Focusing On Wildlife

Bird-Photography… that’s what I like and do!

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 16:05:29 GMT

Birdwatching is today, one of the strongest lines of tourism around the globe. According to an U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study, only in the United States of America, birdwatchers contributed with 36 billion USD to the nation’s economy in 2006, and over 20% of all Americans are identified as birdwatchers.

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Birding in Brazil – Ibiraci city, Minas Gerais state

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 16:02:36 GMT

Posted by Jefferson Silva

This is my first post, and I’ll share with you some of the birding time I had this week, during Brazilian Carnival, one of the most famous parties in the world. I’m not a carnival enthousiastic, instead, I’m a birder. So, I used some time of my holiday photographing at Ibiraci city, in the Minas Gerais state.

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Teaching Birds to 2nd Graders

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 16:00:25 GMT

Posted by Carl Ingwell

Today I did a “career day” at a local elementary school, where I taught four different 2nd grade classes about my ”career” in birding.

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Birds of Peru in the Bosque Unchog

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 15:59:08 GMT

Posted by Glenn Bartley

Part 09/11 of my 3-month trip around Peru – From Marcapomacocha we continued on towards the town of Huanuco. This was our base from which we would visit the legendary Bosque Unchog. Bosque Unchog is a beautiful area of Elfin Forest where some really special and endemic birds can be found.

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Birds, Bins and Bullets – Part 3 – Guns on Gozo & Honey Buzzard Tragedy

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 15:57:07 GMT

“Birds, Bins and Bullets” follows a group of birdwatchers from the north of England as they work alongside the Malta Police Force and Birdlife Malta volunteers in their fight against illegal hunting. Conservation at the sharp end. Part 3 – Guns on Gozo & Honey Buzzard Tragedy. Birds, Bins and Bullets received the “Honorable Mention for Conservation Message” in the 32nd International Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula, Montana USA in 2009.

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Endangered Florida Scrub-Jays Need Nearby Habitat

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:16:50 GMT

The only bird species unique to the state of Florida is the endangered Florida Scrub-Jay—and this week, new research took a step forward in devising ways to protect the 5,000 or so birds that remain. The work was published in the scientific journal Biology Letters on Wednesday and appeared in online news today and in a press release by the Cornell Lab.

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Huge migration of tiny songbird revealed

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:15:02 GMT

Posted by Supertrooper

Every year, the northern wheatear songbird, weighing on average no more than two tablespoons of salt, flies from the Arctic region of the Western Hemisphere all the way to sub-Saharan Africa and back, according to a new study including a researcher at the University of Guelph.

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More than 200 elephants slaughtered in Cameroon since January

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:12:43 GMT

Elephant massacre continues – Poachers slaughtered at least 200 elephants for their tusks in Cameroon in a continuing killing spree that began in mid-January.

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Birds of Peru in the Central Highlands

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 07:52:26 GMT

Posted by Glenn Bartley

Part 08/11 of my 3-month trip around Peru – Visiting Machu Picchu was a nice break from bird photography. But after a few days off I was ready to get back to work. I flew back to Lima to meet up with a friend of mine from Ecuador. We rented a 4×4 truck and set off for the Central Highlands.

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Elland in Winter – Goosanders in the Snow

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 07:50:37 GMT

A fresh, clear, winters day on the canal at Elland was interrupted by bouts of sleet and snow. Two pairs of Goosander tolerated people on the tow-path, but took flight at the site of dog-walkers.

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Sociable Plover or Hoopoe Lark?

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 07:47:51 GMT

Posted by Itai Shanni

Another day at the IBRCE produced a good number of Chiffchafs and more Savi’s Warbler. Steppe Eagles were moving in lower numbers today (or because the wind has reduced, they all went higher in the sky?!). Dead-sea Sparrows are becoming exceptionally beautiful at this time of the year and it is a real treat to handle them.

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Florida – Pockets of Nature by Don Getty

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:38:27 GMT

Posted by Don Getty

Florida is the eighth most densely populated state in the US, about 60 times the density of my home state of Wyoming. I like my elbow room, but find myself traveling to Florida for what I refer to as “Pockets of Nature”. Travelers waiting for a flight to Florida share excitement over plans for Disney World, beaches, golf courses and the like, but I generally get a blank stare when I mention the Corkscrew Swamp or Wakodahatchee Wetlands. Now I can share a bit of information about these “Pockets of Nature” with some who care.

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Birds, Bins and Bullets – Part 2 – The Scale of the Problem

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:36:28 GMT

“Birds, Bins and Bullets” follows a group of birdwatchers from the north of England as they work alongside the Malta Police Force and Birdlife Malta volunteers in their fight against illegal hunting. Birds, Bins and Bullets received the “Honorable Mention for Conservation Message” in the 32nd International Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula, Montana USA in 2009 The film contains material recorded in Autumn 2007 and Spring 2008.

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Andalucian nature says hello!

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:36:14 GMT

Posted by Jorge Garzón

Southern Iberia and Andalucía outstand because of its biodiversity. The eastern areas of this part of Europe are rich in birds, wildflowers and insects, specially Moths and Butterflies. This is the Mediterranean paradise from where I will write my posts, bringing you the best excerpts of nature.

