Archive for the ‘Wildlife’ Category
January 6, 2011
jackdaw: Image via Wikipedia
The birds found dead in Falköping yesterday died of external trauma.
Svenska Dagbladet reports:
Jackdaws found dead in Falköping on Wednesday night died of external trauma according to the autopsies carried out by the National Veterinary Institute (SVA). According to Marianne Elvander the birds died of severe internal bleeding. None of the birds showed signs of infection or disease.
Aftonbladet reports that a professional chauffeur said he had driven over a large flock of jackdaws during Tuesday night at that location. “The man came driving late at night when he saw a lot of birds that were alive. They were probably eating road salt ” said Bengt Ljungberg of the Falköping-Tidaholm rescue service.
The dead jackdaws were discovered shortly before midnight last night. Between 50 and one hundred birds lay dead on the road and five of them were taken to the National Veterinary Institute for autopsy. According to Marianne Elvander, it is unclear what caused the birds to die.
But why they were sitting on the road? Investigations are continuing.
Tags:bird deaths, jackdaws, Swdeen
Posted in Sweden, Trivia, Wildlife | Comments Off on Swedish jackdaws died of external trauma
January 5, 2011
It had to come.
The unholy alliance between the extremists of conservation and environmentalism and global warming is not sustainable. Faith is set against faith. Now conservationists are beginning to find the vast tracts of undeveloped land needed by solar projects objectionable.
Reuters reports:
(Reuters) – A leading environmental advocacy group is suing the state of California’s Energy Commission over its approval of a giant solar plant, underscoring the growing challenge to the nation’s renewable-energy goals from within the environmental community.
The lawsuit, filed December 30 in California’s Supreme Court by the Sierra Club, alleges that state regulators improperly approved the plant, known as the Calico Solar Project.
The suit, obtained by Reuters, charges that regulators failed to fully mitigate the project’s impact on rare plant and animal species, and asks the court to void approval and permits for the plant………. Conflicts between solar proponents and foes are taking on growing importance as the industry experiences a boom, particularly for California. The lawsuit is the latest in a string of suits targeting planned solar plants, potentially setting back the development of solar energy and derailing state and federal commitments to lessening dependence on fossil fuels.
Last week, a group called La Cuna de Aztlan, which represents Native American groups such as the Chemehuevi and the Apache, filed a challenge in federal court to the federal government’s approval of six big solar plants.
In December, the Quechan Indian tribe won an injunction blocking construction of the Imperial Valley solar project, under development near California’s border with Mexico by NTR’s Tessera Solar. The Calico plant was also under development by Tessera until the company sold the plant last month to K Road Sun, a subsidiary of New York investment firm K Road Power. Tessera has been struggling to find funding for its plants, which cost about $2 billion.
Tags:Calico Project, California, California Energy Commission, Sierra Club sues solar approvals, solar energy, Tessera Solar
Posted in Energy, Environment, Renewable Energy, Wildlife | 1 Comment »
January 5, 2011
Following the thousands of red winged blackbirds falling dead out of the sky in Arkansas, there are now further reports of dead birds in Louisiana and Sweden and dead fish in N. Zealand the US and Brazil.
Examiner.com
Dead birds in Louisiana; dead fish in Maryland, Brazil and New Zealand
After reports over the weekend of thousands of dead birds falling from the sky in Arkansas and around 100,000 dead fish washing up on the shores of the Arkansas River, more mysteries abound with hundreds of birds dying in Louisiana, dead fish in Maryland, dead sardines on Brazil’s beaches, and hundreds of snapper floating in New Zealand waters.
The Advocate in Baton Rouge reports that around 500 small birds, some of them starlings, have fallen out of the sky on Louisiana Highway 1 near Pointe Coupee Parish. Spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Bo Boehringer, told the New York Daily News “We have sent bird carcasses to two individual labs to obtain toxicology reports.”
Expressen: (free translation)
Mysterious bird deaths in Falköping
About 40 dead birds covered the ground last night at an intersection.
– It was a horrible sight, “said a resident who discovered the birds on his
evening walk. The police did not know what the mass death could depend on.
Both emergency services and the county administration are investigating the case.
New Zealand Herald:
Hundreds of snapper dead on beaches
Fisheries officials are investigating the death of hundreds of snapper washed up on Coromandel Peninsula beaches. Beachgoers at Little Bay and Waikawau Bay found the fish – many with their eyes missing – dead on the sand yesterday.
