Bird Brain BlogBird Brain BlogBlogged about Wild Birds and all things Orinihology 
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Virignia Purple Martin Festival a Success
2008-07-27 20:00:00 The first Purple Martin festival was a huge success in Richmond VA on July 26. Bottom is a stopover for Purples as they make their way to South America for the winter. The crowd got an unexpected show of raw nature when a red-tailed hawk ate 3 of the Martins! All in all, it sounds ... More About: Success , Festival , Ecosystem
A Peacock Hitchhiker?
2008-07-24 20:06:00 Just when you thought you’ve heard everything. A peacock on the side of Route 307 in northeast Pennsylvania thumbed a ride with two people. Well not exactly: Jerry Dimick and a friend were driving along Route 307 near Clarks Summit on Wednesday when they spotted a peacock standing by the edge of the road. Dimick said ... More About: Hitchhiker
The Birds of Central Park
2008-07-23 19:49:00 If you live in or near Manhattan and want to start enjoying Central Park birds, the website for New York City’s Central Park provides a handy downloadable PDF document for you. It’s only four pages, but packed tight with information on the birds that inhabit and pass through Central Park. It’s easy to print out ... More About: Birds , Ecosystem
Feed the Squirrels or Not?
2008-07-20 21:03:00 There is some ongoing disagreement among birders about whether to deter or accept squirrels in the yard. Squirrels will be attracted to bird feeders pretty much no matter what you put in them. Some say give them their own feeder! That works for some people but you need to need to keep it stocked with ... More About: General , Feed
Green Cars Get less Bird Droppings
2008-07-17 19:29:00 We all know the feeling of having that freshly washed car getting dropped on by the local aviary friends. For some reason, green cars are less likely to be the subject of bird droppings according to a study from Zurich Insurance. Now we’re talking about green the color here, not green as in hybrids and ... More About: Cars , Green , Bird
Squirrel in UK Breaks into Squirrel-proof Bird Feeder
2008-07-16 19:22:00 File this under ‘Can not win them all’. A young squirrel was apparently small and agile enough to squeeze between the bars of the supposedly squirrel proof bird feeder. I suppose this is why they call them ’squirrel resistant’ rather than squirrel proof. Squirrel breaks into squirrel-proof bird feeder More About: General , Proof , Bird , Breaks
Have the House and Eat it Too!
2008-07-12 21:45:00 Can a bird have a house and eat it too? Yes, with edible birdhouses from Bottomlands Naturals. The houses are made from various edible material on the outside (such as dried fruits, millets, seeds, corn, and grains). But they are constructed with yellow pine and blandex lumber in the interior. When the edible portion is ... More About: House , The House
Bay Area Bridge Signs Educate on Birds
2008-07-11 19:13:00 The Tunnel Avenue Bridge in Brisbane, CA will get some new signs. But not ordinary traffic signs! The adjacent lagoon is a natural wildlife habitat where many species of migratory birds stop over. These include birds like the great blue heron, the egret, and the red-tail hawk. The signs will be placed to educate people ... More About: Signs , Birds , Bay Area , Area
Join the Birds in the Trees
2008-07-07 21:34:00 Have you ever wondered what would happen if you could be high the trees to see the birds up close - or at least a horizontal view? If you live in the Pacific Northwest, maybe you can! An amazing tree-top walkway through the lush coastal rainforest canopy of conifers at the University of B.C. Botanical ... More About: Join , Trees , Birds , Ecosystem
Birding Trails New Jersey
2008-07-05 21:24:00 The Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary used to be a closed area - for birds only! Now that is all changing as the sanctuary will be getting trails. It took a change of ordinance but there will 4 trails completed by end of summer. Do the trails and people walking through bother the birds? ... More About: New Jersey , Birding , Jersey , Trails , Ecosystem
Man Teaches Heron to Fly
2008-06-04 19:05:00 Isn’t this backwards? Didn’t humans learn flight principles from birds? Now Gary Zammit of Cornwall, UK turned that around and taught an orphaned Heron how to fly. He did this by running alongside it, flapping his arms, and squawking (like a Heron I guess). Eventually, the Heron caught on and now flies on his own. Man ...
Israel?s new National Bird
2008-05-30 17:59:00 It’s the Hoopoe! After an exhaustive process, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel determined the Hoopoe was the right bird for Israel. According to President Peres - 500 million birds pass through Israel’s skies annually. He wasn’t referring specifically to the Hoopoe, but that’s a lot of bird for a country with ... More About: National , Bird , Ornithology , Ecosystem
Don?t be too Quick to Rescue that Nest
2008-05-24 17:46:00 What do you do when you see an ‘abandoned’ birds nest? The first thing is not to assume it’s abandoned. The parent bird may just be off foraging for food or may be nearby. This article recommends spending at least an hour nearby checking to see if the parent returns. Other tips for dealing with ... More About: Quick , Rescue , Nest
Lost Parrot Blabs Name and Address
2008-05-22 17:35:00 And doesn’t stay lost for long! If you have a talking bird, what’s a good thing to teach it? The name and address! That’s what the Nakamura family of Tokyo did. And when the bird became lost, it had no problem rattling off its name and address to veterinary staff (who were then able to ... More About: Lost , Parrot , Address
How do they Do That?
2008-05-15 17:26:00 Ever wonder how shorebirds like the Phalarope manage to get the water and food bits to travel uphill through their long beaks and into their mouths? Well, so have scientists. And this article seems to pose a reasonable explanation to that age old mystery. How birds make water defy gravity More About: Ornithology
Athabasca Oil Sands - Danger to Birds?
