Freeze Kills Rare Pelicans in Dagestan

Rare Dalmatian pelicans, a threatened species, are dying of cold and hunger amid freezing weather in Russia’s usually warm Dagestan, where the birds are currently wintering.

Temperatures of minus 20-30 degrees Celsius have swept Russia’s southern latitudes, coating the Caspian Sea in a thick layer of sea ice. Some 500 Dalmatian pelicans out of the total population in Russia of about 1,400 were forced to take refuge at a shipyard on the Caspian Sea near Dagestan's capital Makhachkala.

According to information from the Dagestansky Nature Preserve, about 16 pelicans have died from hunger and cold on the Caspian shores of Dagestan.

An adult Dalmatian pelican requires at least 2.5 kg of fish daily, but the giant birds are unable to feed themselves from the ice-covered sea.

Staffers from the local environment ministry and the Dagestansky preserve along with volunteers from various public organizations are bringing fish to nourish the birds, although the authorities of the shipyard at first refused them entry onto the plant’s territory.

Yelena Denisenko, a spokeswoman for the local human rights center Memorial, voiced fears that without nourishment brought by people, their current amount of some 500 would shrink by half by the end of winter.

The Dalmatian Pelican or Pelecanus crispus is the largest of the pelicans averaging 160–180 cm (63-70 inches) in length, 11–15 kg (24-33 lbs) in weight with just over 3 m (10 ft) in wingspan. The bird with curly nape feathers is protected by the Red Book of Russia.

 http://en.ria.ru/Environment/20120220/171425936.html

Lyons: Rare bird alerts draw tourists, too

Not everyone will drop what they're doing and jump into the car at this news, but here it is:

If you're in the Herald-Tribune circulation area, you are a short drive from a really good chance to see a rare fork-tailed flycatcher.

Yes, a fork-tailed flycatcher.

Most people are now thinking: "A what?" But not all. Some are thinking: "Wow, usually I'd have to go to Central America to have a good chance of spotting that species. I could add it to my list! I'm there."

Actually, most people in the latter group — serious bird-lovers, that is — already know that an apparently off-course member of that species with an overly long forked tail has been seen almost daily for the past few weeks, hanging around near a Ruskin strawberry farm.

An irritated farmer has been shooing birders away to keep them from trampling his crop into jam, but most birders have been able to focus their binoculars on the flycatcher without trespassing.

I mention all this because it seems there is money in birding. Birders who flock and migrate every year to look at birds, especially special attractions like the aforementioned flycatcher, spend money like any eco-tourist.

If you saw "The Big Year," or happen to know some birding fanatics like those in the film, you already know there is a subspecies of human being that will go to great lengths, and spend big bucks, to see a bird they have never seen before. Or maybe just one they haven't seen lately.

continued: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120215/COLUMNIST/120219669/-1/news?Title=Lyons-Rare-bird-alerts-draw-tourists-too

Rare robin breeding sites found

Rare black-throated robins have been recorded in the Qinling mountains, north central China, by scientists.

The 14 new sightings double the total number for the species since its first discovery 125 years ago.

A team of Chinese and Swedish researchers located two breeding areas after hearing the males' distinctive calls.

The national nature reserves where the birds were found are also home to rare giant pandas and snub-nosed monkeys.

Also known as the blackthroat and black-throated blue robin, the species (Luscinia obscura) was first discovered in 1886.

The birds resemble a European robin in size and shape but the males sport a jet-black throat and chest rather than the familiar red.

To date, very little is known about the species and there have never been any definitive sightings of females.

"The species is extremely secretive and difficult to see in the dense bamboo where it lives," explained Prof Per Alstrom, of the Swedish Species Information Centre, a part of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala.

Prof Alstrom and colleagues were able to identify the birds' breeding grounds after hearing their distinctive song.

"It's likely that there are approximately as many females in the wild as there are males, but males are more easy to find [because] they sing," he said.


Read more here ...


By Ella Davies

Reporter, BBC Nature

Rarely-seen warbler wings its way from Eastern Asia to Hertfordshire

11,500 km away from normal migration routeNovember 2011: An eastern crowned warbler, only the second ever to be recorded in Britain, has been spotted in Hertfordshire.

Every year a number of birds arrive in the UK from far-flung countries, having taken a different migratory route, perhaps because they are programmed to search out new territories. But the eastern crowned warbler at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust's Hilfield Reservoir was a staggering 11,500km off its usual migration path.

First of its kind to be ringed in BritainBird ringers caught what they had originally thought was a yellow-browed warbler, which in itself would be a rare bird for Hertfordshire. But, after checking some features that puzzled them, it turned out to be something much more unexpected.

The bird is the first of its kind to be ringed in Britain.

After ringing, they released the warbler into woodland on the perimeter of the site but in spite of the attention of a great many enthusiasts scouring the trees from the adjacent road, the bird was not seen again.

'This is the bird-watching equivalent of winning the lottery'Tim Hill, conservation manager with Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust said: ‘In birdwatching terms, this is the equivalent of winning the lottery. These birds breed from eastern Siberia to Japan and spend the winter in Bangladesh and southeast Asia - to find one in a nature reserve in Hertfordshire, next to the M1 is quite extraordinary.