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/220958-Brazil-100-tons-of-dead-fish-wash-up-on-shore
A survey conducted by the Federation of Fishermen’s Colony of Paraná, Paranaguá on the coast of the state, indicates that at least 100 tons of fish
(sardine, croaker and catfish) have turned up dead since last Thursday off the coast of Parana.
Probably just coincidence and with ready and natural explanations, but ……….
Tags:Dead birds, dead blackbirds, dead fish
Posted in Trivia, Wildlife | 3 Comments »
January 4, 2011
As a follow-up to my earlier post about the thousands of red-winged blackbirds which dropped dead out of the sky in Arkansas, the BBC reports that fireworks were most probably to blame:
US scientists believe fireworks may have caused thousands of birds to fall from the sky over an Arkansas town on New Year’s Eve. Karen Rowe, of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said the red-winged blackbirds probably flew low to avoid explosions and collided with objects.
Residents reported hearing loud fireworks just before the birds started raining from the sky. “They started going crazy, flying into one another,” said AGFC spokesman Keith Stephens. The birds also hit homes, cars, trees and other objects, and some could have flown hard into the ground.
“The blackbirds were flying at rooftop level instead of treetop level” to avoid explosions above, said Ms Rowe, an ornithologist. “Blackbirds have poor eyesight, and they started colliding with things.”
Poisoning has been ruled out after several cats and dogs that ate the dead birds suffered no ill effects, he added. However, another theory is that a violent thunderstorm could have disoriented a roost of blackbirds. Tornadoes swept through Arkansas and neighbouring states on 31 December, killing seven people.
Tags:Arkansas, blackbird deaths, Fireworks, Red-winged Blackbird
Posted in Trivia, Wildlife | 1 Comment »
January 3, 2011
Sing a song of sixpence
A pocket full of rye
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.
http://www.examiner.com/google-trends-in-national/dead-birds-mystery-2-000-blackbirds-fall-on-beebe-arkansas-video
Red winged blackbird: image learner.org
The death of thousands of red-winged blackbirds that fell out of the sky over the small town of Beebe, Arkansas on New Year’s Eve night is a mystery that has the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission sending the dead birds off for testing in hopes of a reasonable explanation. …..
Just how many birds died seems to vary with the Associated Press reporting that the last of the 2,000 dead birds was removed about 11 a.m. Sunday in the Beebe, a town that is approximately 40 miles northeast of Little Rock.
CNN reports that there area over 5,000 birds dead, where ” the bodies of red-winged blackbirds litter a street and field.”
Poison or illness have been ruled out and speculation is that some kind of stress – perhaps due to a hail storm, or a lightning strike or New Year fireworks – could have caused the death of these birds. Lab results are expected to take upto a week.
Tags:birds, blackbird deaths, blackbirds drop out of the sky
Posted in Trivia, Wildlife | 1 Comment »
January 3, 2011
Whooping crane: Image via Wikipedia
Officials with American Bird Conservancy on Wednesday cited data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that estimates 400,000 birds of various species are killed by turbine blades annually reports the Omaha World Herald.
One of the nation’s largest bird conservation groups says rapid construction of wind energy projects will endanger several avian species……That includes the whooping crane, a famous migratory bird and annual visitor to central Nebraska.
“Golden eagles, whooping cranes and greater sage-grouse are likely to be among the birds most affected by poorly planned and sited wind projects,” said Kelly Fuller, a spokeswoman for the conservancy.
“Unless the government acts now to require that the wind industry respect basic wildlife safeguards, these three species will be at ever greater risk.”
Officials with Nebraska Public Power District and MidAmerican Energy Co. said potential wind farm developments are carefully examined by experts and conservationists to determine their ecological impact.
“We monitor for bird kills but haven’t seen anything of significance,” said Mark Becker, an NPPD spokesman. “But we have not heard of any endangered species or any endangered birds being killed in Nebraska.”
Tags:American Bird Conservancy, Bird kills by wind turbines, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, wind power
Posted in Energy, Renewable Energy, US, Wildlife, Wind power | Comments Off on Now conservationists come out against wind power
December 30, 2010
Manatees clearly are not too impressed by the effects of global warming and are swimming out of the chilly Gulf of Mexico waters and into warmer springs and power plant discharge canals. On Tuesday, more than 300 manatees floated into the outflow of Tampa Electric’s Big Bend Power Station reports Physorg.com:
Manatees congregate in a canal where discharge from a nearby Florida Power & Light plant warms the water in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010.