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Dalmatian Pelicans Starving in Frozen Caspian Sea

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:36:00 GMT

Russian Authorities are scrambling to save hundreds of starving and endangered Dalmatian pelicans after the Caspian Sea froze for the first time in years.

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Oregon House Approves Marine Reserves, MPAs

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:35:46 GMT

Great news! Today the Oregon House passed a bill making Oregon’s first network of marine reserves and marine protected areas (MPAs). The bill, which Oceana has been actively supporting, now goes to the governor’s desk for a signature.

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Jaguar in Iwokrama, Guyana

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:38:19 GMT

Posted by Niel Poul Dreyer

One of the highlights of our trip to Guyana was two sightings of Jaguars on the road between Iwokrama and ATTA. A young male appeared at the roadside 40 meters from us on his way through the area. Our guide Smith was able to keep it at bay on the road for five minutes by making growling noises. Two days later, our driver saw a pair of jaguars walking towards us until they reached a point 120 meters from the Toyota. We watched them for 20 minutes as the female tested the fear of the male in refusing to follow him into the forest. Instead, she laid down on the road. The male tried to lead her off the road on several occasions as they approached.

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Want to Join a “Multi-Author Wildlife Blog”?

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:49:02 GMT

Do you have an interesting wildlife story to share, images or videoclips you’d like to share on-line?

If the answer is “YES” then we invite you to join our “Multi-Author Wildlife Blog”.

Please follow this link to learn more out about our invitation.

Florida Everglades by Fabiola Forns

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:23:05 GMT

Posted by Fabiola Forns

River of Grass - This was the name that conservationist Marjorie Stoneman Douglas liked to call the Everglades, a place like nowhere else in our world – wet and dry, wild and developed at the same time. It is formed by a mosaic of sawgrass marshes, pine rockland forests, tropical hardwood hammocks, mangrove swamps and coastal estuaries.

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An afternoon at Nebrownii waterhole, Etosha National Park, Namibia

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:23:40 GMT

Posted by Adam Riley

One of Africa’s great reserves is the incredible Etosha National Park in northern Namibia. This vast, arid wilderness of 22,750 square kilometers is centered around the seemingly endless Etosha Pan, a saline depression that irregularly fills with rain water and at these times attracts millions of flamingoes and other waterbirds (as is the current situation.)

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Rare bird draws thousand twitchers to Rhiwderin

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:15:46 GMT

MORE than 1,000 birdwatchers flocked to a Newport field after a bird, rarely seen this side of the Atlantic, was spotted there.

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Birds of Peru in the Cloud Forests

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:24:08 GMT

Posted by Glenn Bartley

Part 07/11 of my 3-month trip around Peru – I left the lowlands behind me and started the long journey back to Cusco. Before returning to civilization though I wanted to make one more stop. I felt like I had missed out on the birds in the higher elevations of the park so I decided to stop in at a lodge at about 2800m ASL to try for a few cloud-forest specialties.

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Spring alive…

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:16:48 GMT

Posted by Itai Shanni, Israeli Ornithological Centre (IOC) and the International Birding and Research Centre Eilat (IBRCE)

This time of year is exceptionally thrilling for me; while the wintering species are still dominating, there are many “firsts” for the season that appear daily in different corners of the Arava and some of our breeding species already have brood-patches…

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Birds, Bins and Bullets Part 1 – Arrival and First Impressions

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:12:22 GMT

“Birds, Bins and Bullets” follows a group of birdwatchers from the north of England as they work alongside the Malta Police Force and Birdlife Malta volunteers in their fight against illegal hunting. Birds, Bins and Bullets received the “Honorable Mention for Conservation Message” in the 32nd International Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula, Montana USA in 2009 The film contains material recorded in Autumn 2007 and Spring 2008. Conservation at the sharp end.

Watch video on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Wind Eagle Take Permit Not Justified

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:10:25 GMT

American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation’s leading bird conservation organization, today sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) voicing strong concerns about the first-ever application for a special permit that would allow Golden Eagles to be incidentally killed. The proposed “incidental take permit,” submitted under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, would allow Oregon’s West Butte Wind Project to kill, harm, or disturb up to three Golden Eagles over five years, as long as certain conservation measures were implemented.

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Atmore man admits to killing protected migratory birds since 2006

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:09:01 GMT

An Atmore man has pleaded guilty in federal court to killing migratory birds and selling the feathers on the black market.

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Fool for the city

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:07:17 GMT

Posted by Kieran Lindsey

Why is Homo sapiens becoming an increasingly urban species? For the same simple reasons as raccoons (Procyonis lotor), it seems - more housing options and better restaurants (easy access to French fries and Dunkin Donuts, in particular).

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Birds of Peru around a Remote Lowland Lodge

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:11:02 GMT

By Glenn Bartley based in Victoria, British Columbia on Canada’s West Coast.

Part 06/11 of my 3-month trip around Peru -The tour group dropped me off at their final stop – a lodge based at 300m ASL. I would spend the next week here trying to photograph some of the really difficult lowland birds. Bird photography at this elevation can be really difficult. To start with, there is almost never any light to work with. Competition for the suns rays in the rainforest is fierce and most light is intercepted before it reaches the forest floor.