‘The bird was ringed by members of the Maple Cross Ringing Group who carry out monitoring of birds at Hilfield Park Reservoir in conjunction with the Trust. The information is used to plan management of this important wetland nature reserve.'

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/warbler-hertfordshire.html

Sasquatch, rare woodpecker among strange Stennis tales

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011

By MICHAEL NEWSOM - mmnewsom@sunherald.com

Isolated within a sprawling buffer zone protected by highly secure entrances, the John C. Stennis Space Center is an easy target for paranormal stories.

The large site’s mystique has spawned some wild theories about what goes on inside it and its buffer zone -- 212 square miles of mostly wilderness and swamp. Stennis workers get some strange inquiries about what goes on there from those interested in UFOs and other topics, said Marco Giardino, NASA historian at Stennis.

“You get some strange phone calls that all NASA centers get,” Giardino said. “You know, people who wear aluminum-foil helmets or are being looked at by aliens. There are people who think we caused climatic change by landing on the moon. There are people who don’t think we landed on the moon. You get a cross-section of crazies that all NASA centers get.”

But despite the calls, there’s nothing odd going on there, Giardino said.

“We have a very vibrant tourist program,” Giardino said. “People get to come here on tour buses all the time. The mainstream public is pretty well aware of what we do, and none of it is sneaky or nefarious.”

Cajun Sasquatch?

The rocket-testing center is bordered by two large marshlands -- Honey Island Swamp and Devils Swamp. Some interesting tales have come from Honey Island Swamp, Giardino said.

Some believe the “Cajun Sasquatch” roams the Honey Island Swamp, which is on the western side of the Stennis buffer zone near the Louisiana state line. The creature is also known in south Louisiana lore as the “Honey Island Swamp Monster” or in some cases la bête noire, which is French for “the black beast.” The creature has been described as hairy, with fur colors ranging from orangey, black, grey or brown, in various news stories and television interviews dating as far back as the early 1970s. Some descriptions say it’s about 7 feet tall and weighs 400 pounds.

“(La bête noire) is what the Cajuns call their Bigfoot,” Giardino said. “Old Cajuns swear that it jumps on their flatboats and also leaves huge footprints.”

Giardino said Stennis officials don’t get as many calls about the beast as they did years ago.

There are other legends about something called the “loup garou,” which is French for werewolf, living in the nearby swamps of Louisiana

“It is such a massive wilderness that it has been identified as one of the potential places that bigfoot, or ‘la bête noire’ or the other mythical swamp beasts live,” Giardino said. “On its own, it’s really a place full of mystery, and still has bears and alligators and God knows what-all in it.”

Ivory-billed woodpecker?

In addition to menacing, mythical swamp beasts, there have also been reports of the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker living in the woods around Stennis, Giardino said. The scientific community has been at odds over the last several years about whether the large woodpecker, long thought to be extinct, has actually died out. There have been some sightings of the bird near the facility, as well as other areas across the southeastern United States.

In spring 2005, after various alleged witness accounts from across the country surfaced, along with a reported video of one of the birds taken by a University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor, some scientific groups declared the ivory-billed woodpecker wasn’t extinct. Others in the scientific community disputed that claim.

Giardino said there have been reports of the relatively large woodpecker, which has a wingspan of up to 3 feet, living in the buffer zone. It’s often confused, though, with its common, smaller cousin, the pileated woodpecker.

Whether there’s a Sasquatch, or the rarest of birds, living there, the sprawling marsh of Honey Island Swamp can capture the imagination, Giardino said.

“It’s huge,” Giardino said. “As you drive toward Louisiana, there is nothing but trees and waterways. It’s a really beautiful place, but I wouldn’t be there at night, bête noire or not.”

http://www.sunherald.com/2011/10/26/3534149/sasquatch-rare-woodpecker-among.html

Shrike 'could recolonise' UK after Dartmoor breeding

A rare bird that has bred for the second year on Dartmoor could start to recolonise the UK, conservationists have said.

Last year red-backed shrikes bred for the first time on the moor since 1970. Two pairs have raised seven birds at an undisclosed location this year.

A 24-hour watch was put in place by conservationists to guard the birds against egg collectors and disturbance.

The RSPB said the repeat breeding indicated a possible recolonisation.

Kevin Rylands, RSPB farmland conservation adviser, said: "We are already planning for 2012 to ensure that any nesting attempts next year are fully protected, as well as making sure there is enough suitable habitat for them.

"The success is testament to the effort of more than 30 volunteers and seven partner organisations working together."

The team watched the sites around the clock throughout the breeding season.

Colin Marker, one of the volunteers, said "Having a successful outcome makes all the hours of watching, patrolling and being eaten alive by midges worthwhile."

The species used to be found across southern England in hay meadows, hedges, scrub and heath.

The UK population declined in the 1930s and the shrike was finally lost as a breeding species in the 1990s.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-15078751

Bryan’s shearwater, new Hawaiian seabird species, discovered (via Chad Arment)

For the first time in decades, researchers have found a new bird species in the United States. Based on a specimen collected in 1963 on Midway Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, biologists have described a new species of seabird, Bryan's shearwater (Puffinus bryani), according to differences in measurements and physical appearance compared to other species of shearwaters. Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute analyzed the specimen's DNA to confirm that it is an entirely new species.

