22 April 2011
Two choughs which arrived in Cornwall 10 years ago are being guarded around the clock by the RSPB and volunteers to protect their eggs.
The RSPB said the female had been seen sitting on a clutch of eggs in the nest in a cave at Lizard Point.
It is hoped the pair will be more successful than in 2010 when all four of their young died.
If the birds are successfully hatched and reared, the chicks are expected to fly off in early June.
The chough, a rare member of the crow family, has distinctive red legs and a long red bill.
There were more than 100 pairs in the county but the bird vanished after its food source dried up because of a decline in cliff-top grazing and the use of pesticides.
It eventually disappeared from the county in 1973, before returning to Cornwall in 2001.
In 2010, four eggs from the Lizard Point pair hatched but none of the fledglings survived.
Elsewhere in the county during the same year, there were another five breeding pairs in the county. Three pairs successfully raised nine young.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-13168611
(Via Liz R)
Showing posts with label eggs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eggs. Show all posts
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Bonaparte man's chicken lays a whopper of an egg
Feb. 27, 2011
A hen living on the outskirts of Bonaparte has residents in the small southeast Iowa town clucking.
Aussie, a black Australorp chicken, laid a giant egg on Feb. 18.
The light brown egg weighs 4.1 ounces, and measures 3½ inches long and 6½ inches in circumference, according to Nathan Batten, the hen's owner.
Large eggs in grocery stores weigh about half as much, while jumbo eggs weigh about 2½ ounces, according to USDA regulations.
"It's big. It's twice the size of a large egg," said Iowa State University professor Hongwei Xin, director of the school's egg industry center.
The egg is large enough that Batten, 37, is calling his colossal prize "egg-normous."
Batten said he had trouble sleeping the day the egg popped out. He called the local paper, and a reporter took his picture and wrote a story about Aussie's achievement.
For a couple of days afterward, Batten carried the egg in his coat pocket to show people around town.
His friends working at the convenience store took one look and asked: "You sure that chicken isn't half beast?"
"It probably has about two miles on it from me walking," Batten said. "I'm lucky that dang thing never broke."
The egg is now safely stored in his refrigerator, he said.
An egg approaching that size is unusual, but not unheard of, egg experts said.
Sean Skeehan, who raises chickens at Blue Gate Farm in Chariton, said the size of an egg depends on the breed of chicken - not what it's fed.
He said his large chicken breeds have laid eggs approaching 6 inches in circumference, but acknowledged 4.1 ounces is unusually heavy.
Chickens are generally consistent in the size of eggs they lay, so he said it's no surprise that Batten reported Aussie - an Australian breed of chicken known for producing a high volume of eggs - usually lays eggs weighing about 3 ounces.
"Those are big eggs," Skeehan said.
Xin, the ISU professor, said last year a university Extension employee called him about a couple of large eggs bred by a producer near Winterset.
The eggs were about as long as the one laid by Aussie. A story appeared on a local TV newscast, he said.
Batten said he plans to contact Guinness World Records in England to see if he and Aussie have made history.
In a state dotted with towns claiming to own several of the world's largest oddities - a gigantic frying pan in Brandon and an enormous strawberry in Strawberry Point - Batten figures this is his chance to finally put Bonaparte on the map.
"After all, this is Van Buren County, and tourism is the main attraction around here," he said.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011102270332
A hen living on the outskirts of Bonaparte has residents in the small southeast Iowa town clucking.
Aussie, a black Australorp chicken, laid a giant egg on Feb. 18.
The light brown egg weighs 4.1 ounces, and measures 3½ inches long and 6½ inches in circumference, according to Nathan Batten, the hen's owner.
Large eggs in grocery stores weigh about half as much, while jumbo eggs weigh about 2½ ounces, according to USDA regulations.
"It's big. It's twice the size of a large egg," said Iowa State University professor Hongwei Xin, director of the school's egg industry center.
The egg is large enough that Batten, 37, is calling his colossal prize "egg-normous."
Batten said he had trouble sleeping the day the egg popped out. He called the local paper, and a reporter took his picture and wrote a story about Aussie's achievement.
For a couple of days afterward, Batten carried the egg in his coat pocket to show people around town.
His friends working at the convenience store took one look and asked: "You sure that chicken isn't half beast?"
"It probably has about two miles on it from me walking," Batten said. "I'm lucky that dang thing never broke."
The egg is now safely stored in his refrigerator, he said.
An egg approaching that size is unusual, but not unheard of, egg experts said.
Sean Skeehan, who raises chickens at Blue Gate Farm in Chariton, said the size of an egg depends on the breed of chicken - not what it's fed.
He said his large chicken breeds have laid eggs approaching 6 inches in circumference, but acknowledged 4.1 ounces is unusually heavy.
Chickens are generally consistent in the size of eggs they lay, so he said it's no surprise that Batten reported Aussie - an Australian breed of chicken known for producing a high volume of eggs - usually lays eggs weighing about 3 ounces.
"Those are big eggs," Skeehan said.
Xin, the ISU professor, said last year a university Extension employee called him about a couple of large eggs bred by a producer near Winterset.
The eggs were about as long as the one laid by Aussie. A story appeared on a local TV newscast, he said.
Batten said he plans to contact Guinness World Records in England to see if he and Aussie have made history.
In a state dotted with towns claiming to own several of the world's largest oddities - a gigantic frying pan in Brandon and an enormous strawberry in Strawberry Point - Batten figures this is his chance to finally put Bonaparte on the map.
"After all, this is Van Buren County, and tourism is the main attraction around here," he said.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011102270332
Monday, January 24, 2011
Fossil female pterosaur found with preserved egg
21 January 2011
By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News
A pterosaur has been found in China beautifully preserved with an egg.
The egg indicates this ancient flying reptile was a female, and that realisation has allowed researchers to sex these creatures for the first time.
Writing in Science magazine, the palaeontologists make some broad statements about differences in pterosaurs, including the observation that only males sported a head-crest.
David Unwin, a palaeobiologist in the Department of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester, was part of the research team.
He told the BBC the discovery was astonishing: "If somebody had said to me a few years back that we would find this kind of association, I would just have laughed and said, 'yeah, maybe in a million years', because these sorts of things are incredibly rare."
Pterosaurs, also sometimes referred to as pterodactyls, dominated the skies in the Mesozoic Era, 220-65 million years ago. Although reptiles like the dinosaurs were plodding on the ground below them, they were not actually dinosaurs themselves - a common misconception.