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Feisty Firecrests of the Forest

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:24:48 GMT

By Stephen Daly based in Spain and founder of Andalucian Guides.

The Firecrest (Regulus ignicapillus) is one of the most amazing little birds we have. Packed full of energy and living their lives at such an amazingly fast pace. Firecrests breed in most of temperate Europe and in the western side of North Africa.

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Birds of Peru around Manu National Park

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:02:07 GMT

By Glenn Bartley based in Victoria, British Columbia on Canada’s West Coast.

Part 05/11 of my 3-month trip around Peru – At this point I had reached the end of the road…literally. All travel deeper in to the park would require a boat. I managed to join a tour group to move on down the river – WAY down the river. We took the boat several hundred kilometers into the jungle and into the Manu National Park reserved zone.

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Birds of Peru around Atalaya

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:22:39 GMT

By Glenn Bartley, a professional nature photographer, who specializes in photographing birds in their natural habitat.

Part 04/11 of my 3-month trip around Peru – Three days came and went and it was soon time for me to continue on down the road deeper in to the park. I hitchhiked down the road to the next town and then took a moto-taxi to the town of Atalaya.

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Wonderful Uganda – A Birding Paradise

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:21:38 GMT

By Mike Barth based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates

A belated blog of my week long trip to Uganda in December. It all started with my Emirates flight to Entebbe via Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. All in all, Uganda is a wonderful place with wonderful people and fantastic habitat. Living in the desert it was a real pleasure to go somewhere where this is an abundance of wildlife:

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Bird Photography off the Beaten Path

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:45:29 GMT

By Fabiola Forns based in Miami

Bird photography is my passion and has been for many years now. There is nothing like finding a bird you’ve wanted and then capturing an image of it, the way you had dreamed. Creating beautiful bird pictures can be very rewarding. However, sometimes we want even more by pushing the envelope a bit and creating something unusual.

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The Geladas of Ethiopia

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:09:37 GMT

By Adam Riley, founder of Rockjumper Birding Tours, Indri Ultimate Mammal Voyages and Oryx Worldwide Photographic Safaris

Geladas are the sole survivors of a once abundant branch of primates that historically foraged across the grasslands of Africa, the Mediterranean and India. These relics of times gone by now cling to a precarious existence on the sheer cliffs of Ethiopia’s mountains, from which each morning they materialize, to forage on nearby moorlands, before disappearing down the precipices in the evening.

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Over Two Thirds of Fatalities of Endangered California Condors Caused by Lead Poisoning

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:31:28 GMT

By Larry Jordan based on the Pacific Flyway near the Central Valley of Northern California.

Here is another no-brainer for you. A new study authored by San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research scientists has found that 67 percent of adult condor deaths are attributable to lead poisoning!

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Birds of Peru around Ollantaytambo

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:06:00 GMT

Part 02/11 of Glenn Bartley's 3-month trip around Peru – Flipping through the field guide to the birds of Peru there was another hummingbird from this region that grabbed my attention. The White-tufted Sunbeam is a real stunner that is also endemic to Peru.

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A Dream Was Realized

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:13:32 GMT

By Ray Barlow based near to Toronto Canada

As a young lad, my favourite shows were Johnny Quest, Hercules, and Tarzan. My dream quickly became a trip to Africa to see first hand what these amazing animals looked like face to face. At 49 years old, I packed in my business of contracting in 2008 and went full time as a wildlife photographer, and the plan was in place!

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Birds of Peru around Lago Huacarpay

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:04:38 GMT

By Glenn Bartley based in Victoria, British Columbia on Canada’s West Coast

On the first of September 2011 I traveled from my home in Victoria, BC to Lima Peru for a 3 month bird photography expedition. My plan was to travel around the country in search of as many of the most beautiful and endemic birds that I could find.

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Roseate Spoonbill: Iconic Florida Wading Bird

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:10:56 GMT

By Steven Scott based in Floria and Maine

The Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) is a rather bizarre wading bird of Florida and Central and South America. This heron-sized member of the Ibis family (Threskiamithidae) is easily recognized by it’s pink plumage and spatulate bill.

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Bears ‘commit suicide’ to escape horror of gall bile farms

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:43:52 GMT

Wildlife campaigner Louis Ng is no stranger to close encounters with animals in distress. But nothing quite prepared him for the emotional exchange with an adult bear outside a bear farm in Laos. A film-maker had stumbled upon the farm and contacted Ng, the co-founder and executive director of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) in Singapore.

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Newfoundland Photo Trip

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:27:38 GMT

By Glenn Bartley based in Victoria, British Columbia on Canada's West Coast

I returned from a splendid three week trip to a place that is affectionately referred to as “The Rock” in August 2011. After a few weeks driving around the beautiful province of Newfoundland I can see why as the rocky geology and rugged coastlines aptly earn their nickname. The landscape also creates perfect habitat for a number of nesting seabirds and these were what drew me all the way to the East Coast of Canada.