"Usually we see a species split into two because we find that one of them has a very different DNA than the other, without other indicators," said Rob Fleischer, head of SCBI's Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics. "It's very unusual to discover a new species of bird these days and especially gratifying when DNA can confirm our original hypothesis that the animal is unique. This bird is unique, both genetically and in appearance, and represents a novel, albeit very rare, species."

Researchers have rarely discovered new species of birds since most of the world's 9,000-plus species (including about 21 other species of shearwaters) were described before 1900. The majority of new species described since the mid-1900s have been discovered in remote tropical rain and cloud forests, primarily in South America and southeastern Asia. The Bryan's shearwater is the first new species reported from the United States and Hawaiian Islands since the Po'ouli was described from the forests of Maui in 1974.

The Bryan's shearwater is the smallest shearwater known to exist. It is black and white with a black or blue-gray bill and blue legs. Biologists found the species in a burrow among a colony of petrels during the Pacific Ocean Biological Survey Program in 1963. Peter Pyle, an ornithologist at the Institute for Bird Populations, recently examined the specimen and found that it was too small to be a little shearwater (P. assimilis) and that it had a distinct appearance.

According to Fleischer and Andreanna Welch, a former graduate student and Smithsonian predoctoral fellow at SCBI who worked on the genetic analysis, the Bryan's shearwater differs genetically to a greater degree than found between most other species of its genus, and is distantly related to another similar-looking species, the Boyd's shearwater (P. boydi). Based on this DNA evidence, researchers estimate that the Bryan's shearwater separated from other species of shearwaters perhaps more than 2 million years ago. These findings have been published in a paper, A new species of Shearwater (Puffinus) recorded from Midway Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, in the current issue of The Condor.

Researchers do not know where Bryan's shearwaters breed. According to Pyle, shearwaters and other seabirds often visit nesting burrows on remote islands only at night, and researchers have not discovered the breeding locations of many populations. Individual seabirds from colonies also often "prospect" for new breeding locations, usually far from existing colonies. Bryan's shearwater could conceivably breed anywhere in the Pacific Ocean basin or even farther afield.

Given that Bryan's shearwaters have remained undiscovered until now, they could be very rare and possibly even extinct.

"If we can find where this species breeds, we may have a chance to protect it and keep it from going extinct," Welch said. "Genetic analysis allows us to investigate whether an animal represents an entirely different species, and that knowledge is important for setting conservation priorities and preventing extinction."

Bryan's shearwater is named after Edwin Horace Bryan Jr., who was curator of collections at the B.P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu from 1919 until 1968.

http://smithsonianscience.org/2011/08/bryan%E2%80%99s-shearwater-new-seabird-species-from-northwestern-hawaii-discovered/

Count of rare Australian cockatoo reveals 2,000-strong population in South Australia

More than 70 volunteers involved in censusAugust 2011: A recent census of Southern Australia's vulnerable yellow-tailed black cockatoos has found a 2,030-strong population across the Mount Lofty Ranges and Fleurieu Peninsula.
Conducted with the help of more than 70 community volunteers, this year's census was initiated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DNER) to collect information on the population and distribution of the cockatoo.

DENR Adelaide ecologist Jason van Weenen said: ‘The census has provided a benchmark from which future population trends can be assessed.

First reliable population estimate for the species‘The finds are extremely significant as it gives us the first reliable population estimate for the species in the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges (AMLR) region. The survey results indicate that we have approximately 2,030 yellow-tailed black cockatoos, with more than half of the population found in one flock (1,250 birds) on the Fleurieu Penisula and more than 95 per cent of the population contained within just three flocks.'

Volunteers spread from Gawler and Williamstown in the north, to Cape Jervis and Goolwa in the south, joined by ten DENR staff members to conduct the census in May, which was chosen because it is when the cockatoos have finished breeding and congregate into fewer and larger flocks, making counting easier and double counting less likely.

‘The survey revealed that the population is likely to be heavily reliant on forestry Radiata Pine plantations and stands of Aleppo Pines during the winter non-breeding period,' Mr van Weenen said.

We must maintain its natural habitat‘We have to ensure that our native heathy bushland habitats containing foods critical to the cockatoo's diet remain healthy and productive, so that any reliance on exotic plants is not exacerbated.

‘Protecting heathy bushland areas from weeds, livestock and fungus will improve their quality for cockatoos.

‘The birds are charismatic and are regularly observed across the region,' Mr van Weenen added. ‘Community members are very interested in this species and this was reflected in the high volunteer participation in the recent survey. Without that level of involvement, the survey would have been far less thorough.'

As a result of this year's census, DENR will promote the planting of native food plants for the cockatoos and also repeat the census next year to see how the population is faring.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/cockatoo-australia.html

Bid to save sandpiper at risk of extinction in Russia

Will this spoon-billed sandpiper chick make it to adulthood?

3 June 2011
By Matt Walker
Editor, BBC Nature

Conservationists have embarked on a mission to save one of the world's rarest birds, the spoon-billed sandpiper, from extinction.

Fewer than 200 pairs of spoon-billed sandpipers were thought to exist in 2009, and since then, the population has thought to have declined by a quarter each year.

