Focusing On Wildlife

Proposed Plan Weakens Protections For Northern Spotted Owl

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:23:21 GMT

The U.S. Forest Service has proposed eliminating reserves in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington State protecting the threatened Northern Spotted Owl. It has also weakened management standards that could increase logging in owl habitat. The proposal is the first for a National Forest following completion of the Northern Spotted Owl Recovery Plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Voices: Common Nighthawk

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:19:55 GMT

Macaulay Library Curator Greg Budney shares a close encounter he had with a Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) as it called & produced sizzling wing sounds just over his head.

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Red Kites Are High Fliers

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:13:21 GMT

Four years after the first red kites were reintroduced to Ireland, the RSPB and Golden Eagle Trust have announced that in 2011, 16 pairs successfully bred to fledge 25 young in Counties Wicklow and Down.

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White-winged Crossbill Feeding Technique

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:48:54 GMT

Take an up-close look at the remarkable physical adaptations White-winged Crossbills (Loxia leucoptera) use to retrieve seeds hidden inside tightly closed spruce cones.

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Help Us Reach 10,000 Subscribers For Wildlife Conservation

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 05:55:13 GMT

First of all we'd like to thank you for subscribing to our wildlife conservation newsletter, which regularly features birdsong, videos and high-resolution images. As you know, each time you read our newsletter on line or visit FocusingOnWildlife.com, you are automatically generating revenue for wildlife conservation. You enjoy the latest news articles and it doesn't cost you a thing. However, it does benefit the wildlife which we all care about.

To ramp up our efforts to save wildlife, our target is to reach 10,000 subscribers. We can achieve this if you forward this mail to your friends, colleagues, acquaintances, brothers, sisters - yes, why not to all of the contacts in your address book. Ask them to click on the link below and sign up for their own free copy of our wildlife conservation newsletter. After all, it won't cost them anything and it will help to support our action to save wildlife.

Through the Lens: Raccoon Island

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:09:53 GMT

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico contaminated several large colonies of birds nesting on Louisiana's barrier islands. Cornell Lab photographer and cinematographer Gerrit Vyn shares video and photographs from the island and describes the scene as he saw it.

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Birds of the Mississippi River Delta

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 17:12:43 GMT

John Fitzpatrick, Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, takes us on a bird-tour of the Mississippi River Delta. The Louisiana wetlands that they call home are fast disappearing.

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Whooper Swans’ Record-Breaking Early Arrival

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:42:56 GMT

The first whooper swans of the season have arrived at Welney WWT Centre, Norfolk, and at Caerlaverock WWT centre, Scotland, surprising spectators by arriving earlier than before. The record-breaking early arrivals are thought to have caught the northerly tail winds from Iceland, combined with the tempestuous weather conditions that have caused disruption with Hurricane Katia across Britain.

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Bald Eagle Removed From Endangered Species List

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 04:21:47 GMT

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has issued a final rule that removes the population of Bald Eagles nesting in the Sonoran Desert area of central Arizona from the Endangered Species List. This had been the last remaining population of Bald Eagles listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)

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The Raucous Calls of Barred Owls

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:11:36 GMT

There are few sounds in nature as raucous as the calls of Barred Owls (Strix varia). Listen and watch as The Cornell Lab's Laura Erickson sets the scene.

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The Brilliant Song of the Northern Cardinal

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:43:43 GMT

Macaulay Library Curator, Greg Budney, talks about the brilliant song of the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis).

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The Erie Yodel Of The Common Loon

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:28:10 GMT

The erie yodel of the Common Loon (Gavia immer) is a symbol of the wild North. The territorial call of the male loon can be heard from lakes across Canada to the very northern United States.

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Barrier Island Foraging Strategies

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 18:06:29 GMT

Louisiana's barrier islands provide critical and unique habitat for a range of migrant and wintering bird species. Shorebirds in particular utilize a variety of specialized feeding techniques to harvest their own favored types of prey. Louisiana's barrier islands are rapidly disappearing.

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Acorn Woodpecker Through The Lens

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:51:34 GMT

The Acorn Woodpecker is a favorite among bird watchers. It has a clown like appearance and the unique habit of storing acorns in a favored tree that is often used by generations of birds. Wildlife Photographer Marie Read shares her experience photographing the behaviors of these lively birds.

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Shooting of Whimbrels in the Caribbean

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:14:33 GMT

Two Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) tracked by scientists from a US university have been shot by hunters on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, highlighting the continuing lack of protection for migratory shorebirds in this important part of their flyway.