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Reddish Egrets in Florida

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:49:00 GMT

By Scott Simmons based in Florida

Reddish Egrets are the rarest, and arguably the most beautiful, of the Florida herons. Once relatively common along the coastlines of Florida in the 19th century, plume hunters nearly eradicated the species from Florida by the early 20th century. Since the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Reddish Egret has been increasing in numbers in Florida, but after nearly 100 years, the population still has not fully recovered. It is estimated that there are less than 400 nesting pairs in the state, a population that may be about one tenth of the population in the mid-19th century. Most today can be found in the Florida Bay and Tampa Bay areas, with some also found at Merritt Island and elsewhere. They can be found in two morphs: a “dark” morph, which is more reddish in color, and a “white” morph.

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The World’s Rarest Dolphin Faces Extinction

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:43:54 GMT

By Nic Slocum, Director of The Wildlife Film School and Whale Watch West Cork

With the recent death in January of another Maui’s dolphin by entanglement in static fishing gear cetacean biologists around the globe are resigning themselves to yet another whale species facing extinction within the next few years; joining the recently extinct Yangtze river dolphin and the ranks of other critically endangered marine mammal species like the Vaquita or Gulf of California porpoise.

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California’s Largest Burrowing Owl Population Is in Rapid Decline

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:37:01 GMT

By Larry Jordan based in Northern California

Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) are listed as endangered in Canada and threatened Mexico. They are considered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to be a “Bird of Conservation Concern” at the national level, in three USFWS regions, and in nine Bird Conservation Regions. They are also listed as endangered in Minnesota, threatened in Colorado, and as a “Species of Special Concern” in California, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

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Wintering Cranes at Arasaki

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:34:08 GMT

By John Andrew Wright based in Kyushu, Japan

Perhaps the most important winter refuge for Hooded and White-naped Cranes in the world is the famous Arasaki area in Izumi city, Kagoshima, Japan. From late November each year, thousands of these magnificent birds migrate to this spot on the southwestern coast of Kyushu, and by the end of December most of the more than 10,000 cranes have arrived. Then around mid-March, the birds begin returning to their breeding grounds in Russia.

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First Record of Siberian Buff-Bellied Pipit in Bahrain

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:54:47 GMT

By Jem Babbington located in Dhahran, Eastern Saudi Arabia

Alba Marsh is a small piece of marsh about half way down the east coast of Bahrain. The area has extensive Phragmites (Phragmites australis) reed-beds, but over much of the area the water is too deep to set nets. In the area where we ring, the reeds are shorter as people cut them for animal fodder and they are interspersed with low Tamarisk scrub. Whilst ringing there on Friday 20^th January 2012 with Brendan we caught six pipits, all being coutellirace Water Pipits with the exception of one bird.

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Snowy Owl “Irruption” in North America

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:39:34 GMT

By Nic Slocum, Director of The Wildlife Film School and Whale Watch West Cork

Local farmers, amateur birdwatchers and bird researchers have witnessed an unusual and at times disturbing phenomenon recently as huge numbers of snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus) are migrating south from the Arctic and being seen as far south as Missouri. Such are the increasingly large numbers of this majestic owl species that it is being described as a “mass migration”.

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The Message of the Lyrebird

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:49:22 GMT

The Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) is the world’s best impersonator. It can mimic the sound and songs of other birds perfectly but its talent does not stop there. It is also known to have imitated sounds of chainsaws, dogs barking, babies crying, musical instruments and explosions.

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Mining Claim Markers Cause Millions of Bird Deaths in Nevada

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:15:34 GMT

American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation’s leading bird conservation organization, today called on the federal government to take action to eliminate the massive avian mortality threat posed by the continued use of uncapped metal or PVC mining claim marker pipes on public lands in the West.

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Is this the beginning of the end of the Canadian commercial seal hunt?

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:07:42 GMT

By Nic Slocum, Director of The Wildlife Film School and Whale Watch West Cork

Comments being made in certain quarters of the Canadian political hierarchy may indicate that there is a creeping realisation that the negative publicity that Canada receives from its adherence to the annual commercial seal hunt is not worth the financial returns obtained from the selling of seal products.

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Almost 1,500 Turtles “Crammed Like Sardines” Into Suitcases

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:05:27 GMT

Close to 1,500 live Pig-nosed Turtles were seized yesterday in Mopah Airport, Merauke, in Papua Province, Indonesia. The 1,495 turtles were concealed inside two suitcases en route to Jakarta, the nation’s capital and a major hub for illicit wildlife trade.

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Wild and Wonderful – Antelope Island State Park

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:44:25 GMT

By Mia McPherson from Salt Lake City, Utah

This is part 2 of my three part series on Wild and Wonderful Antelope Island State Park and it covers some of the wildlife that can be found howling, grazing, buzzing, napping and posing for my camera. One of the first furry critters I saw on my original visit to Antelope Island was a Black-tailed Jackrabbit and I was thrilled because I had not seen them for the five years that I had lived in Florida. I love their huge ears, the soft brown of their eyes and how they wiggle their noses.

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Hunters Pay £10,000 To Shoot Giraffes

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:29:24 GMT

Tourist trophy hunters are paying thousands of pounds to go and shoot giraffes with high-powered guns and bows. The gentle giants are loved around the world for their comical appearance and gentle nature.