So a specialist team of bird experts are flying to the sandpiper's home in northeast Russia to collect and incubate eggs and set up a captive breeding population.

The captive population of spoon-billed sandpipers will be housed in Moscow Zoo for quarantine purposes, then moved to a specially built unit at the headquarters of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, UK.

The emergency mission is being undertaken by the WWT and Birds Russia, working with colleagues from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), BirdLife International, ArcCona, the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force and Moscow Zoo.

Experts fear that, without intervention, the spoon-billed sandpiper could be extinct within ten years.

The count of 200 pairs in 2009 is an upper estimate and there may have been as few as 120 pairs at that time.

Surveys since suggest that the counted population is falling by 26% a year, with juveniles having a particularly low rate of survival.

Spoon-billed sandpipers (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) are a small Arctic wading bird, sporting a bill shaped like a spoon.

"This adaptation, entirely unique to its family, makes it one of the most weird and wonderful bird species on the planet," says Dr Geoff Hilton, Head of Species Research at the WWT.

The BTO's shorebird expert, Dr Nigel Clark, agrees: "There is only one wader that eats with a spoon and we need to try everything we can to save it from extinction."

The bird divides its time between northeast Russia and the Bay of Bay of Martaban, Myanmar (Burma) and the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh.

Travelling between, they migrate over 8,000km (4,970 miles) on a journey that may pass through Japan, North Korea, the Republic of Korea, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India.

Unsustainable levels of subsistence hunting, particularly within the wintering areas in Myanmar and Bangladesh, are thought to be driving the species's decline.

Degradation and reclamation of the inter-tidal mudflats along many countries in Asia is exacerbating the problem.

No spoon-billed sandpipers currently exist in captivity.

Currently the team are in Russia waiting to locate and collect eggs from the breeding grounds.

They will construct an incubation facility out on the tundra where they will hatch the chicks before transferring the fledged young via sea and air back to Moscow Zoo for quarantine.

"It is absolutely clear that the spoon-billed sandpiper cannot be saved without action to reduce the threats to the wild population, but it is going to be difficult to achieve a turnaround quickly enough to avert extinction. Creating a captive population now may buy us some time," says Dr Hilton.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/13627796

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Sighted and Recorded

ScienceDaily (Apr. 29, 2011) — Dr. Michael Collins, Naval Research Laboratory scientist and bird watcher, has published an article titled "Putative audio recordings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis)" which appears in the March issue of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. The audio recordings were captured in two videos of birds with characteristics consistent with the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. This footage was obtained near the Pearl River in Louisiana, where there is a history of unconfirmed reports of this species. During five years of fieldwork, Collins had ten sightings and also heard the characteristic "kent" calls of this species on two occasions.

Scientists working independently in three states have now published articles that report multiple sightings of and various forms of evidence for this elusive species, which is extremely difficult to observe and photograph due to its rarity, wariness, and tendency to roam over wide areas in remote swamp habitat. The two previous articles present findings from Arkansas [Fitzpatrick et al., Science (2005)] and Florida [Hill et al., Avian Conservation and Ecology (2006)].

During two encounters with an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Collins heard high-pitched calls that seem to match the description of an alarm call that was reported by James Tanner in the 1930s but was never recorded. On both occasions, the calls came from the direction of the bird and began at a moment when the bird was alarmed. Several of these calls were captured in the first video, which received a positive assessment from an independent expert, Julie Zickefoose, whose paintings of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers have appeared on the covers of a leading ornithology journal and the leading contemporary text on this species. According to Zickefoose, the large woodpecker in the video has a large crest, large bill, long neck, and rared-back posture consistent with an Ivory-billed Woodepecker, and it has ponderous and heavy flaps and takes an unusual flapping leap that is unlike anything she has seen from a Pileated Woodpecker (the only other large woodpecker in Louisiana).

The second video shows a bird in flight with flaps that are radically different from the duck-like flaps that were expected, but a long overlooked clue in a photo from 1939 suggests that there had been a misconception about the flap style. The combination of the flap style and the size rule out all species native to Louisiana other than the two large woodpeckers, but several characteristics rule out Pileated Woodpecker. This footage was obtained when an Ivory-billed Woodpecker flew along the bayou below a tall tree that was used as an observation platform, providing a view from an advantageous perspective of the white stripes on the back and the white patches on the wings. A little over a minute before the bird flew into view, the video captured a putative double knock that matches a putative double knock that was recorded by Hill et al. in Florida.

Collins began searching for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in November 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina passed through the Pearl River. His first sighting was on February 2, 2006, and then two weeks later he discovered a "hot zone" a short distance up the same bayou, where he had five sightings (two of exceptional quality) and also heard the characteristic "kent" calls of this species on two occasions (once coming simultaneously from two directions) during a five-day period. The first video was obtained in the "hot zone" on February 20, 2006.

During the summer of 2007, Collins started climbing tall cypress trees to watch for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers flying over the treetops in the distance. The idea was to increase the encounter rate by opening up a larger field of view. Professor Steve Sillett, of Humboldt State University, and his colleagues, Jim Spickler and Michael Taylor, donated their expertise and time as well as a full set of gear for climbing trees. The approach provided results less than a year later, but not as expected. On March 29, 2008, an Ivory-billed Woodpecker flew directly beneath one of the observation trees, and Collins saw the definitive white stripes on the back and white trailing edges of the dorsal surfaces of the wings. Just over a minute before the bird flew into view, the camera recorded a putative double knock that is consistent with a putative double knock that was recorded in Florida.