This particular specimen has been dated to about 160 million years ago.
It was found by Junchang Lü and colleagues and excavated from sedimentary rocks in the famous fossil-hunting grounds of Liaoning Province in China. Liaoning has yielded many of the great finds in recent years, including a series of feathered dinos that have transformed thinking on bird evolution.
The new creature is from the Darwinopterus genus, or grouping, but has been dubbed simply as "Mrs T" (a contraction of "Mrs Pterodactyl") by the research team.
The state of the egg's shell suggests it was well developed and that Mrs T must have been very close to laying it when she died.
She appears to have had some sort of accident as her left forearm is broken. The researchers speculate she may have fallen from the sky during a storm or perhaps a volcanic eruption, sunk to the bottom of a lake and then been preserved in the sediments.
"The most important thing about this particular individual is that she has a relatively large pelvis compared to other individuals of the same pterosaur, Darwinopterus," explained Dr Unwin.
"This seems quite reasonable - females lay eggs, they probably need a slightly wider pelvis. And then the really exciting thing is that she has a skull which lacks any kind of adornment or decoration whatsoever. When we look at other individuals of Darwinopterus, we find quite a few individuals with a large crest on the skull.
"We're very confident now that we're dealing with two genders here - males with big crests and small hips, and females with no crest on the skull and large hips."
More at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12242596
(Submitted by Dawn Holloway)
By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News
For fossil hunters, it represents one of those breakthrough moments.
A pterosaur has been found in China beautifully preserved with an egg.
The egg indicates this ancient flying reptile was a female, and that realisation has allowed researchers to sex these creatures for the first time.
Writing in Science magazine, the palaeontologists make some broad statements about differences in pterosaurs, including the observation that only males sported a head-crest.
David Unwin, a palaeobiologist in the Department of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester, was part of the research team.
He told the BBC the discovery was astonishing: "If somebody had said to me a few years back that we would find this kind of association, I would just have laughed and said, 'yeah, maybe in a million years', because these sorts of things are incredibly rare."
Pterosaurs, also sometimes referred to as pterodactyls, dominated the skies in the Mesozoic Era, 220-65 million years ago. Although reptiles like the dinosaurs were plodding on the ground below them, they were not actually dinosaurs themselves - a common misconception.
This particular specimen has been dated to about 160 million years ago.
It was found by Junchang Lü and colleagues and excavated from sedimentary rocks in the famous fossil-hunting grounds of Liaoning Province in China. Liaoning has yielded many of the great finds in recent years, including a series of feathered dinos that have transformed thinking on bird evolution.
The new creature is from the Darwinopterus genus, or grouping, but has been dubbed simply as "Mrs T" (a contraction of "Mrs Pterodactyl") by the research team.
The state of the egg's shell suggests it was well developed and that Mrs T must have been very close to laying it when she died.
She appears to have had some sort of accident as her left forearm is broken. The researchers speculate she may have fallen from the sky during a storm or perhaps a volcanic eruption, sunk to the bottom of a lake and then been preserved in the sediments.
"The most important thing about this particular individual is that she has a relatively large pelvis compared to other individuals of the same pterosaur, Darwinopterus," explained Dr Unwin.
"This seems quite reasonable - females lay eggs, they probably need a slightly wider pelvis. And then the really exciting thing is that she has a skull which lacks any kind of adornment or decoration whatsoever. When we look at other individuals of Darwinopterus, we find quite a few individuals with a large crest on the skull.
"We're very confident now that we're dealing with two genders here - males with big crests and small hips, and females with no crest on the skull and large hips."
More at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12242596
(Submitted by Dawn Holloway)
Fossil female pterosaur found with preserved egg
21 January 2011
By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News
A pterosaur has been found in China beautifully preserved with an egg.
The egg indicates this ancient flying reptile was a female, and that realisation has allowed researchers to sex these creatures for the first time.
Writing in Science magazine, the palaeontologists make some broad statements about differences in pterosaurs, including the observation that only males sported a head-crest.
David Unwin, a palaeobiologist in the Department of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester, was part of the research team.
He told the BBC the discovery was astonishing: "If somebody had said to me a few years back that we would find this kind of association, I would just have laughed and said, 'yeah, maybe in a million years', because these sorts of things are incredibly rare."
Pterosaurs, also sometimes referred to as pterodactyls, dominated the skies in the Mesozoic Era, 220-65 million years ago. Although reptiles like the dinosaurs were plodding on the ground below them, they were not actually dinosaurs themselves - a common misconception.
This particular specimen has been dated to about 160 million years ago.
It was found by Junchang Lü and colleagues and excavated from sedimentary rocks in the famous fossil-hunting grounds of Liaoning Province in China. Liaoning has yielded many of the great finds in recent years, including a series of feathered dinos that have transformed thinking on bird evolution.
The new creature is from the Darwinopterus genus, or grouping, but has been dubbed simply as "Mrs T" (a contraction of "Mrs Pterodactyl") by the research team.
The state of the egg's shell suggests it was well developed and that Mrs T must have been very close to laying it when she died.
She appears to have had some sort of accident as her left forearm is broken. The researchers speculate she may have fallen from the sky during a storm or perhaps a volcanic eruption, sunk to the bottom of a lake and then been preserved in the sediments.
"The most important thing about this particular individual is that she has a relatively large pelvis compared to other individuals of the same pterosaur, Darwinopterus," explained Dr Unwin.
"This seems quite reasonable - females lay eggs, they probably need a slightly wider pelvis. And then the really exciting thing is that she has a skull which lacks any kind of adornment or decoration whatsoever. When we look at other individuals of Darwinopterus, we find quite a few individuals with a large crest on the skull.
"We're very confident now that we're dealing with two genders here - males with big crests and small hips, and females with no crest on the skull and large hips."
More at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12242596
(Submitted by Dawn Holloway)
By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News
For fossil hunters, it represents one of those breakthrough moments.
A pterosaur has been found in China beautifully preserved with an egg.
The egg indicates this ancient flying reptile was a female, and that realisation has allowed researchers to sex these creatures for the first time.
Writing in Science magazine, the palaeontologists make some broad statements about differences in pterosaurs, including the observation that only males sported a head-crest.
David Unwin, a palaeobiologist in the Department of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester, was part of the research team.
He told the BBC the discovery was astonishing: "If somebody had said to me a few years back that we would find this kind of association, I would just have laughed and said, 'yeah, maybe in a million years', because these sorts of things are incredibly rare."
