubling because many of these birds species are in decline across Australia because of loss of habitat, she said.

"We’re removing the big old trees that they either need to nest in or to feed in," she said.

The tall, open eucalyptus forests that characterised the Weipa landscape before mining have been replaced with dense woodland that is dominated by wattles, she said.

"The mining company tells people it can restore the original forest, but the evidence so far shows that they can’t restore vegetation that’s the same as what was there before mining," she said."My research shows that rehabilitation should not be seen as an alternative to conservation."

Dr Gould assessed 30 rehabilitated former mine sites near Weipa, ranging in time from one year to 23 years since the rehabilitation process started.

"People need to understand that there are technical limitations to what rehabilitation can achieve after a major disturbance like mining," she said."Given the increasing pressure for mining development on Cape York Peninsula, there is an urgent need for conservation planning to ensure that ecosystems and species are adequately protected."

A spokesman for Rio Tinto/ Alcan said the company supported Dr Gould’s research at its rehabilitated mine sites near Weipa.

"We contribute funds towards work such as this as we are continually looking to improve environmental outcomes through research and monitoring," he said.

"By supporting such research, Weipa is able to incorporate those learnings to achieve better and better results."

Source: The Cairns Post

I've never seen them in town before but locals tell me it's not uncommon to do so after a big wind, and the day had begun with a mini-tornado striking a couple of suburbs.

I'm not sure what species they were and although I spent a few hours looking for them the next day, I haven't seen them again – just a matter of being in the right place at the right time to catch a glimspe of them at all.

The chirpy buzz of the golden-winged warbler’s song might not sound like a dirge, but it very nearly is one.

The population of this little, gray songbird with bright yellow patches on its wings and head has been in precipitous decline since 1966. And, as of yet, it remains unprotected by the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973.

It’s a dire situation for the warbler, and Ronald Canterbury wants people to know about it. 

Canterbury, associate academic director of biological sciences at the University of Cincinnati, has studied the golden-winged warbler for 25 years and last saw one living in Ohio – a place where the bird had been known to breed for at least a century – in 1998. The bird’s range once stretched from the southern Appalachians through the Northeast and Midwest and into southern Canada. Now the largest populations can only be found in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ontario, Canada; and smaller numbers still exist in the Appalachians.

“If you go to the watch lists, like Audubon or American Bird Conservancy, the golden-winged warbler is going to be in the top 5 and sometimes even the No. 1 bird of critical concern in its breeding range,” Canterbury says.

Canterbury has been studying golden-winged warbler habitats in southern West Virginia for more than 20 years and will have his research paper, “Assessment of Golden-winged Warbler Habitat Structure on Farmlands of southern West Virginia,” published in the upcoming issue of the prestigious quarterly birding journal, The Redstart.

Canterbury has found there are two main threats to the bird’s survival, one you’d expect and one that’s less obvious, but both involve encroachment on its special habitat requirements. The golden-winged warbler is an early successional species, meaning it thrives in areas near the forest edge with a mix of open ground, shrubs and sparse shade trees. It also prefers to live at high elevations. Many areas like this can be found along old coal mining roadways in the mountains of West Virginia.
 

The obvious threat to the golden-wing is man. Modern mining practices favor the mountaintop removal process, where a mountain summit is leveled with explosives to provide easier access to the underlying coal seam. This method destroys a lot of the old mining and logging roads where the warblers lived, leaving a barren plateau.

The other threat is a sister species to the golden-winged warbler – the blue-winged warbler. This bird is similar to the golden-wing in appearance but with different facial markings, a more yellow body and bluish-gray patches on its wings. Blue-wings typically prefer lower elevations but have been spreading up mountainsides and competing with golden-wings, as both birds are naturally territorial.

Key to saving the bird is quantifying how many are left, and finding the remaining critical habitats – places where it is likely to flourish – and preserving them. That’s where Canterbury is concentrating his efforts. He’s been trapping birds in West Virginia, tagging them and tracking their behavior. From what he’s seen, he believes the golden-winged warbler can be saved but time is running out.

“The human population is increasing by the second,” Canterbury says. “The more people there are on Earth, the less there’s going to be available for other wildlife and other organisms. Suburban sprawl is consuming a lot of wildlife habitats, and the golden-winged warbler apparently does not do well in fragmented landscapes.”

Source:University of Cincinnati

Scientists from PRBO Conservation Science and the Department of Fish and Game have completed an innovative study on the effects of climate change on bird species of greatest concern. This first-of-its-kind study prioritizes which species are most at risk and will help guide conservation measures in California. The study was published this week in the journal PLoS ONE.

 “What’s most exciting about the study is that our unique approach is one that other scientists and resource managers can duplicate to help them conserve wildlife in the face of climate change,” said PRBO Ecologist Tom Gardali, the study’s lead author. “Not only does our study look at which birds will be most at risk given a changed climate, it also evaluates how climate change, piled on top of all the existing threats such as development and invasive species, will affect birds.  This gives a more comprehensive picture, and provides the information necessary to help allocate scarce dollars for conservation.”   

Photo supplied

The study combines existing stressors such as habitat loss and degradation with the vulnerability of California’s bird species to projected climate change impacts to produce a prioritized list of at-risk species for conservation action. The research shows that nearly 130 species of birds are vulnerable to the predicted effects of climate change and that 21 of the state’s 29 threatened and endangered bird species (72 percent) will be further impacted by climate change, increasing their risk of extinction.