Based on historical accounts of a duck-like flight, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was thought to have duck-like flaps in which the wings remain extended throughout the flap cycle. Although definitive fieldmarks were observed in the field, there seemed to be a contradiction when the video was inspected and found to reveal a flap style that is radically different from what was expected -- the wings are folded completely closed in the middle of each upstroke. This mystery was resolved by a long overlooked clue, a photo from 1939 of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker in flight with the wings folded closed. The observed flap style makes sense in hindsight since it is similar to that of other large woodpeckers.

The flyunder video provides the first putative footage of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker in cruising flight. Since the bird and its reflection from the still surface of a bayou are visible, it is possible to pin down the bird's position (which can't always be deduced from video footage) by triangulation. Since the bird was initially flying nearly directly toward the camera, it was possible to simultaneously extract from the video curves that define both components (horizontal and vertical) of the wingtip motion. Since the bird flew past reference objects, it was possible to estimate wingspan and obtain the first putative data on the flight speed of this species. The video also provides the first putative data on the flap rate. The combination of the wingspan and the flap style rule out all species native to Louisiana except the two large woodpeckers, and in fact an expert on the flight mechanics of woodpeckers, Professor Bret Tobalske, of the University of Montana, is "confident it is a large woodpecker." The Pileated Woodpecker is ruled out by the narrow wing shape, high flight speed, high flap rate, and large white patches on the wings, all of which are consistent with Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The video also shows a trace of white on the back/neck that is consistent with the dorsal stripes that were observed in the field.

Dr. Michael Collins publishes paper on ivory-billed woodpecker

The ivory-billed woodpecker was thought to have duck-like flaps in which
the wings remain extended throughout the flap cycle. One of the videos revealed
radically different flaps in which the wings are folded completely closed in the
middle of the upstroke. The images from the video show the wing motion from
two angles. The photo in the upper right, which was obtained by James Tanner
in 1939,shows an Ivory-billed Woodpecker in flight and contains a clue
suggesting that there had been a misconception about the flap style.

Public release date: 28-Apr-2011

Dr. Michael Collins, Naval Research Laboratory scientist and bird watcher, has published an article titled "Putative audio recordings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis)" which appears in the March issue of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. The audio recordings were captured in two videos of birds with characteristics consistent with the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. This footage was obtained near the Pearl River in Louisiana, where there is a history of unconfirmed reports of this species.

During five years of fieldwork, Collins had ten sightings and also heard the characteristic "kent" calls of this species on two occasions. Scientists working independently in three states have now published articles that report multiple sightings of and various forms of evidence for this elusive species, which is extremely difficult to observe and photograph due to its rarity, wariness, and tendency to roam over wide areas in remote swamp habitat. The two previous articles present findings from Arkansas [Fitzpatrick et al., Science (2005)] and Florida [Hill et al., Avian Conservation and Ecology (2006)].

During two encounters with an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Collins heard high-pitched calls that seem to match the description of an alarm call that was reported by James Tanner in the 1930s but was never recorded. On both occasions, the calls came from the direction of the bird and began at a moment when the bird was alarmed. Several of these calls were captured in the first video, which received a positive assessment from an independent expert, Julie Zickefoose, whose paintings of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers have appeared on the covers of a leading ornithology journal and the leading contemporary text on this species. According to Zickefoose, the large woodpecker in the video has a large crest, large bill, long neck, and rared-back posture consistent with an Ivory-billed Woodepecker, and it has ponderous and heavy flaps and takes an unusual flapping leap that is unlike anything she has seen from a Pileated Woodpecker (the only other large woodpecker in Louisiana).

The second video shows a bird in flight with flaps that are radically different from the duck-like flaps that were expected, but a long overlooked clue in a photo from 1939 suggests that there had been a misconception about the flap style. The combination of the flap style and the size rule out all species native to Louisiana other than the two large woodpeckers, but several characteristics rule out Pileated Woodpecker. This footage was obtained when an Ivory-billed Woodpecker flew along the bayou below a tall tree that was used as an observation platform, providing a view from an advantageous perspective of the white stripes on the back and the white patches on the wings. A little over a minute before the bird flew into view, the video captured a putative double knock that matches a putative double knock that was recorded by Hill et al. in Florida.

Collins began searching for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in November 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina passed through the Pearl River. His first sighting was on February 2, 2006, and then two weeks later he discovered a "hot zone" a short distance up the same bayou, where he had five sightings (two of exceptional quality) and also heard the characteristic "kent" calls of this species on two occasions (once coming simultaneously from two directions) during a five-day period. The first video was obtained in the "hot zone" on February 20, 2006.

