Whooping Crane photo courtesy of International Crane Foundation
Identified by her leg band, the bird shot was the mother of “Wild-1”, the only Whooping Crane chick successfully hatched and migrated from captivity in 2006. You can read the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) report here.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a minimum reward of $2,500 to the person or people who provide information leading to a conviction. Anyone with information should call the Indiana Department of Natural Resources 24-hour hotline at: 1-800 TIP IDNR (800-847-4367), or the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at 317-346-7016. Callers can remain anonymous.
Operation Migration has been helping the Whooping Crane survive since 2001. You can help by clicking on the link to there website or the “I Give A Whoop” logo in the right sidebar.
I hope the person or persons responsible for this outrageous crime are caught and sentenced to the maximum punishment for what they have done.
To quote John Christian, USFWS Assistant Regional Director for Migratory Birds, “To kill and abandon one of 500 remaining members of a species shows a lack of reverence for life and an absence of simple common sense. It is inconceivable that someone would have such little regard for conservation.”
I photographed this Snowy Egret fishing at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge last January. Check out more great bird photos at Bird Photography Weekly.
National Public Radio (NPR) had a very interesting interview with Dr. Martin Schaefer, an associate professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Freiberg in Germany, regarding the evolutionary changes in the Blackcap Warbler (Sylvia atricapilla). It seems that this bird began taking an alternate migration route to England about fifty years ago and found that the English are very generous bird feeders.
Due to the fact that their migratory routes are passed down to their offspring, there is now a group of Blackcaps that migrate to England every winter rather than to the milder mediterranean climate of Spain. This has caused some genetic changes to occur in this species prompting Dr. Schaefer to conclude that sometime in the future, we may see a differnt species emerge.
Click on these links to listen to the interview (about 12 minutes) or read it from NPR.org. You can also find more information on the Blackcap on Wikipedia and the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) has a page about this species where you can hear their beautiful call.
Cedar Waxwing Eating a Berry photo by Larry Jordan
Yes ladies and gentlemen, it is, once again, time for the Christmas Bird Count! The 110th Christmas Bird Count begins Monday, December 14th and goes through Tuesday, January 5th.
If you have never participated in a Christmas Bird Count, you don’t know what you are missing. If you are new to birding, this is without a doubt, the best way to learn about birds and birding from experienced birdwatchers.
You see, the way it works is each count circle is 15 miles in diameter. Groups of birders take different sections of this circle in which they count every bird they see and compile a list of species observed and the number of each species.
The count compiler divides the count circle into sections, assigning an experienced leader and several birdwatchers to assist each leader in identifying and counting birds in their section. If you are new to birdwatching, this is one of the best ways to learn to identify birds and find out which bird species live where you live.
Find out more about the longest running wildlife census and get information on the 110th Christmas Bird Count here. Click here to find out how the CBC helps birds and conservation. And if you want to find the closest Christmas Bird Count near you go here and click on the Count Date Search button, choose your state, then click on the Circle ID link to get the local compiler’s contact information.
If you love birds and want to do something to help birds and humans alike, participate in at least one Christmas Bird Count, you will be glad you did. I’m lucky, we have four CBCs in my area 🙂 This is my favorite time of year!
Cedar Waxwing Eating a Berry photo by Larry Jordan
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