Pterosaurs, also sometimes referred to as pterodactyls, dominated the skies in the Mesozoic Era, 220-65 million years ago. Although reptiles like the dinosaurs were plodding on the ground below them, they were not actually dinosaurs themselves - a common misconception.
This particular specimen has been dated to about 160 million years ago.
It was found by Junchang Lü and colleagues and excavated from sedimentary rocks in the famous fossil-hunting grounds of Liaoning Province in China. Liaoning has yielded many of the great finds in recent years, including a series of feathered dinos that have transformed thinking on bird evolution.
The new creature is from the Darwinopterus genus, or grouping, but has been dubbed simply as "Mrs T" (a contraction of "Mrs Pterodactyl") by the research team.
The state of the egg's shell suggests it was well developed and that Mrs T must have been very close to laying it when she died.
She appears to have had some sort of accident as her left forearm is broken. The researchers speculate she may have fallen from the sky during a storm or perhaps a volcanic eruption, sunk to the bottom of a lake and then been preserved in the sediments.
"The most important thing about this particular individual is that she has a relatively large pelvis compared to other individuals of the same pterosaur, Darwinopterus," explained Dr Unwin.
"This seems quite reasonable - females lay eggs, they probably need a slightly wider pelvis. And then the really exciting thing is that she has a skull which lacks any kind of adornment or decoration whatsoever. When we look at other individuals of Darwinopterus, we find quite a few individuals with a large crest on the skull.
"We're very confident now that we're dealing with two genders here - males with big crests and small hips, and females with no crest on the skull and large hips."
More at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12242596
(Submitted by Dawn Holloway)
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Round egg amazes experienced chef
A chef made a cracking discovery when he saved a perfectly round egg from the frying pan.
Shell-shocked James Church, 27, was cooking the usual morning fry-up when he found the unique ball-shaped egg.
James, who works at Hotel Bristol in Newquay, Cornwall, said: 'I was at work one morning busy cracking eggs and making breakfast as usual.
'Then I pulled out a tray and noticed this spherical egg.
'I stood for a few moments in awe because I had never seen anything like it.
'I called everyone in the kitchen over and they stood around it too. They had never seen anything like it either.'
Having worked in a kitchen for eight years, James reckons he has cracked more than 100,000 eggs, but has never seen anything like this.
He has kept the unusual egg since making the discovery and said: 'I'm definitely never getting rid of it.'
Misshapen eggs are most often produced by pullets coming into lay, or hens late in lay, often as a result of double ovulation. The varying shapes differ with each strain of bird.
Shell-shocked James Church, 27, was cooking the usual morning fry-up when he found the unique ball-shaped egg.
James, who works at Hotel Bristol in Newquay, Cornwall, said: 'I was at work one morning busy cracking eggs and making breakfast as usual.
'Then I pulled out a tray and noticed this spherical egg.
'I stood for a few moments in awe because I had never seen anything like it.
'I called everyone in the kitchen over and they stood around it too. They had never seen anything like it either.'
Having worked in a kitchen for eight years, James reckons he has cracked more than 100,000 eggs, but has never seen anything like this.
He has kept the unusual egg since making the discovery and said: 'I'm definitely never getting rid of it.'
Misshapen eggs are most often produced by pullets coming into lay, or hens late in lay, often as a result of double ovulation. The varying shapes differ with each strain of bird.
Round egg amazes experienced chef
A chef made a cracking discovery when he saved a perfectly round egg from the frying pan.
Shell-shocked James Church, 27, was cooking the usual morning fry-up when he found the unique ball-shaped egg.
James, who works at Hotel Bristol in Newquay, Cornwall, said: 'I was at work one morning busy cracking eggs and making breakfast as usual.
'Then I pulled out a tray and noticed this spherical egg.
'I stood for a few moments in awe because I had never seen anything like it.
'I called everyone in the kitchen over and they stood around it too. They had never seen anything like it either.'
Having worked in a kitchen for eight years, James reckons he has cracked more than 100,000 eggs, but has never seen anything like this.
He has kept the unusual egg since making the discovery and said: 'I'm definitely never getting rid of it.'
Misshapen eggs are most often produced by pullets coming into lay, or hens late in lay, often as a result of double ovulation. The varying shapes differ with each strain of bird.
Shell-shocked James Church, 27, was cooking the usual morning fry-up when he found the unique ball-shaped egg.
James, who works at Hotel Bristol in Newquay, Cornwall, said: 'I was at work one morning busy cracking eggs and making breakfast as usual.
'Then I pulled out a tray and noticed this spherical egg.
'I stood for a few moments in awe because I had never seen anything like it.
'I called everyone in the kitchen over and they stood around it too. They had never seen anything like it either.'
Having worked in a kitchen for eight years, James reckons he has cracked more than 100,000 eggs, but has never seen anything like this.
He has kept the unusual egg since making the discovery and said: 'I'm definitely never getting rid of it.'
Misshapen eggs are most often produced by pullets coming into lay, or hens late in lay, often as a result of double ovulation. The varying shapes differ with each strain of bird.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Harriet the hen lays 'world's largest egg'
11th June, 2010
An eggs-straordinary hen named Harriet has laid the 'world's largest egg', measuring an amazing 9.1 inches in diameter.
The astonishing specimen easily beats the previous record holder, which measured a paltry 8.6 inches diameter. Hen's eggs are typically 5.5 inches in diameter and 2.3 inches long.
64-year-old owner Tony Barbouti told the Daily Mail 'My hens have laid big eggs before but when I saw this one I was gobsmacked.
'Harriet is only a young hen, she's about six months old, and has only just started laying eggs.
'She was limping a bit but she was all right. I'm really proud of her. She doesn't seem to have been putting off laying as she's still producing eggs.'
Barbouti, a taxi driver from Eastwood, Essex, keeps Harriet along with 16 other hens in a coop in his garden.
He added: 'They are not special hens. I feed them ordinary hen food and they give me a good supply of fresh eggs. But I think we may need bigger egg cups if they keep this up.'hoot.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/830449-harriet-the-hen-lays-worlds-largest-egg
An eggs-straordinary hen named Harriet has laid the 'world's largest egg', measuring an amazing 9.1 inches in diameter.
The astonishing specimen easily beats the previous record holder, which measured a paltry 8.6 inches diameter. Hen's eggs are typically 5.5 inches in diameter and 2.3 inches long.
64-year-old owner Tony Barbouti told the Daily Mail 'My hens have laid big eggs before but when I saw this one I was gobsmacked.