“It’s like a warm bathtub for them,” said Wendy Anastasiou, an environmental specialist at the power station’s manatee viewing center. “They come in here and hang out and loll around.”
Cold weather can weaken manatees’ immune systems and eventually kill them. State officials said 2010 has been a deadly year for the beloved animals: between Jan. 1 and Dec. 17, 246 manatees died from so-called “cold stress.” During the same time period in 2009, only 55 manatees died from the cold. In 2008, only 22 manatees succumbed to chilly temperatures.
Manatee deaths documented from Jan. 1 through Dec. 5 are nearly double the five-year average for that time period, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission statistics.
“Obviously we’re very concerned as an agency about the unusually high number of manatee deaths this year,” said Wendy Quigley, a spokeswoman with the state-run Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg.
A total of 699 manatees were found dead between Jan. 1 and Dec. 5; state officials say it’s likely the cold temperatures also contributed to many of the 203 deaths in the “undetermined” category and the 68 deaths of manatees whose bodies could not be recovered.
Quigley noted that the statistics don’t even include this week’s cold snap, which sent temperatures plummeting into the 30s in parts of South Florida overnight and into the teens in the central part of the state.
Tampa Bay and Gulf water temperatures are hovering around 50 degrees, said Anastasiou. When the water dips below 68, manatees seek warmer waters – usually springs or the power plant discharge canals. The water temperature in the power plant’s Big Bend canal ranges from about 65-75 degrees, Anastasiou said. Even though they’re huge animals, manatees are very cold sensitive……… During last year’s cold snap, some 329 manatees congregated at the Tampa Electric power station. In Broward County on Tuesday, some 50 manatees gathered in the outfall of a Florida Power and Light plant.
Tags:Manatee, Manatee cold stress deaths, weather
Posted in Biodiversity, Biology, Climate, Weather, Wildlife | Comments Off on Manatees threatened by cold Florida waters – must be global warming
December 23, 2010
Polar Bear (Sow And Cub), Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska: Image via Wikipedia
In spite of a great deal of PR from alarmist and global warming lobbies in the past week, the US has decided not to change the status of polar bears from “threatened” to “endangered”.
From the Washington Post:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told a U.S. District Court judge Wednesday that the threatened designation will not change because polar bears were not considered to be in danger of extinction at the time of the listing in 2008.
“The Service explained how its biologists had concluded in 2008 that the polar bear was not facing sudden and catastrophic threats [and] was still a widespread species that had not been restricted to a critically small range or critically low numbers,” the agency said in a statement.
Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity, called the administration’s decision “a huge disappointment.” Arctic ice, the bears’ hunting ground, is melting and bears are starving to death, she said.
“It’s a wasted opportunity to do the right thing,” Siegel said. “The government’s own studies show about an 80 percent chance of extinction of two-thirds of the world’s polar bears in the next 40 years.”
AS WUWT reports
Some enironmentalists heads are exploding right about now. This pretty well slams the door on the polar bears threatened by global warming meme. Now we know why there was a flurry of questionable press releases this past week like these:
Polar bears no longer on ‘thin ice’: researchers say polar bears could face brighter future: “a combination of greenhouse gas mitigation and control of adverse human activities in the Arctic can lead to a more promising future for polar bear populations and their sea ice habitat“
Polar bears: On thin ice? Extinction can be averted, scientists say
Cutting greenhouse gases now is the key
Polar bears still on thin ice, but cutting greenhouse gases now can avert extinction
or as the BBC puts it
Polar bears not endangered, US confirms
Tags:Polar bear, Polar bears not endangered, United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Posted in Alarmism, Biodiversity, US, Wildlife | Comments Off on US: Polar bears are “threatened” but not “endangered”
December 2, 2010
King crabs are too successful as a species and therefore must be exterminated says the WWF. Biodiversity is threatened says the alarmist message! It will not be long before they start demanding the extermination of humans who are encroaching on other species.
Yngve Pedersen fishing for King Crabs: image SvD FOTO: BJÖRN LINDAHL
From Svenska Dagbladet (free translation):
They are large and are served as a delicacy all over the world. Along the windy Finnmark coast in northern Norway, they have become a welcome sideline providing a turnover of 100 million kronor just as a raw material. It does not help. Exterminate every single one, believes the World Widlife Fund.