During the summer of 2007, Collins started climbing tall cypress trees to watch for Ivory-billed Woodpeckers flying over the treetops in the distance. The idea was to increase the encounter rate by opening up a larger field of view. Professor Steve Sillett, of Humboldt State University, and his colleagues, Jim Spickler and Michael Taylor, donated their expertise and time as well as a full set of gear for climbing trees. The approach provided results less than a year later, but not as expected. On March 29, 2008, an Ivory-billed Woodpecker flew directly beneath one of the observation trees, and Collins saw the definitive white stripes on the back and white trailing edges of the dorsal surfaces of the wings. Just over a minute before the bird flew into view, the camera recorded a putative double knock that is consistent with a putative double knock that was recorded in Florida.

Based on historical accounts of a duck-like flight, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was thought to have duck-like flaps in which the wings remain extended throughout the flap cycle. Although definitive fieldmarks were observed in the field, there seemed to be a contradiction when the video was inspected and found to reveal a flap style that is radically different from what was expected -- the wings are folded completely closed in the middle of each upstroke. This mystery was resolved by a long overlooked clue, a photo from 1939 of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker in flight with the wings folded closed. The observed flap style makes sense in hindsight since it is similar to that of other large woodpeckers.

The flyunder video provides the first putative footage of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker in cruising flight. Since the bird and its reflection from the still surface of a bayou are visible, it is possible to pin down the bird's position (which can't always be deduced from video footage) by triangulation. Since the bird was initially flying nearly directly toward the camera, it was possible to simultaneously extract from the video curves that define both components (horizontal and vertical) of the wingtip motion. Since the bird flew past reference objects, it was possible to estimate wingspan and obtain the first putative data on the flight speed of this species. The video also provides the first putative data on the flap rate. The combination of the wingspan and the flap style rule out all species native to Louisiana except the two large woodpeckers, and in fact an expert on the flight mechanics of woodpeckers, Professor Bret Tobalske, of the University of Montana, is "confident it is a large woodpecker." The Pileated Woodpecker is ruled out by the narrow wing shape, high flight speed, high flap rate, and large white patches on the wings, all of which are consistent with Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The video also shows a trace of white on the back/neck that is consistent with the dorsal stripes that were observed in the field.

###

(Note: Dr. Collins works as a researcher at the Naval Research Laboratory-Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, and is a bird watcher. He conducts his research related to the ivory-billed woodpecker in his spare time.)

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-04/nrl-dmc042811.php

Lizard Point choughs under 24-hour guard

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)

Leads on rare sighting of kokako sought

DEAN KOZANIC

SOUTH ISLAND KOKAKO: A museum specimen.

Last updated 14:22 19/04/2011

A tramper who is believed to have snapped a photo of a rare South Island kokako in Kahurangi National Park is being hunted by a band of bird lovers.

Golden Bay's Alec Milne said the South Island Kokako Investigation Team was keen to contact a woman who took a picture of a wattled bird on March 29. The woman was tramping between Salisbury and Balloon huts at the time, he said.

"She was on the side of the track and beckoned to a backpacker to have a look at the bird which she said should not be there."

Mr Milne said he heard of the incident through a driver who later gave the backpacker a lift out of the park.

Mr Milne said securing a photograph of a kokako, which has been listed as functionally extinct by the Department of Conservation, would be a coup. North Island kokako have survived and are protected. But numbers of South Island kokako, which had a distinctive orange wattle, had been extremely low for the last 100 years, he said. However, Mr Milne said 57 unconfirmed reported sightings were made of the South Island kokako in the 20 years to 2010.

If you have a recent photo of the South Island kokako taken in the Nelson region, contact Helen Murdoch, ph 035462873 or email helenm@nelsonmail.co.nz

- The Nelson Mail

http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/4905850/Leads-on-rare-sighting-of-kokako-sought

Birdwatcher only takes a year to track down world's most secretive species

A British birdwatcher is the first in the world to successfully find all 32 species of the pitta within a year
(Picture: Geoff Robinson)

A British birdwatcher has become the first in the world to trace all 32 species of the planet’s most secretive bird in only 12 months.

Fred Attewill - 9th February, 2011

Chris Gooddie spent £30,000 on his marathon trip to find every type of the endangered pitta across the globe.

He left his £90,000-a-year job as a sales director to fulfil his dream and travelled 2,100km (1,300 miles) by air, canoe, truck, taxi and motorboat.

The 46-year-old suffered dysentery and stepped on a poisonous snake during his trek to track down the birds, which live in rainforests in south-east Asia, India, Australia and Africa.

‘I’m absolutely thrilled to have seen all the species and never dreamed it was possible, especially in such a short space of time,’ said Mr Gooddie.

‘When I told other birdwatchers what I was planning, they thought I was crazy.’

He added: ‘Often the only way to find them is to record them calling, then play it back to them, then they approach as they think you are a potential rival.’

Pittas, sometimes called jewel thrushes because of their striking plumage, are about 15cm-27cm long (6in-11in).

Mr Gooddie, from London, has written a book – The Jewel Hunter – about his journey.

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/855082-birdwatcher-only-takes-a-year-to-track-down-worlds-most-secretive-species

250 species of birds counted in Berks in 2010

Originally Published: 1/31/2011
By Ken Lebo
Reading Eagle Correspondent

Birdwatchers tallied 250 species in Berks County for 2010, which is also the 10-year average. We did well with ducks, shorebirds, hawks and warblers. One bird that has been seen the last 10 years but was missed in 2010 was the semi-palmated plover, a shorebird that looks like a miniature killdeer.