'Harriet is only a young hen, she's about six months old, and has only just started laying eggs.
'She was limping a bit but she was all right. I'm really proud of her. She doesn't seem to have been putting off laying as she's still producing eggs.'
Barbouti, a taxi driver from Eastwood, Essex, keeps Harriet along with 16 other hens in a coop in his garden.
He added: 'They are not special hens. I feed them ordinary hen food and they give me a good supply of fresh eggs. But I think we may need bigger egg cups if they keep this up.'hoot.
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/830449-harriet-the-hen-lays-worlds-largest-egg
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Fossil avian eggshell preserves ancient DNA
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Abstract:
Owing to exceptional biomolecule preservation, fossil avian eggshell has been used extensively in geochronology and palaeodietary studies. Here, we show, to our knowledge, for the first time that fossil eggshell is a previously unrecognized source of ancient DNA (aDNA). We describe the successful isolation and amplification of DNA from fossil eggshell up to 19 ka old. aDNA was successfully characterized from eggshell obtained from New Zealand (extinct moa and ducks), Madagascar (extinct elephant birds) and Australia (emu and owl). Our data demonstrate excellent preservation of the nucleic acids, evidenced by retrieval of both mitochondrial and
nuclear DNA from many of the samples. Using confocal microscopy and quantitative PCR, this study critically evaluates approaches to maximize DNA recovery from powdered eggshell. Our quantitative PCR experiments also demonstrate tha t moa eggshell has approximately 125 times lower bacterial load than bone, making it a highly suitable substrate for high-throughput sequencing approaches. Importantly, the preservation of DNA in Pleistocene eggshell from Australia and Holocene deposits from Madagascar indicates that eggshell is an excellent substrate for the long-term preservation of DNA in warmer climates. The successful recovery of DNA from this substrate has implications in a number of scientific disciplines; most notably
archaeology and palaeontology, where genotypes and/or DNA-based species identifications can add significantly to our understanding of diets, environments, past biodiversity and evolutionary processes.
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2010/03/09/rspb.2009.2019.abstract
(Submitted by Chad Arment)
Abstract:
Owing to exceptional biomolecule preservation, fossil avian eggshell has been used extensively in geochronology and palaeodietary studies. Here, we show, to our knowledge, for the first time that fossil eggshell is a previously unrecognized source of ancient DNA (aDNA). We describe the successful isolation and amplification of DNA from fossil eggshell up to 19 ka old. aDNA was successfully characterized from eggshell obtained from New Zealand (extinct moa and ducks), Madagascar (extinct elephant birds) and Australia (emu and owl). Our data demonstrate excellent preservation of the nucleic acids, evidenced by retrieval of both mitochondrial and
nuclear DNA from many of the samples. Using confocal microscopy and quantitative PCR, this study critically evaluates approaches to maximize DNA recovery from powdered eggshell. Our quantitative PCR experiments also demonstrate tha t moa eggshell has approximately 125 times lower bacterial load than bone, making it a highly suitable substrate for high-throughput sequencing approaches. Importantly, the preservation of DNA in Pleistocene eggshell from Australia and Holocene deposits from Madagascar indicates that eggshell is an excellent substrate for the long-term preservation of DNA in warmer climates. The successful recovery of DNA from this substrate has implications in a number of scientific disciplines; most notably
archaeology and palaeontology, where genotypes and/or DNA-based species identifications can add significantly to our understanding of diets, environments, past biodiversity and evolutionary processes.
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2010/03/09/rspb.2009.2019.abstract
(Submitted by Chad Arment)
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Oldest 'writing' found on 60,000-year-old eggshells
03 March 2010What do they say?
(Image: Pierre-Jean Texier/Diepkloof Project)
by Kate Ravilious
COULD these lines etched into 60,000-year-old ostrich eggshells (see photo) be the earliest signs of humans using graphic art to communicate?
Until recently, the first consistent evidence of symbolic communication came from the geometric shapes that appear alongside rock art all over the world, which date to 40,000 years ago (New Scientist, 20 February, p 30). Older finds, like the 75,000-year-old engraved ochre chunks from the Blombos cave in South Africa, have mostly been one-offs and difficult to tell apart from meaningless doodles.
The engraved ostrich eggshells may change that. Since 1999, Pierre-Jean Texier of the University of Bordeaux, France, and his colleagues have uncovered 270 fragments of shell at the Diepkloof Rock Shelter in the Western Cape, South Africa.
They show the same symbols are used over and over again, and the team say there are signs that the symbols evolved over 5000 years. This long-term repetition is a hallmark of symbolic communication and a sign of modern human thinking, say the team (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0913047107).
The eggshells were probably used as containers, and the markings may have indicated either the shells' contents or their owner. Texier points out that until recently, bushmen in the region carved geometric motifs on ostrich eggshells as a mark of ownership.
If the symbols do signify ownership, it could have implications for the evolution of human cognition. Iain Davidson, an Australian rock art specialist at the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales, has suggested that marking ownership must have come after humans became self-aware. The eggshells could help to illuminate when this happened in this part of the world, he says.
Written language may have evolved more than once in human history. "Judging from what we know about the evolution of art all over the world, there may have been many traditions that were born, lasted for some time and then vanished," says Jean Clottes, former director of research at the Chauvet caves in southern France. "This may be one of them, most probably not the first and certainly not the last."
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527504.300-oldest-writing-found-on-60000yearold-eggshells.html
(Submitted by Tim Chapman)
Friday, December 4, 2009
Burleson Couple Says Egg Is A Message From God
Dec 2, 2009By Melissa Newton
BURLESON (CBS 11 / TXA 21) - There's a different type of story out of Burleson this holiday season. A couple in the city, 13 miles south of Fort Worth, believes God has given them a divine sign and it's a message spelled out in the most unusual of places.
Tracy and Pam Norrell are calling it a miracle, a gift laid before them on their small farm.
Tracy went to gather the eggs from the chicken coop Monday night, as he does every day. But this time one egg in particular caught his eye.
Unlike the others, this egg isn't smooth and a very noticeable cross is indented on the top.
The Norell's say the egg was laid 'straight from heaven' and is a message of encouragement that comes at the right time.
"This time of the year, we get so taken up with the presents and money and we forget about the reason," Pam explained. "I think he [God] was just telling us he is the reason for the season."