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Recent UAE Vagrants and Migrants

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:36:31 GMT

By Mike Barth based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

I start on 23rd December with a trip to Zakher Lakes near Al Ain, the water levels here are increasing at an alarming rate. There used to be many reed beds with great habitat for reed loving birds, however that habitat is now extremely limited. The water is believed to be run-off from the city of Al Ain but I cannot confirm that. During this specific visit (23/12) I saw Little Bittern and Great Bittern (uncommon) working the same patch of reed bed, however, now the water level is so high I believe they have been forced out.

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The Saudi Arabian Gulf Coral Islands

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:43:38 GMT

By Jem Babbington based in Dhahran, Eastern Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabian Gulf coral islands are very important sites for birds, both breeding seabirds and migrant passerines and hold internationally important numbers of breeding Lesser Crested Terns (Thalasseus bengalensis) and Bridled Terns (Onychoprion anaethetus).

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Isahaya Bay in Winter

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:11:46 GMT

By John Andrew Wright based in Kyushu, Japan

I always feel very fortunate to live in an area of Japan that is surrounded by some of the best winter birding locations in the country and, indeed, in all of East Asia. From my home in Shimabara, Nagasaki, it is just a short ferry ride and drive to Hikawa and Yatsushiro in Kumamoto, while driving south a bit further takes me to Arasaki and Sendai in Kagoshima. Or I can drive around the coastline of the Ariake Sea to Daijyugarami in Saga. But just an hour away is Isahaya Bay, my favourite spot in autumn and winter.

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A Win For The Cranes

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:15:34 GMT

Kentucky fish and wildlife officials say they are not disappointed that Kentucky hunters killed only 50 sandhill cranes — far less than the 400-bird limit they had set — during a controversial 30-day hunting season that ended Sunday.

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Fin Whales off the Irish South Coast

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:40:00 GMT

By Nic Slocum

The second largest mammal of earth, the mighty fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is frequently seen in Irish inshore waters during the autumn and winter months. A pelagic species that spends most of their time well offshore; these large baleen whales move into coastal waters off the southern Irish coastline every year in search of the herring shoals on which they feed. Numbers vary each year but Ireland is one of the few locations in the world where fin whales can be seen with a land backdrop as they venture as close as a few hundred meters off the rocky shoreline.

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Scientists Estimate Up to 6.7 Million Bats Dead From Fast-spreading Disease

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:41:57 GMT

A mysterious, fast-moving disease has now killed as many as 6.7 million bats in North America over the past six years, according to an estimate released today by bat biologists. The new estimate is dramatically higher than the previous one, dating from 2009, that white-nose syndrome had killed 1 million bats on the continent. The disease was first discovered in upstate New York in 2006 and has spread from Nova Scotia to Tennessee, infecting bat colonies in 16 states and four provinces.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Highlights from Birding Costa Rica in 2011

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:33:23 GMT

by Pat O’Donnell

2011 came to an end and 2012 was ushered in with fireworks, rivers of spirited drink, and grapes. Well, at least in Latin America there are grapes. You are supposed to eat 12 and then you get good luck for the coming year. I can’t recall if I took part in the grape-eating tradition at the end of 2010 but I must have done something right because I had a good year for birding in Costa Rica.Although spates of rain in January and October caused landslides and hindered birding for a couple of weeks, overall, the weather was pretty nice. Even though we don’t get snow down here in these tropical latitudes, we can definitely get enough rainfall for it to cause some unwelcome issues. Basically, we don’t see as many birds through the sheets of falling water and sometimes can’t even get to them due to landslides and flooding. There was a bit of that in 2011, but it wasn’t as bad as other years so I am of the opinion that we had good luck with the weather.

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3 Florida Panthers Die in the First Ten Days of 2012

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:27:46 GMT

Florida panthers are off to a rough start in 2012, with three deaths documented by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Already, in just the first week of 2012, there were two documented deaths of panthers hit by vehicles on highways in Collier County, where the greatest concentration of panthers in the state is found. The third fatality was caused by a fight with another panther.

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A Coyote and Falcon Leftovers

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:27:30 GMT

I had a marvelous photographic experience with Coyote along the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake last week and wanted to share some of the images that I created. The temperatures have fluctuated often the past few weeks in the Salt Lake Valley, for a while it was very cold and the Great Salt Lake became covered with ice, then it warmed up and the wind blew huge sheets of the ice onto the shoreline where it piled up in some areas at least four feet high and after that we had a freeze that left everything frosty the morning I took these images.

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Hundreds of Seabirds Caught in Cornish Fishing Nets in Just One Day

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:25:30 GMT

Conservationists are saddened and extremely concerned about the continued deaths of seabirds caught in nets in west Cornwall. On just one day in early January, an estimated 200 birds were found in a net to the north of St Ives and others washed up on local beaches. The Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (CIFCA) has now used a local bylaw to close part of the fishery due to birds being caught in nets nearby.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Oiled Wildlife Death Toll is ‘Tip of the Iceberg’

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:06:11 GMT

The number of oiled wildlife reported dead is a tiny fraction of the true figure killed by the Rena oil spill, WWF-New Zealand said today. The conservation organisation said that the tragedy should act as a wake up call for Government, yet its recent proposed legislation for New Zealand’s offshore environment does little to protect wildlife from future oil spills.