We had some rare birds for Berks County and a new record, not only for the county, but the state. Here are some highlights of the year:

A male painted bunting visited the feeder of Mary Schmeck of Alsace Township on the afternoon of June 30. It stayed from 2 to 6 p.m. and was not seen again. This is a colorful songbird with a blue head, green wings and red body. It normally lives across the southern states from Arizona to South Carolina and into Mexico. This is the fifth county record.

Larry Koch and Barbara Murse feed ducks year round on the Wyomissing Creek in Mohnton. On Aug. 3, they saw two ducks that were unfamiliar. After studying field guides, they realized they had seen black-bellied whistling ducks. This is a very colorful, tall, long-legged duck with a gray head, reddish-orange bill, brownish-red chest and back with a black belly. The normal range for this duck is from Brazil north through Mexico and just into Texas and Arizona.

Koch called Jack Holcomb on the WEEU-AM radio show "Jack's Back Yard," and local birders were able to see and photograph the ducks. The colorful pair enjoyed the creek for five days before moving on. This is the second record for Berks County.

The most unusual shorebird was a buff-breasted sandpiper, which was was found by Matt Wlasniewski north of Topton on Aug. 30. It was with other shorebirds in a shallow pond off of Long Road until it was chased off by a merlin in late afternoon. This is a medium-sized shorebird with buffy underparts, brown wings, yellow legs, black eye and a short black bill. It breeds in the northern-most parts of North America and winters in southern Brazil. This is the fourth county record.

The bird of the year would be the adult female Anna's hummingbird, a bird that spends its summers along the Pacific Coast and winters in northern Mexico. Due to a glitch in its migrating program, it found its way to the feeder of Renee Gery of Shartlesville. This green hummingbird looks very similar to our female ruby-throated hummingbird but is slightly larger. Gery called Holcomb on his radio show on Nov. 20 and reported the bird. Scott Weidensaul (a hummingbird bander) was called and successfully banded and identified it as an Anna's. Many people were able to see and photograph the bird through the end of the year. This is a new county and state record.

On Nov. 24, Joan Silagy was taking her daily walk at Blue Marsh Lake. Hearing some chirps, she found an adult male yellow-throated warbler. This bird was looking for insects and spiders on the picnic tables, under fallen leaves, up in the trees and around the bathrooms of the beach area. It has a yellow throat, black tear-drop mask, white belly and gray wing with a white wing bar. Many people were able to see and photograph this bird through the end of the year. This species usually spends its summers in the southeastern United States and winters along the Gulf Coast and Caribbean Islands. If we see it in Berks County, it is usually in the spring in sycamore trees along Hay Creek.

It has been a busy birding year, and I look forward to seeing what next year brings.

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=283163

250 species of birds counted in Berks in 2010

Originally Published: 1/31/2011
By Ken Lebo
Reading Eagle Correspondent

Birdwatchers tallied 250 species in Berks County for 2010, which is also the 10-year average. We did well with ducks, shorebirds, hawks and warblers. One bird that has been seen the last 10 years but was missed in 2010 was the semi-palmated plover, a shorebird that looks like a miniature killdeer.

We had some rare birds for Berks County and a new record, not only for the county, but the state. Here are some highlights of the year:

A male painted bunting visited the feeder of Mary Schmeck of Alsace Township on the afternoon of June 30. It stayed from 2 to 6 p.m. and was not seen again. This is a colorful songbird with a blue head, green wings and red body. It normally lives across the southern states from Arizona to South Carolina and into Mexico. This is the fifth county record.

Larry Koch and Barbara Murse feed ducks year round on the Wyomissing Creek in Mohnton. On Aug. 3, they saw two ducks that were unfamiliar. After studying field guides, they realized they had seen black-bellied whistling ducks. This is a very colorful, tall, long-legged duck with a gray head, reddish-orange bill, brownish-red chest and back with a black belly. The normal range for this duck is from Brazil north through Mexico and just into Texas and Arizona.

Koch called Jack Holcomb on the WEEU-AM radio show "Jack's Back Yard," and local birders were able to see and photograph the ducks. The colorful pair enjoyed the creek for five days before moving on. This is the second record for Berks County.

The most unusual shorebird was a buff-breasted sandpiper, which was was found by Matt Wlasniewski north of Topton on Aug. 30. It was with other shorebirds in a shallow pond off of Long Road until it was chased off by a merlin in late afternoon. This is a medium-sized shorebird with buffy underparts, brown wings, yellow legs, black eye and a short black bill. It breeds in the northern-most parts of North America and winters in southern Brazil. This is the fourth county record.

The bird of the year would be the adult female Anna's hummingbird, a bird that spends its summers along the Pacific Coast and winters in northern Mexico. Due to a glitch in its migrating program, it found its way to the feeder of Renee Gery of Shartlesville. This green hummingbird looks very similar to our female ruby-throated hummingbird but is slightly larger. Gery called Holcomb on his radio show on Nov. 20 and reported the bird. Scott Weidensaul (a hummingbird bander) was called and successfully banded and identified it as an Anna's. Many people were able to see and photograph the bird through the end of the year. This is a new county and state record.