The Norell's haven't quite decided what they'll do with the egg yet. It goes without saying; the couple says eating the egg is not an option.
http://cbs11tv.com/religion/holy.egg.cross.2.1346581.html
(Submitted by Brian Chapman)
Burleson Couple Says Egg Is A Message From God
Dec 2, 2009By Melissa Newton
BURLESON (CBS 11 / TXA 21) - There's a different type of story out of Burleson this holiday season. A couple in the city, 13 miles south of Fort Worth, believes God has given them a divine sign and it's a message spelled out in the most unusual of places.
Tracy and Pam Norrell are calling it a miracle, a gift laid before them on their small farm.
Tracy went to gather the eggs from the chicken coop Monday night, as he does every day. But this time one egg in particular caught his eye.
Unlike the others, this egg isn't smooth and a very noticeable cross is indented on the top.
The Norell's say the egg was laid 'straight from heaven' and is a message of encouragement that comes at the right time.
"This time of the year, we get so taken up with the presents and money and we forget about the reason," Pam explained. "I think he [God] was just telling us he is the reason for the season."
The Norell's haven't quite decided what they'll do with the egg yet. It goes without saying; the couple says eating the egg is not an option.
http://cbs11tv.com/religion/holy.egg.cross.2.1346581.html
(Submitted by Brian Chapman)
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Giant egg mystery turns out to be joke
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLENDENIN, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia mystery egg has turned out to be nothing more than a practical yolk.
Days after Sherman Farley found a giant egg while hunting in central West Virginia near Clendenin, another man has admitted planting it in the woods as a joke.
Herbert Herold says he got the ostrich egg from Benedict Haid Farm, about three miles from where Farley found it. Herold left it in the woods, hoping his brother Bill, who was hunting nearby, would find it.
But Farley found it first, and the 4.5-pound egg with a diameter of 18 inches had wildlife experts puzzled.
Farley’s wife, Rosie, has emptied and bleached the egg, which now sits on her kitchen counter.
———
Information from: Charleston Daily Mail, http://www.dailymail.com
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/12/02/12009201-ap.html
See original story here.
CLENDENIN, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia mystery egg has turned out to be nothing more than a practical yolk.
Days after Sherman Farley found a giant egg while hunting in central West Virginia near Clendenin, another man has admitted planting it in the woods as a joke.
Herbert Herold says he got the ostrich egg from Benedict Haid Farm, about three miles from where Farley found it. Herold left it in the woods, hoping his brother Bill, who was hunting nearby, would find it.
But Farley found it first, and the 4.5-pound egg with a diameter of 18 inches had wildlife experts puzzled.
Farley’s wife, Rosie, has emptied and bleached the egg, which now sits on her kitchen counter.
———
Information from: Charleston Daily Mail, http://www.dailymail.com
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/12/02/12009201-ap.html
See original story here.
Giant egg mystery turns out to be joke
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLENDENIN, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia mystery egg has turned out to be nothing more than a practical yolk.
Days after Sherman Farley found a giant egg while hunting in central West Virginia near Clendenin, another man has admitted planting it in the woods as a joke.
Herbert Herold says he got the ostrich egg from Benedict Haid Farm, about three miles from where Farley found it. Herold left it in the woods, hoping his brother Bill, who was hunting nearby, would find it.
But Farley found it first, and the 4.5-pound egg with a diameter of 18 inches had wildlife experts puzzled.
Farley’s wife, Rosie, has emptied and bleached the egg, which now sits on her kitchen counter.
———
Information from: Charleston Daily Mail, http://www.dailymail.com
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/12/02/12009201-ap.html
See original story here.
CLENDENIN, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia mystery egg has turned out to be nothing more than a practical yolk.
Days after Sherman Farley found a giant egg while hunting in central West Virginia near Clendenin, another man has admitted planting it in the woods as a joke.
Herbert Herold says he got the ostrich egg from Benedict Haid Farm, about three miles from where Farley found it. Herold left it in the woods, hoping his brother Bill, who was hunting nearby, would find it.
But Farley found it first, and the 4.5-pound egg with a diameter of 18 inches had wildlife experts puzzled.
Farley’s wife, Rosie, has emptied and bleached the egg, which now sits on her kitchen counter.
———
Information from: Charleston Daily Mail, http://www.dailymail.com
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2009/12/02/12009201-ap.html
See original story here.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Couple tries to crack case of mystery egg
Thursday November 26, 2009
Ostrich farm located 3 miles from where discovery made
by Elaine McMillion
Daily Mail staff
CLENDENIN, W.Va.--Something bigger than a Thanksgiving turkey laid the egg that Sherman Farley stumbled upon while deer hunting Tuesday.
Bill Pepper, owner of Benedict Haid Farm, three miles from where the egg was found, suspects it is an ostrich egg.
But it still remains a mystery as to how the 4.5-pound egg that measures 18 inches in diameter longways wound up in the woods near Dutch Ridge Road in Clendenin.
Farley, 49, discovered it while hunting about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
After examining the beige-colored egg, he decided to leave it there overnight. He returned home later that evening and told his wife about his find.
"He was afraid to get it," Rosie Farley said with a laugh. "He thought it might blow up."
So on Wednesday morning Rosie went with her husband to the spot where it lay.
Rosie, 60, has been a hunter herself for nearly 30 years, but she was baffled by the enormous egg.
"I've never seen anything like this in the woods," she said.
"It looks like it has been with another egg in the nest," she said as she pointed to a dried, yellow, yolk-like substance on the shell.
The egg measures 16 1/4 inches in diameter at its center and has a porcelain-like shell.
Rosie says it can't be a turkey egg because those are not much larger than chicken eggs. She also said she has never seen peacocks in the area. Emu eggs are much darker in color, normally blue or green.
"I'm sure there's nothing native to West Virginia that would lay an egg that size," said Jim Phillips, a state naturalist based at Pipestem State Park.
Rosie said she has recently heard stories of ostriches running loose near Falling Rock, which is fairly close by and between Blue Creek and Clendenin.
Pepper said about a month ago someone called him to report the appearance of an emu running through the woods just miles from his farm on Dutch Ridge Road.
"I told them I only have one emu and it was still there," said Pepper, who is also a Charleston lawyer. "But that might have been an ostrich that someone confused for an emu."
Benedict Haid Farm, which is about three miles from where the egg was found and about a half hour's drive from downtown Charleston, has one emu and seven ostriches.
Pepper said the shell of an ostrich egg is dimpled like a golf ball and thicker than that of a chicken egg - about an eighth of an inch thick.
Pepper's description matches the characteristics of the Farley's find, but now the question is not "what," but "how?"
"How would an egg get three miles from the farm?" Rosie wondered.