“Lists of at-risk species like ours are simply a first step. Now conservationists and resource managers need to use the list and other resources to identify how best to spend limited conservation dollars to benefit birds, other wildlife and human communities,” noted Dr. Nat Seavy, study co-author and PRBO scientist.

The study also found that wetland species are more vulnerable than other groups of birds because they are specialized on habitats that will be threatened by sea level rise and changes in precipitation. The most vulnerable wetland birds include the California black rail, California and Yuma clapper rails and three species of song sparrow found only in the tidal marshes of San Francisco Bay. Species that make a living at sea or near-shore waters and that nest on islands or rocky shores are also highly vulnerable. These species include the Cassin’s auklet, common murre, black oystercatcher and the iconic white and brown pelicans.

“By using this information to prioritize and implement conservation actions now, managers can help to reduce negative impacts of climate change,” said DFG Chief Deputy Director Kevin Hunting. “This research is yet another example of how the DFG and partners like PRBO are actively addressing climate change, engaging in adaptation planning, and taking important steps towards safeguarding fish, wildlife, and habitats across the state for future generations to enjoy.”

The complete list of species and the climate vulnerability scores are available online through the California Avian Data Center (http://data.prbo.org/apps/bssc/index.php?page=climate-change-vulnerability).

Source: PRBO Conservation Science

In its latest attempt to save the imperiled owl, the Department of the Interior plan would designate habitat considered critical in Washington, Oregon and California. It would allow logging in the areas to reduce the risk of forest fires and to create jobs.

The spotted owl has seen its numbers decline about 40 percent in 25 years. The greatest threats to the species are habitat loss and competition from barred owls, which are extending their range westward from the eastern half of the United States and Canada.

The draft plan is "a science-based approach to forestry that restores the health of our lands and wildlife and supports jobs and revenue for local communities," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement this week.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering "combinations of both lethal and non-lethal" methods to remove the barred owl, the statement said. They include capturing and relocating them or placing them in permanent captivity.

The spotted owl was designated as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1990. The move led to logging cutbacks on national forests and other federal lands in western Washington, Oregon and California.

Salazar's announcement was accompanied by a presidential memorandum that calls on the Department of the Interior to direct forest industries on how logging can be carried out in habitat areas, while at the same time preserving the largest possible areas from loggers.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is under a court order to redesignate critical habitat by November 15. The public comment period lasts for 90 days.

The Washington Forest Protection Association, an industry group, said it backed the Service's taking seriously the impact of the barred owl on the spotted owl's survival and the need for hands-on forest management. But the current proposal would take 1.27 million acres of forest out of production, representing more than 15,000 jobs across the three states, the association said in a statement.

"With the presence of the barred owl, scientists say that setting aside even more land will do little to help the spotted owl thrive, and may make matters worse by making even more room for the barred owl to flourish," said Mark Doumit, the association's executive director.

(Reporting By Ian Simpson)

Endangered whooping cranes that typically fly 2,500 miles from Canada to the Texas coast have been leaving their winter homes early or not even making it all the way south.

Bird counts have been lower overall in Central Texas, but more species have been seen as birds that usually spend their winters near the coast or in West Texas have relocated here for habitats with more food, a bird specialist said. For example, nine whooping cranes were spotted in Williamson County's Granger Lake for much of the winter.

Scientists have noticed these and other examples of bizarre bird migrations — a result, they believe, of flocks becoming desperate for food and habitat becoming increasingly scarce because of the drought in Texas. The unusually mild winter in the Northeast and Midwest has even convinced some birds that they could stay put, fly shorter distances or turn back north earlier than normal.

"We have birds scattered all over the place looking for habitat right now," said Richard Kostecke, a bird expert and associate director of conservation, research and planning at the Nature Conservancy in Texas.

The drought — the worst one-year dry spell recorded in Texas history — parched thousands of acres of wetlands along the coast, a habitat that is normally rich with fish, seafood, berries and insects.

For the Gulf Coast's whooping cranes, skinnier rivers have been pouring less freshwater into bays and estuaries, hurting the habitat for one of the cranes' main food sources, blue crabs. With less food to sustain the roughly 300 cranes, many turned back, leading to counts of about two-thirds the normal total.

"The number of species on a lot of counts (in Central Texas) was higher than usual. In some cases they were record counts," Kostecke said. "A lot of that was due to (poor) habitat conditions (in West Texas). A lot of birds wandered into" better habitats in Central Texas and farther east.

Species that don't normally get past the Edwards Plateau were spotted farther east in the Austin area and even as far east as Houston, including sage thrashers and the green-tailed towhee, Kostecke said.

The concerns go beyond a few lost flocks. Migratory birds often use the winter months to rest, eat and gain energy for the long journey back to their nesting grounds, so biologists can only guess at the effects of this season's peculiar movements.

"Where the longer-term repercussions come in — and this remains to be seen — is, because habitat conditions were so bad, it could have an impact on how many birds survive the winter," Kostecke said.

Lucky for the birds, they can fly.

"God gave birds wings for a reason: to pick up and find what they need," said Dave Morrison, the small game director at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "Just because the birds "have not parked in the place people are accustomed to this year, doesn't mean they aren't going to come back there," Morrison said.

Staff writer Farzad Mashhood and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.statesman.com/news/local/drought-disrupts-birds-migration-habits-2210854.html