On Nov. 24, Joan Silagy was taking her daily walk at Blue Marsh Lake. Hearing some chirps, she found an adult male yellow-throated warbler. This bird was looking for insects and spiders on the picnic tables, under fallen leaves, up in the trees and around the bathrooms of the beach area. It has a yellow throat, black tear-drop mask, white belly and gray wing with a white wing bar. Many people were able to see and photograph this bird through the end of the year. This species usually spends its summers in the southeastern United States and winters along the Gulf Coast and Caribbean Islands. If we see it in Berks County, it is usually in the spring in sycamore trees along Hay Creek.

It has been a busy birding year, and I look forward to seeing what next year brings.

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=283163

Seven Brazilian bird species granted endangered status

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) voted recently to designate several rare bird species as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The designation becomes effective on January 27, 2011 and will protect against the trade of, increase conservation funding to, and promote habitat safeguards of seven of the most imperiled species in Brazil.


The selected species live in or near the Atlantic forest biome, a region of tropical and subtropical moist forest, tropical dry forest, tropical savannas, and mangroves along the Atlantic coast of Brazil. The Atlantic forest, or Mata Atlântica has been designated a World Biosphere Reserve because of its high level of biodiversity and endangered inhabitants which include marmosets, lion tamarins, and woolly spider monkeys. It's also massively threatened by the encroachment of civilization. For hundreds of years, the forest has been cleared for urban settlement and the production of sugar cane, with the result being that less than 10% of native, fractured, forest remains.

The species were chosen by the USFWS because they all inhabit the same region and share a high level of threat posed by destruction of their environment due to human activity. One of the species being listed is the black-headed antwren, a small member of the antbird family which lives in pairs or family groups and eats insects, spiders, and small frogs. Currently, the entire species consists of only one population of 1,000 - 2,500 individuals restricted to just 19 miles of coastline near Rio de Janeiro.

Another is the cherry-throated tanager. This small white, black, and red bird was presumed extinct until 1998. Estimates put its current population at just 50 - 250 individuals, probably inhabiting one small tract of protected forest.


In addition to the black-headed antwren and cherry-throated tanager, the designation includes the Brazilian merganser, the fringe-backed fire-eye, the Kaempfer’s tody-tyrant, the Margaretta’s hermit, and the southeastern rufous-vented ground cuckoo.

The USFWS decision follows decades of petitions and lawsuits by the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation nonprofit, over the preclusion of many imperiled species from the Endangered Species Act. In total, 25 international bird species have gained Endangered status in the past three years out of the 45 that were petitioned.

“Protecting these species under the Endangered Species Act will give them a better chance of survival, and it will help attract worldwide attention to the urgent plight of these animals,” said Justin Augustine, staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We hope the Obama administration continues to undo the significant backlog of foreign species that deserve protection but have yet to receive it.”

Morgan Erickson-Davis, mongabay.com

http://news.mongabay.com/2010/1229-morgan_brazil_birds.html

Seven Brazilian bird species granted endangered status

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) voted recently to designate several rare bird species as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The designation becomes effective on January 27, 2011 and will protect against the trade of, increase conservation funding to, and promote habitat safeguards of seven of the most imperiled species in Brazil.


The selected species live in or near the Atlantic forest biome, a region of tropical and subtropical moist forest, tropical dry forest, tropical savannas, and mangroves along the Atlantic coast of Brazil. The Atlantic forest, or Mata Atlântica has been designated a World Biosphere Reserve because of its high level of biodiversity and endangered inhabitants which include marmosets, lion tamarins, and woolly spider monkeys. It's also massively threatened by the encroachment of civilization. For hundreds of years, the forest has been cleared for urban settlement and the production of sugar cane, with the result being that less than 10% of native, fractured, forest remains.

The species were chosen by the USFWS because they all inhabit the same region and share a high level of threat posed by destruction of their environment due to human activity. One of the species being listed is the black-headed antwren, a small member of the antbird family which lives in pairs or family groups and eats insects, spiders, and small frogs. Currently, the entire species consists of only one population of 1,000 - 2,500 individuals restricted to just 19 miles of coastline near Rio de Janeiro.

Another is the cherry-throated tanager. This small white, black, and red bird was presumed extinct until 1998. Estimates put its current population at just 50 - 250 individuals, probably inhabiting one small tract of protected forest.


In addition to the black-headed antwren and cherry-throated tanager, the designation includes the Brazilian merganser, the fringe-backed fire-eye, the Kaempfer’s tody-tyrant, the Margaretta’s hermit, and the southeastern rufous-vented ground cuckoo.

The USFWS decision follows decades of petitions and lawsuits by the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation nonprofit, over the preclusion of many imperiled species from the Endangered Species Act. In total, 25 international bird species have gained Endangered status in the past three years out of the 45 that were petitioned.

“Protecting these species under the Endangered Species Act will give them a better chance of survival, and it will help attract worldwide attention to the urgent plight of these animals,” said Justin Augustine, staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We hope the Obama administration continues to undo the significant backlog of foreign species that deserve protection but have yet to receive it.”

Morgan Erickson-Davis, mongabay.com

http://news.mongabay.com/2010/1229-morgan_brazil_birds.html