Read full article and watch video on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Slavonian Grebe Chicks Taken By Pike

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:39:58 GMT

Stopping the introduction of pike into Scottish lochs could help ensure the future of one of Scotland’s rarest birds, according to research by RSPB Scotland.

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Drought Threatens Flock of Whooping Cranes

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:39:18 GMT

Raising its slim, white neck out of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, one of the world’s last surviving whooping cranes hungrily searches a Texas marsh for the blue crabs and berries it devours during its annual migration to the Gulf Coast.

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Land Shark Eats Migrating Birds

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:31:39 GMT

Researchers at Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama, who have been conducting a two year study focusing on the diets of Tiger Sharks in the Gulf of Mexico, have made a surprising discovery: not only are the sharks feeding on fish and other marine organisms, they are also feeding on land-based birds, such as woodpeckers, tanagers, meadowlarks, catbirds, kingbirds, and swallows.

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Birding in Saudi Arabia – Challenges

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:40:17 GMT

Birding in Saudi Arabia is a relatively challenging task for a number of reasons but the main one is probably not the one you are expecting. Saudi Arabia has a relatively poor press in Western countries as well as elsewhere in the world and this press makes the country out to be a dangerous place to live with hundreds of extremists and no chance of carrying a camera or a pair of binoculars.

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An amazing conservation success story in Seychelles

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:59:06 GMT

In the 1960s, Seychelles Warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis became one of the world’s rarest birds when the population slumped to just 26 individuals, all on tiny Cousin island in the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean. Formerly, the bird had been more widely distributed in the Seychelles, but habitat destruction and non-native species brought the warbler to extinction everywhere apart from Cousin. But now the fortunes of the bird are looking much brighter, thanks to a programme to redistribute these birds to other islands in the Seychelles.

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Snowy Owl Invasion

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:00:24 GMT

Snowy Owls lead nomadic lives and travel vast distances from year to year searching for productive feeding areas. Some years, most recently in the winter of 2011/2012, conditions cause them to come south in great numbers. Get an intimate look at these white owls from the north through video and photographs captured by the Cornell Lab’s, Gerrit Vyn.

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Climate changing outlook for harp seals

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 08:42:36 GMT

Warming oceans and melting sea ice may have a major impact on harp seals, the doe-eyed animals that are the prime target for Canada’s annual seal hunt. Researchers from Duke University in the US found that sea ice in the seals’ breeding grounds has shrunk by about 6% per decade over the last 30 years.

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International appeal for Patagonian grebe in crisis

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:51:30 GMT

Recent surveys on its coastal Patagonian wintering grounds indicate that the Endangered Hooded Grebe Podiceps gallardoi has declined by 40% in the last seven years and this, along with alarming new threats detected on its breeding grounds during 2011, indicate action is now urgently required to prevent the rapidly increasing threat of its extinction.

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Singing Kagu In Focus

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:17:43 GMT

The Kagu Rhynochetos jubatus of New Caledonia is an iconic bird that symbolises the challenges faced by many island species in the modern era. This charismatic species is classified as Endangered by BirdLife on behalf of the IUCN Red List on the basis of its very small, severely fragmented population which is suffering an overall decline due to threats such as habitat fragmentation or predation by introduced species like dogs, rats and cats.

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BirdLife Pacific Invasive Species Programme

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:23:44 GMT

The BirdLife Pacific Partnership has started a new four-year European Union funded regional Invasive Species programme which seeks to reduce the spread and the environmental and socio-economic impact of invasive alien species by supporting the eradication and control of invasive alien species and also enhancing biosecurity.

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Save the Last Houbara Bustards in Tunisia

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:10:44 GMT

Houbara Bustard Chlamydotis undulata undulata is protected by the Tunisian law and several international conventions to which Tunisia is signatory. This did not prevent the near-extermination of the Tunisian population of Houbara Bustard by poaching of the emirs of the gulf states and which was authorised during more than 20 years by the Ben Ali regime.

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Restoring the Philippines’ Forests

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:58:18 GMT

The Haribon Foundation (BirdLife in the Philippines), with the support of the Disney’s Friends for Change has produced a 6-minute video aimed at children on deforestation and its impacts, and what Haribon is doing to tackle the problem and restore degraded forests as part of BirdLife’s Forests of Hope programme.

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Timor Bush-warbler rediscovered

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:59:14 GMT

There had been no confirmed field observations of Timor Bush-warbler Bradypterus timorensis since two specimens were collected on Mount Mutis, West Timor, in 1932. A paper published online in BirdLife’s journal, Bird Conservation International (BCI) [1], reports the rediscovery of the Timor Bush-warbler in Timor-Leste (East Timor) in 2009, prompted by the discovery of a previously unknown population of bush-warbler on the island of Alor, Indonesia, to the north.