Pepper said ostriches lay eggs only in warm weather. He has not seen one of his large birds lay an egg in three to four weeks.
Phillips, the naturalist, also said that wild birds are not laying eggs this time of the year.
"I wonder if the West Virginia Mothman found a girlfriend," Phillips joked.
Pepper does not believe one of his ostriches has escaped.
"I don't keep an accurate count so maybe one of mine got loose, but I really don't think so," Pepper said. "Someone on the farm would have told me."
"Besides they make no attempt to get loose. They got it made and they don't jump the fence," he said.
Phillips suspects other wildlife is to blame.
"If he's not missing any ostriches, probably what has happened is a coyote, raccoon or bear has rolled it that far," Phillips said. "It wouldn't be impossible for a dog to move something like that, too."
However, Phillips said he doesn't understand why a bear or raccoon couldn't have figured out how to crack open the egg.
Pepper said it is hard to believe an animal could get a four-pound egg three miles to the place where Farley found it.
"I don't see how an animal could have done that," Pepper said.
Pepper and Phillips suspect a prank.
"The only other thing I can think of is one of the neighbors did it as a joke to see if a hunter would find it," the naturalist said.
However the egg ended up in the woods, Pepper said the Farleys have a new but foul-smelling treasure in their possession.
"There is nothing in there but a bunch of slime and goo," Pepper said. "Chances are it will be the most horrific smell they have ever smelled."
Pepper recommends the couple drill a hole in the bottom with a quarter-inch drill bit and blow out the contents with a tire pump. Then he says they should soak it in bleach.
An ostrich egg is valued at $10 to $15, he said.
"People carve them and paint them," Pepper said. "They are very pretty. You can a buy a stand for them."
That's exactly what the Dutch Ridge residents plan to do.
"I'd like to find out what it is, drill it and keep it as a souvenir," Rosie said.
Although the chances of a baby ostrich surviving are extremely slim, Rosie can still dream.
"If it hatched, I'd probably pen it up and take care of it," Rosie said. "And if it was big enough, I'd probably saddle it up."
http://www.dailymail.com/News/Kanawha/200911250737?page=2&build=cache
(Submitted by Chad Arment)
Ostrich farm located 3 miles from where discovery made
by Elaine McMillion
Daily Mail staff
CLENDENIN, W.Va.--Something bigger than a Thanksgiving turkey laid the egg that Sherman Farley stumbled upon while deer hunting Tuesday.
Bill Pepper, owner of Benedict Haid Farm, three miles from where the egg was found, suspects it is an ostrich egg.
But it still remains a mystery as to how the 4.5-pound egg that measures 18 inches in diameter longways wound up in the woods near Dutch Ridge Road in Clendenin.
Farley, 49, discovered it while hunting about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
After examining the beige-colored egg, he decided to leave it there overnight. He returned home later that evening and told his wife about his find.
"He was afraid to get it," Rosie Farley said with a laugh. "He thought it might blow up."
So on Wednesday morning Rosie went with her husband to the spot where it lay.
Rosie, 60, has been a hunter herself for nearly 30 years, but she was baffled by the enormous egg.
"I've never seen anything like this in the woods," she said.
"It looks like it has been with another egg in the nest," she said as she pointed to a dried, yellow, yolk-like substance on the shell.
The egg measures 16 1/4 inches in diameter at its center and has a porcelain-like shell.
Rosie says it can't be a turkey egg because those are not much larger than chicken eggs. She also said she has never seen peacocks in the area. Emu eggs are much darker in color, normally blue or green.
"I'm sure there's nothing native to West Virginia that would lay an egg that size," said Jim Phillips, a state naturalist based at Pipestem State Park.
Rosie said she has recently heard stories of ostriches running loose near Falling Rock, which is fairly close by and between Blue Creek and Clendenin.
Pepper said about a month ago someone called him to report the appearance of an emu running through the woods just miles from his farm on Dutch Ridge Road.
"I told them I only have one emu and it was still there," said Pepper, who is also a Charleston lawyer. "But that might have been an ostrich that someone confused for an emu."
Benedict Haid Farm, which is about three miles from where the egg was found and about a half hour's drive from downtown Charleston, has one emu and seven ostriches.
Pepper said the shell of an ostrich egg is dimpled like a golf ball and thicker than that of a chicken egg - about an eighth of an inch thick.
Pepper's description matches the characteristics of the Farley's find, but now the question is not "what," but "how?"
"How would an egg get three miles from the farm?" Rosie wondered.
Pepper said ostriches lay eggs only in warm weather. He has not seen one of his large birds lay an egg in three to four weeks.
Phillips, the naturalist, also said that wild birds are not laying eggs this time of the year.
"I wonder if the West Virginia Mothman found a girlfriend," Phillips joked.
Pepper does not believe one of his ostriches has escaped.
"I don't keep an accurate count so maybe one of mine got loose, but I really don't think so," Pepper said. "Someone on the farm would have told me."
"Besides they make no attempt to get loose. They got it made and they don't jump the fence," he said.
Phillips suspects other wildlife is to blame.
"If he's not missing any ostriches, probably what has happened is a coyote, raccoon or bear has rolled it that far," Phillips said. "It wouldn't be impossible for a dog to move something like that, too."
However, Phillips said he doesn't understand why a bear or raccoon couldn't have figured out how to crack open the egg.
Pepper said it is hard to believe an animal could get a four-pound egg three miles to the place where Farley found it.
"I don't see how an animal could have done that," Pepper said.
Pepper and Phillips suspect a prank.
"The only other thing I can think of is one of the neighbors did it as a joke to see if a hunter would find it," the naturalist said.
However the egg ended up in the woods, Pepper said the Farleys have a new but foul-smelling treasure in their possession.
"There is nothing in there but a bunch of slime and goo," Pepper said. "Chances are it will be the most horrific smell they have ever smelled."
Pepper recommends the couple drill a hole in the bottom with a quarter-inch drill bit and blow out the contents with a tire pump. Then he says they should soak it in bleach.
An ostrich egg is valued at $10 to $15, he said.
"People carve them and paint them," Pepper said. "They are very pretty. You can a buy a stand for them."
That's exactly what the Dutch Ridge residents plan to do.
"I'd like to find out what it is, drill it and keep it as a souvenir," Rosie said.
Although the chances of a baby ostrich surviving are extremely slim, Rosie can still dream.