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Save The Frogs

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:20:49 GMT

Atrazine is one of the world's most common pesticides: over 80 million pounds of it were used on American crops last year, and it has been in use for 50 years. This harmful pesticide is an endocrine disruptor that can turn male frogs into females at concentrations as low as 2.5 parts per billion. Atrazine causes cancer in laboratory mammals and developmental problems in fish. Atrazine is one of the most commonly detected pesticides in rainwater, groundwater and tapwater in the USA.

_{View videoclip on FocusingOnWildlife.com}

Peregrine Falcon Hunts At Terminal Velocity

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:06:53 GMT

The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is the animal kingdom's fastest flier. Using a dive-bomb hunting technique called a stoop, this raptor attacks prey at speeds of up to 200mph.

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Whale Sharks Feed On Small Fish

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:43:00 GMT

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a slow-moving filter feeding shark, the largest living fish species. Although whale sharks have very large mouths, they feed mainly, though not exclusively, on plankton, microscopic plants and animals. However, the BBC program Planet Earth filmed a whale shark feeding on a school of small fish.

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First Wintering Geese Touch Down

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:06:36 GMT

The first of tens of thousands of wintering geese have started to arrive back in Scotland as part of their annual migration. Over 1,000 pink-footed geese were recorded at RSPB Scotland’s Loch of Strathbeg nature reserve in Aberdeenshire over the weekend.

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Fastest fish in slow motion

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:18:20 GMT

Atlantic sailfish (Istiophorus albicans) can swim at more than 60 miles per hour, trying to capture their grace and agility on film is easier said than done. Up for the challenge, the Life team used an ultra-high speed camera to film the fastest fish on Earth making quick work of a huge ball of sardines.

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Arctic Summer Sea Ice Breaks Historic Low

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 20:09:41 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO— The University of Bremen announced that the Arctic summer sea ice extent reached a new historic low on Thursday at 4.24 million square kilometers (1.64 million square miles). The previous one-day minimum since satellite records began in 1972 was 4.27 million square kilometers (1.65 million square miles) on Sept. 17, 2007. The research team reported that the summer sea ice has retreated by 50 percent since 1972, and warned that further sea-ice declines this month are likely since the melt season has not yet ended.

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Oil Companies Prosecuted for Avian Deaths but Wind Companies Kill Birds With Impunity

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 05:56:02 GMT

The United States Attorney in North Dakota has charged seven oil companies in seven separate cases with violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for the illegal killing of 28 migratory birds. Yet, American Bird Conservancy – the nation’s leading bird conservation organization – reports that the wind industry, despite killing more than 400,000 birds annually, has yet to face a single charge.

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Catching Arabian Leopards with Camera Traps

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:37:07 GMT

The Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr), the second most highly endangered large cat on Earth, is up to 30 times rarer than the Bengal tiger. There are probably fewer than 100 wild Arabian leopards left in widely scattered populations in Oman and Yemen and, 'Unless drastic action is taken across their range, I'm afraid that the Arabian leopard is not going to make it.' These beautiful cats are also the smallest and most genetically distinct of all leopard subspecies. Adult females can weigh less than 20 kg and even a "big" male is smaller than the average German shepherd.

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Yellowhammers In The Frame

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:33:25 GMT

Local bird lovers are battling to boost numbers of a beautiful yellow bird which was once a familiar sight in Northern Ireland’s hedgerows but is now an endangered species.

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Controversial Lake Natron Soda Ash Project In Limbo

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:27:52 GMT

Soda ash project in Lake Natron, Arusha Region, could face further delays to take off owing to lack of required clearance from environmental authorities. Soda ash is a basic raw material used in the processing and chemical industries. President Jakaya Kikwete has directed the ash be extracted to benefit the nation but the directive could serve little to have the project implemented because the investors, Tata from India, and site developer, the National Development Corporation (NDC) were yet to meet set conditions on technical matters.

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Boomtime for Britain's Loudest Bird

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 08:50:30 GMT

Britain’s loudest bird, once extinct in the UK, has enjoyed its best year since records began, says a new survey by the RSPB and Natural England. The bittern –a threatened relative of the more familiar grey heron – is bouncing back, following intensive conservation efforts, which has seen its population rise over the last 15 years from 11 males in 1997 to 104 this year.

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Risk of Sea Eagles Eating Small Children

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 07:14:23 GMT

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association has raised concerns about whether sea eagles could differentiate between children and their natural prey.

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Record Flock of Migrating Sociable Lapwings in Kazakhstan

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:49:27 GMT

BirdLife International scientists monitoring migrating Sociable Lapwings in the heart of the Great Steppe have recently discovered the largest single flock seen in Kazakhstan since 1939.

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