We are talking about king crabs, giant crabs, originally from Kamchatka on the Russian Pacific coast. From 1961 to 1969 they were transplanted into the Barents Sea to provide the residents of Murmansk with more food sources. 2500 adult crabs were transported by air and the Trans-Siberian railroad, and were released into the sea.
The population of the Kola Peninsula was briefed by radio and all the fishermen were asked to inform the authorities if they found any crabs. Five years passed without any being found. But then in 1974 a fisherman caught a queen crab. The shell of that crab is still kept at the Polar Research Institute in Murmansk.
But in the early 1990’s, the number of crabs exploded. Today the Russian quota is 3.2 million crabs per year. In Norway, they catch just over 300 000 crabs. The problem is that the crabs are voracious and will eat almost anything they can find on the seabed.
The WWF has now reported Norway to the International Council on Biological Diversity and has demanded that the species be exterminated as an “alien” species and it has been blacklisted by the Council. “It is crazy to let the stock grow further. Nine out of ten species in the Varanger Fjord has disappeared, “says Nina Jensen of WWF Norway.
But Norwegian marine biologists at Havsforskningsinstituttet in Bergen think it is just an exaggeration. “It is not true that nine out of ten species have disappeared. But the crabs have significant negative consequences, but what we know about nature is that it will recover when the crabs have left the area”, said Jan H. Sundet.
The largest crabs can weigh seven kilos, but after the stock began to be taxed, the average weight remained at 3-4 kg. The maximum paid was 90 NOK per kg. Svenska Dagbladet followed crab fisherman Yngve Pedersen from Bugøynes, located in Finnmark about fifty km from the Russian border, as he brought up a large catch of crabs in the Varanger Fjord.
“I started to fish for crabs 1998. This year I have a quota of 2800 kilos, for which I get at least 50 kronor a kilo. So I earned 200 000 kronor on crab this year. Compared with other kinds of fishing, it is an easy job. A dead cod is placed on a hook as bait inside the large cage. The crabs crawl in and most are not able to crawl out again. An orange buoy marks the location of the cages and all that is needed is to hoist it up and empty it over the catch table. Injured crabs with missing claws are discarded. “It is perhaps 10-15 percent of them. But the claw grows back”, said Yngve Pedersen.
He himself has an ambivalent relationship with the crabs. “They do great damage to the nets when we fish cod and eat all the bait when fishing by line. But our crab quota is in a sense a compensation for that. But the crab are not at home here, so if it were possible to eradicate them I would not have anything against it. “But I do not think it is possible. The Russians do not have any such plans and new crabs arrive all the time. We may be able to reduce the stock so that it pays better to catch them, that’s all”.
Tags:extermination of species, King Crab, Norway, WWF Alarmism
Posted in Alarmism, Biodiversity, Economy, Environment, Wildlife | Comments Off on WWF wants every single King Crab to be exterminated!!
November 29, 2010
Strolling reindeer: iImage via Wikipedia
New research shows that the advance of the tree line upwards in the Swedish mountains was due to reduced reindeer grazing and not due to any global warming.
Swedish Radio P1 reports today: (freely translated)
It is not primarily a warmer climate which causes the tree line to crawl
up in many places in the Swedish mountains. A new study from the Torneträsk area shows that there are several other factors that affect tree spread rather than just higher temperatures. Climate change plays a very minor role. It is mainly grazing reindeer, insect infestation, and several other factors that affect mountain forest coverage, rather than changing temperature conditions. “That the tree line can go up or down or remain stationary within the same climate period has not been shown before “, says Professor Terry Callaghan, one of the researchers who carried out the study.
The tree line advanced up the mountains most during the cold period at the end of the 1960s and 1970s. It was primarily because it was a time with fewer reindeer. A warmer climate may actually have an indirect effect (to reduce the advance northwards) by adding to the number of insects and insect infestations that can damage trees.
Many climate models expect that the forest in the tundra and other Arctic areas will expand considerably northwards in the next one hundred years because of higher temperatures. But the new research suggests that these simple assumptions can be grossly inaccurate. One must reckon with how to account for the impact of insects and grazing reindeer and moose. “It now requires that much more detailed information be added into the models”, says Professor Terry Callaghan, director of the Abisko research station.
The article is published in the Journal of Biogeography
Tags:Arctic, climate, climate models, Reindeer, reindeer grazing, Torneträsk, tree line advance
Posted in Biodiversity, Climate, Environment, Science, Sweden, Wildlife | 1 Comment »
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