"If it hatched, I'd probably pen it up and take care of it," Rosie said. "And if it was big enough, I'd probably saddle it up."
http://www.dailymail.com/News/Kanawha/200911250737?page=2&build=cache
(Submitted by Chad Arment)
Couple tries to crack case of mystery egg
Thursday November 26, 2009
Ostrich farm located 3 miles from where discovery made
by Elaine McMillion
Daily Mail staff
CLENDENIN, W.Va.--Something bigger than a Thanksgiving turkey laid the egg that Sherman Farley stumbled upon while deer hunting Tuesday.
Bill Pepper, owner of Benedict Haid Farm, three miles from where the egg was found, suspects it is an ostrich egg.
But it still remains a mystery as to how the 4.5-pound egg that measures 18 inches in diameter longways wound up in the woods near Dutch Ridge Road in Clendenin.
Farley, 49, discovered it while hunting about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
After examining the beige-colored egg, he decided to leave it there overnight. He returned home later that evening and told his wife about his find.
"He was afraid to get it," Rosie Farley said with a laugh. "He thought it might blow up."
So on Wednesday morning Rosie went with her husband to the spot where it lay.
Rosie, 60, has been a hunter herself for nearly 30 years, but she was baffled by the enormous egg.
"I've never seen anything like this in the woods," she said.
"It looks like it has been with another egg in the nest," she said as she pointed to a dried, yellow, yolk-like substance on the shell.
The egg measures 16 1/4 inches in diameter at its center and has a porcelain-like shell.
Rosie says it can't be a turkey egg because those are not much larger than chicken eggs. She also said she has never seen peacocks in the area. Emu eggs are much darker in color, normally blue or green.
"I'm sure there's nothing native to West Virginia that would lay an egg that size," said Jim Phillips, a state naturalist based at Pipestem State Park.
Rosie said she has recently heard stories of ostriches running loose near Falling Rock, which is fairly close by and between Blue Creek and Clendenin.
Pepper said about a month ago someone called him to report the appearance of an emu running through the woods just miles from his farm on Dutch Ridge Road.
"I told them I only have one emu and it was still there," said Pepper, who is also a Charleston lawyer. "But that might have been an ostrich that someone confused for an emu."
Benedict Haid Farm, which is about three miles from where the egg was found and about a half hour's drive from downtown Charleston, has one emu and seven ostriches.
Pepper said the shell of an ostrich egg is dimpled like a golf ball and thicker than that of a chicken egg - about an eighth of an inch thick.
Pepper's description matches the characteristics of the Farley's find, but now the question is not "what," but "how?"
"How would an egg get three miles from the farm?" Rosie wondered.
Pepper said ostriches lay eggs only in warm weather. He has not seen one of his large birds lay an egg in three to four weeks.
Phillips, the naturalist, also said that wild birds are not laying eggs this time of the year.
"I wonder if the West Virginia Mothman found a girlfriend," Phillips joked.
Pepper does not believe one of his ostriches has escaped.
"I don't keep an accurate count so maybe one of mine got loose, but I really don't think so," Pepper said. "Someone on the farm would have told me."
"Besides they make no attempt to get loose. They got it made and they don't jump the fence," he said.
Phillips suspects other wildlife is to blame.
"If he's not missing any ostriches, probably what has happened is a coyote, raccoon or bear has rolled it that far," Phillips said. "It wouldn't be impossible for a dog to move something like that, too."
However, Phillips said he doesn't understand why a bear or raccoon couldn't have figured out how to crack open the egg.
Pepper said it is hard to believe an animal could get a four-pound egg three miles to the place where Farley found it.
"I don't see how an animal could have done that," Pepper said.
Pepper and Phillips suspect a prank.
"The only other thing I can think of is one of the neighbors did it as a joke to see if a hunter would find it," the naturalist said.
However the egg ended up in the woods, Pepper said the Farleys have a new but foul-smelling treasure in their possession.
"There is nothing in there but a bunch of slime and goo," Pepper said. "Chances are it will be the most horrific smell they have ever smelled."
Pepper recommends the couple drill a hole in the bottom with a quarter-inch drill bit and blow out the contents with a tire pump. Then he says they should soak it in bleach.
An ostrich egg is valued at $10 to $15, he said.
"People carve them and paint them," Pepper said. "They are very pretty. You can a buy a stand for them."
That's exactly what the Dutch Ridge residents plan to do.
"I'd like to find out what it is, drill it and keep it as a souvenir," Rosie said.
Although the chances of a baby ostrich surviving are extremely slim, Rosie can still dream.
"If it hatched, I'd probably pen it up and take care of it," Rosie said. "And if it was big enough, I'd probably saddle it up."
http://www.dailymail.com/News/Kanawha/200911250737?page=2&build=cache
(Submitted by Chad Arment)
Ostrich farm located 3 miles from where discovery made
by Elaine McMillion
Daily Mail staff
CLENDENIN, W.Va.--Something bigger than a Thanksgiving turkey laid the egg that Sherman Farley stumbled upon while deer hunting Tuesday.
Bill Pepper, owner of Benedict Haid Farm, three miles from where the egg was found, suspects it is an ostrich egg.
But it still remains a mystery as to how the 4.5-pound egg that measures 18 inches in diameter longways wound up in the woods near Dutch Ridge Road in Clendenin.
Farley, 49, discovered it while hunting about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
After examining the beige-colored egg, he decided to leave it there overnight. He returned home later that evening and told his wife about his find.
"He was afraid to get it," Rosie Farley said with a laugh. "He thought it might blow up."
So on Wednesday morning Rosie went with her husband to the spot where it lay.
Rosie, 60, has been a hunter herself for nearly 30 years, but she was baffled by the enormous egg.
"I've never seen anything like this in the woods," she said.
"It looks like it has been with another egg in the nest," she said as she pointed to a dried, yellow, yolk-like substance on the shell.
The egg measures 16 1/4 inches in diameter at its center and has a porcelain-like shell.
Rosie says it can't be a turkey egg because those are not much larger than chicken eggs. She also said she has never seen peacocks in the area. Emu eggs are much darker in color, normally blue or green.
"I'm sure there's nothing native to West Virginia that would lay an egg that size," said Jim Phillips, a state naturalist based at Pipestem State Park.
Rosie said she has recently heard stories of ostriches running loose near Falling Rock, which is fairly close by and between Blue Creek and Clendenin.
Pepper said about a month ago someone called him to report the appearance of an emu running through the woods just miles from his farm on Dutch Ridge Road.