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State of the Maya Biosphere Reserve

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:49:05 GMT

In a recent ceremony in the National Palace in Guatemala City, staff of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) presented Álvaro Colom Caballeros, president of Guatemala, and other high-level officials with the State of the Maja Biosphere Reserve, a report detailing the successes of, and current threats to, the country’s largest protected area.

Read full report on FocusingOnWildlife.com

2011: “Annus horribilis” for African Elephants

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:44:20 GMT

As the year draws to a close, TRAFFIC warns that 2011 has seen a record number of large ivory seizures globally, reflecting the sharp rise in illegal ivory trade underway since 2007. Although official confirmation of the volume of ivory involved in some cases has not yet been registered, what is clear is the dramatic increase in the number of large-scale seizures, over 800 kg in weight, that have taken place in 2011—at least 13 of them.

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Reindeer Are Fading Into Holiday Myth

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:50:40 GMT

CHRISTMAS is tied to the magical north and to the reindeer — creatures of mythical power that fly through the night across the world, helping to distribute happiness and good will. But reindeer do exist — we call them caribou in North America — and these animals and their home in the boreal woodlands and on the barren-ground tundra are in trouble.

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Habitat danger for Seychelles Paradise-flycatcher

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 20:21:07 GMT

The illegal felling of mature trees on La Digue island, the stronghold of the Critically Endangered Seychelles Paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone corvina has been exposed by the local media. In a front page article, the newspaper Le Seychelles Hebdorevealed the shocking story. The damage includes the felling and cropping of several native tree species used by the bird.

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The long and short of it

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 05:54:19 GMT

As difficult species go, the Long and Short-eared Owl pairing are amongst the most challenging to identify, especially in flight. The latest identification video from the BTO offers tips on how to separate both, in flight, perched and by calls.

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Global Assessment Identifies Most Important Wildlife Forests

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 22:39:18 GMT

As the world tightens its economic belt, resources to address the world’s growing environmental problems are becoming increasingly limited. These reducing resources means the ability to establish the utmost conservation priorities is more important than ever to achieve the greatest returns for the investment. A new paper published in the journal PLoS ONE by BirdLife scientists, identifies those forests that appear to be the most important for bird species, and are in most urgent need of conservation.

Critically Endangered Dwarf Olive Ibis (Bostrychia bocagei) is found in the forests of São Tomé (Nik Borrow)

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Caught in the Crosshairs

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:51:47 GMT

The Wildlife Conservation Society today announced the release of Caught in the Crosshairs: Combating the Illegal Wildlife Trade in Iraq and Afghanistan—a new video aimed at informing U.S. military personnel about the consequences of buying illegal wildlife products when deployed or stationed overseas.

Watch video on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Small Grants, Big Conservation for Mangroves

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:51:34 GMT

The Neotropical Mangrove Conservation Alliance has awarded its first small grant to Grupo Jaragua (BirdLife in the Dominican Republic) as part of an initiative to catalyze community-based mangrove conservation in the Insular Caribbean. The Mangroves of Laguna de Oviedo site project is up and running, and aims to improve the conservation of mangrove ecosystems in Jaragua National Park Important Bird Area.

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Rare Footage from a Thai Forest

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 05:15:09 GMT

An amazing collection of images was captured by camera trap video by WCS and the Government of Thailand in Huai Kha Keng Wildlife Sanctuary in 2011. These show the incredible diversity of species that can flourish once the proper protections are in place.

Watch video on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Cattle Ranchers in the Pampas support Bird Conservation

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:06:20 GMT

For the fifth year in succession, cattle ranchers and representatives of the conservation community in the Southern Cone of South America gathered to discuss the conservation of natural grasslands. This time it was in Lavras do Sul, Brazil, during 27th – 29th October 2011.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Sensational bird discovery in China

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:13:31 GMT

In June 2011, a team of Chinese and Swedish researchers rediscovered the breeding area for the poorly known Blackthroat Luscinia obscura, in the Qinling mountains, Shaanxi province, north central China.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Feds Petitioned to Regulate Wind Industry

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:26:08 GMT

American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation’s leading bird conservation organization, today formally petitioned the U.S. Department of the Interior to protect millions of birds from the negative impacts of wind energy by developing regulations that will safeguard wildlife and reward responsible wind energy development.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Tsunami Relief: Help People Not Whaler

Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:18:39 GMT

It is sickening to read that money donated to help people affected by the Tsunami in Japan is being used to help promote the Japanese Whaling Industry. Please read the article, follow the link to the Avazz website and sign the petition.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Vietnamese Caught Smuggling Rhino Horns in South Africa

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:57:41 GMT

South African authorities last week arrested two Vietnamese nationals at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport as they attempted to smuggle rhino horns and elephant ivory.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

1,500 Waterbirds Killed in Bizarre Incident in Utah

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:49:26 GMT

Officials in Utah are estimating that about 1,500 Eared Grebes were killed late Monday night, possibly as a result of confusing a Wal-Mart parking lot in Cedar City with a body of water and landing on the asphalt during a storm. An additional 3,500 apparently dazed and confused grebes were rounded up through the night by hand by volunteers and staff of the Utah Department of Wildlife, and eventually released into a nearby lake.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Scotland's White-Tailed Eagles Soar to New Heights