2008-05-02 17:08:00 In late April 500 ducks perished in the northern Alberta oil ponds known informally as ‘oilsands’. The open pools of the oilsands are part of the Athabasca Oil Sands . These are a large deposit of extremely heavy crude oil and water is used to separate the oil. Unfortunately large amounts of oil sit in the ... More About: Birds , Danger , Ecosystem
Feed the Birds not the Bears
2008-04-13 23:01:00 This time of year is a bad time of year for bears. They’re hungry and those bird feeders are going to look mighty tasty. Just ask Eunice Sanville of Alexandria, VA. She lost a home-made birdfeeder to a hungry bear. They’re just waking up and filling up. So if you live on the fringes of ... More About: Bears , Birds , Feed , Ecosystem
Tired of Radio? Try Bird Radio
2008-04-08 22:48:00 A UK broadcasting company has come up with a new idea for an alternate to that mindless chatter you often hear on commercial radio. It’s called the Bird song Station and as the name implies, it plays nothing but birds signing. It’s a 20 minute audio recording that plays in a loop. Now that I would ... More About: Radio , Tired
Penguin Like Bird Lands in Florida
2008-04-08 22:43:00 More and more cold water birds are showing up in tropical climates. Imagine this boy playing in the surf in Florida and seeing a penguin. Ok it wasn’t a penguin, but a penguin look alike - the Razorbilled Auk. They’re usually found in the Artic and rarely seen south of New England. This and other ... More About: Bird , Ecosystem , Penguin
Stop Feeding the Birds Judge Orders
2008-04-03 22:33:00 Usually birdfeeders are a good thing. But you can overdo it! An Illinois couple has been ordered to take down their bird feeders after the neighbors complained of it attracting other animals. Other guests included birds and raccoons, opossums because in addition to the hanging bird feeder, this couple was putting food on the ground ... More About: Judge , Birds , Stop , Feeding , Orders
Wind Turbines and Birds Don?t Mix - or Can They?
2008-04-03 20:31:00 Here’s an interesting article about bird friendly wind turbine in the Galapagos Islands. It seems that rather than just place the wind turbine at the best point for wind currents, the planners also took into consideration placement in terms of risk to birds. The result: no bird fatalities yet! This would seem to suggest that ... More About: Wind , Birds , Ecosystem
Bird Crashes and Revives
2008-03-31 20:22:00 Not all birds who crash into buildings die or become seriously injured. This Cooper Hawk flew into a Bangor Maine office window and was able to be rehabilitated. Coopers usually eat other small birds, but during the bird?s rehab, it was fed tasty mice! Bird that crashed into window returns to wild after rehab More About: Ecosystem , Crashes
Birds and Crabs get a break in NJ
2008-03-25 19:03:00 New Jersey gave a boost to both the horseshoe crab and the red knot. The red knot relies on horseshoe crab eggs as an essential food. The red knot visits the mid-Atlantic coast on its yearly migration. This break came in the form of a law that will ban horseshoe crab harvesting such time as ... More About: Break , Birds , Endangered , Ecosystem
Will the Swallows stay on Capistrano?
2008-03-16 18:47:00 There is already plenty of evidence that climate change is causing a lot of shifting in ecosystems. Here, a swallow in the UK was monitored from November to the end of February where it staying in Cornwall. Problem is, swallows in the part of the world usually migrate to Africa for the winter. This past ... More About: Stay , Ecosystem , Capistrano
Downtown Lights Off - Saves Energy and Birds
2008-03-12 18:34:00 Birds often fly into tall buildings and die or become severely injured as a result. This is especially problematic in migration season. Minneapolis/St. Paul is taking a pro-active approach to this problem by asking building owners to turn off unnecessary lights after hours. This apparently makes the buildings less visible to the birds and therefore ... More About: General , Energy , Downtown , Birds , Lights
Do Owls have Bad Eyes?
2008-03-12 18:23:00 The other day I was driving down a road in our neighborhood and a pigeon flew across my path. I smacked it unfortunately. I usually don’t bother slowing down (I was only going about 25 because it’s a residential street) because they usually get out of the way. Pigeons seem to be the slowest of ... More About: Eyes
Bad Seed?
2008-03-09 18:14:00 Have the birds in your yard been dying? Maybe it’s in the seed. Lloyd Shook of Lake Elsinore (CA), thinks it’s the seed he purchased from WalMart. He said some 50 birds got sick and died after eating the seed. But he was unable to produce anything but accusations and WalMart is not paying him ... More About: Seed
Golfer Uses Bird for Skill Practice
2008-03-07 00:20:00 While filming a segment for a video, pro golfer Tripp Isenhour got annoyed at a red-shouldered hawk. He used his skills to hit the bird and killed it. Unfortunately for him, he was charged with cruelty to animals and killing a migratory bird. I have often seen birds getting walloped on the golf course (mostly ... More About: Practice , Skill , Bird
Houston 2nd Graders Get Purple Martins
2008-02-22 18:45:00 2nd Graders at Meadow Wood Elementary in Houston are a lucky bunch. They’re getting early bird training. With a mini grant, they have a bunch of purple martin houses to put on outside their classroom so they can watch and observe. It’s Purple Martin time again and the 2nd graders there will learn ... More About: Ornithology
Brown Pelican Success Story
More articles from this author:2008-02-08 20:36:00 Only 40 years ago, they were nearly extinct. This situation was brought about by the use of DDT and other related insecticides in the 1950’s and 1960’s. From near extinction to about 620,000 birds in the Gulf Coast and Pacific Coast regions - now that’s a success story to cheer! The bird is now due ... More About: Story , Success , Brown , Pelican , Success Story 1, 2, 3 |
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