"I told them I only have one emu and it was still there," said Pepper, who is also a Charleston lawyer. "But that might have been an ostrich that someone confused for an emu."
Benedict Haid Farm, which is about three miles from where the egg was found and about a half hour's drive from downtown Charleston, has one emu and seven ostriches.
Pepper said the shell of an ostrich egg is dimpled like a golf ball and thicker than that of a chicken egg - about an eighth of an inch thick.
Pepper's description matches the characteristics of the Farley's find, but now the question is not "what," but "how?"
"How would an egg get three miles from the farm?" Rosie wondered.
Pepper said ostriches lay eggs only in warm weather. He has not seen one of his large birds lay an egg in three to four weeks.
Phillips, the naturalist, also said that wild birds are not laying eggs this time of the year.
"I wonder if the West Virginia Mothman found a girlfriend," Phillips joked.
Pepper does not believe one of his ostriches has escaped.
"I don't keep an accurate count so maybe one of mine got loose, but I really don't think so," Pepper said. "Someone on the farm would have told me."
"Besides they make no attempt to get loose. They got it made and they don't jump the fence," he said.
Phillips suspects other wildlife is to blame.
"If he's not missing any ostriches, probably what has happened is a coyote, raccoon or bear has rolled it that far," Phillips said. "It wouldn't be impossible for a dog to move something like that, too."
However, Phillips said he doesn't understand why a bear or raccoon couldn't have figured out how to crack open the egg.
Pepper said it is hard to believe an animal could get a four-pound egg three miles to the place where Farley found it.
"I don't see how an animal could have done that," Pepper said.
Pepper and Phillips suspect a prank.
"The only other thing I can think of is one of the neighbors did it as a joke to see if a hunter would find it," the naturalist said.
However the egg ended up in the woods, Pepper said the Farleys have a new but foul-smelling treasure in their possession.
"There is nothing in there but a bunch of slime and goo," Pepper said. "Chances are it will be the most horrific smell they have ever smelled."
Pepper recommends the couple drill a hole in the bottom with a quarter-inch drill bit and blow out the contents with a tire pump. Then he says they should soak it in bleach.
An ostrich egg is valued at $10 to $15, he said.
"People carve them and paint them," Pepper said. "They are very pretty. You can a buy a stand for them."
That's exactly what the Dutch Ridge residents plan to do.
"I'd like to find out what it is, drill it and keep it as a souvenir," Rosie said.
Although the chances of a baby ostrich surviving are extremely slim, Rosie can still dream.
"If it hatched, I'd probably pen it up and take care of it," Rosie said. "And if it was big enough, I'd probably saddle it up."
http://www.dailymail.com/News/Kanawha/200911250737?page=2&build=cache
(Submitted by Chad Arment)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thousands of eggs seized in raid
A man has been charged with wildlife crime offences after police seized more than 5,000 eggs during a raid on a home in West Lothian.
Equipment used by egg collectors was also taken from the property in Torphichen, near Bathgate.
A 57-year-old man has been reported to the procurator fiscal.
It is feared that some of the eggs could be from rare species such as the golden eagle, red kite, osprey and peregrine falcon.
Lothian and Borders Police, Tayside Police and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) worked on the case.
They have not identified the species of eggs included in the collection.
However, it is believed that it will represent a "vast spectrum" of UK species.
A spokesman for the RSPB said it was battling to "subject egg collectors to the full force of the law".
Egg collecting belongs in the past and there has been good progress in consigning it to that era
RSPB spokesman
He said: "The evidence that has been gathered is being sifted through to establish the full facts and, with a collection of this size, that will take some time.
"The police are now progressing this as a criminal investigation.
"First and foremost this type of activity is illegal and for a good reason, as it impacts on the ability of breeding birds to maintain their population levels.
"Egg collecting belongs in the past and there has been good progress in consigning it to that era.
"However, there are a hardcore of people who exist that are continuing the practice.
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "A house in Torphichen was searched and over 5,000 eggs and egg collecting paraphernalia was seized.
"A 57-year-old man has been reported to the procurator fiscal."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8118728.stm
Equipment used by egg collectors was also taken from the property in Torphichen, near Bathgate.
A 57-year-old man has been reported to the procurator fiscal.
It is feared that some of the eggs could be from rare species such as the golden eagle, red kite, osprey and peregrine falcon.
Lothian and Borders Police, Tayside Police and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) worked on the case.
They have not identified the species of eggs included in the collection.
However, it is believed that it will represent a "vast spectrum" of UK species.
A spokesman for the RSPB said it was battling to "subject egg collectors to the full force of the law".
Egg collecting belongs in the past and there has been good progress in consigning it to that era
RSPB spokesman
He said: "The evidence that has been gathered is being sifted through to establish the full facts and, with a collection of this size, that will take some time.
"The police are now progressing this as a criminal investigation.
"First and foremost this type of activity is illegal and for a good reason, as it impacts on the ability of breeding birds to maintain their population levels.
"Egg collecting belongs in the past and there has been good progress in consigning it to that era.
"However, there are a hardcore of people who exist that are continuing the practice.
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "A house in Torphichen was searched and over 5,000 eggs and egg collecting paraphernalia was seized.
"A 57-year-old man has been reported to the procurator fiscal."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8118728.stm
Monday, June 8, 2009
Eggscruciating! Efel the hen lays massive 7oz egg
8 June 2009Efel the hen was left a little shell shocked after laying this monster egg...
It took the gingernut ranger 30 minutes to squeeze out the whopper, which at 7oz is three times the size of a normal one.
Owner Gabrielle Needler, 11, of Reigate, Surrey, said: "It normally only takes five minutes. I thought wow that's big."
The biggest egg was 11oz, laid by an English hen in 1896.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-world/2009/06/08/eggscruciating-efel-the-hen-lays-massive-7oz-egg-115875-21423670/
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Record-breaking 53rd egg for Osprey pair
Perthshire Osprey lays Easter egg
The oldest breeding osprey in Scotland has returned to her nest in Perthshire, with her mate of 15 years.
The female, which is more than 20 years old and has travelled 3,000 miles from Africa to the Loch of Lowes, has laid a record 53 eggs and raised 44 chicks since 1991.
Raymond Buchanan reports.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7995593.stm
The oldest breeding osprey in Scotland has returned to her nest in Perthshire, with her mate of 15 years.
The female, which is more than 20 years old and has travelled 3,000 miles from Africa to the Loch of Lowes, has laid a record 53 eggs and raised 44 chicks since 1991.
Raymond Buchanan reports.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7995593.stm
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