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:57:40 GMT

2011 has proved another record breaking year for breeding pairs of Scotland’s largest bird of prey. White-tailed eagles soared to new heights despite heavy storms throughout the 2011 breeding season.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

British Egg Collector Sentenced to Prison Term

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:39:10 GMT

Matthew Gonshaw (49) of Cherrywood Close, Bow in East London, has extended his infamy for being Britain’s most imprisoned egg collector by being sentenced to yet another jail term, for six months, following conviction for stealing and possessing wild birds eggs, including those of some of the rarest and most threatened birds in the UK.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Stamp Out Albatross Slaughter This Christmas

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:40:13 GMT

Help stamp out threats to albatrosses during the season of goodwill, that’s the festive plea from the RSPB, which is asking people to help raise funds to protect the threatened birds by saving up the stamps from their Christmas post.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Strange Orange-Headed Birds Seen in Ireland

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:08:46 GMT

During the summer BirdWatch Ireland HQ received lots of phone calls and emails about strange birds with bright orange heads that have been visiting gardens around Ireland. They tend to flock with Starlings and House Sparrows and can be quite numerous in some areas, though they can't be found in any field guides.

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Hen Harrier Close to English Extinction

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 13:29:18 GMT

The hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) is the bird most likely to become extinct in England because of human pressure, says the RSPB. A 2011 joint survey of the English uplands by the RSPB and Natural England found that only four nesting pairs of hen harrier successfully raised young; all on a single estate in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Proposed Wind Farm in Washington D.C. Scrubbed

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:48:23 GMT

Plans to build a 32-turbine wind farm near the coast of Washington in a key breeding area for a threatened seabird have been halted to the relief of conservationists.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Polar Bear 'Cannibalism' Pictured

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:20:20 GMT

It is an image that is sure to shock many people. An adult polar bear is seen dragging the body of a cub that it has just killed across the Arctic sea ice.

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Pakistan Seizes Hunting Falcons 'from Qatari Royal'

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:51:27 GMT

Custom officials in the Pakistani city of Karachi have confiscated 74 falcons that they say were being unlawfully transported into the country.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Help On The Way For Rockhopper Penguins

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:47:51 GMT

James Robinson, who lives in Donaghadee, is making an exciting trip to the Falkland Islands to help save rockhopper penguins. The RSPB Director for Northern Ireland is spending five weeks helping Falklands Conservation in their work to save the islands’ amazing seabirds.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Aquatic Warbler Numbers Increasing

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:25:31 GMT

Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola), the rarest and the only globally threatened passerine bird in mainland Europe, is facing a brighter future thanks to six years of intensive work within a LIFE project (part financed by the European Commission), coordinated by OTOP (BirdLife in Poland). Swarovski Optik, Cemex Poland and the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) kindly agreed to co-finance the other part of the EUR 5 million project.

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Counting snow leopards in Nepal

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:42:36 GMT

The elusive snow leopard (Panthera uncia) lives high in the mountains across Central Asia. It is thought to occur across 12 countries but the actual numbers of this beautiful large cat are largely unknown.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Arabian Money Buying Extinction of Houbara Bustard

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:28:39 GMT

At least 25 special permits have been issued to dignitaries belonging to the Arabian peninsula allowing them to hunt the internationally protected Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata) during the hunting season 2011-2012, it was learnt on Saturday.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Grizzlies Targeted to Increase Moose and Caribou Hunts

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:28:48 GMT

A report, written by 3 retired Alaskan Department of Game bear experts and a scientist from the US National Wildlife Federation, shows that Alaska has been quietly increasing the hunting of Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) in the hope that reducing grizzly numbers would lead to an increase in caribou and moose numbers. A license to hunt a caribou or moose costs $3-500 on average; Are the Alaskan Department of Game trying to increase their revenue on moose and caribou hunts by reducing grizzly numbers?

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Gamekeeper admits poisoning buzzards

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:28:53 GMT

A gamekeeper has admitted poisoning birds of prey at a farm in Biggar, South Lanarkshire. David Whitefield, 41, admitted poisoning four buzzards (Buteo buteo) with chloralose baits at Coulter Allers Farm between March and November 2009.

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Yellowstone’s Wolverines Revealed

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 08:58:22 GMT

Born during February in snow-caves at 9,000 feet on the north slope of craggy peaks in the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone’s wolverines (Gulo gulo luscus) are tough..

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Baltic Seaduck Take a Dive

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:42:30 GMT

A new report presenting the results of a census of wintering waterbirds in the Baltic Sea has been launched. The studies reveal that overall numbers have declined by more than 40% since the 1990's

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Endangered Hawaiian Bird Making Comeback

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:17:06 GMT

The endangered Nēnē, also known as Hawaiian Goose (Branta sandvicensis), whose wild population 60 years ago had shrunk to a meager 20-30 birds, has been making a remarkable comeback thanks to decades of captive breeding programs, predator control, and habitat management. The current population is estimated to be around 2,000.

Read full article on FocusingOnWildlife.com

Beluga Body Scrub (Delphinapterus leucas)

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:10:00 GMT

Large numbers of Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) gather in the shallows for an exfoliation treatment.

Watch video on FocusingOnWildlife.com