Tag: birds

Rare eastern osprey chick hatches in South Australia, captivating birdwatchers around the world

Birdwatchers from around the world have celebrated the arrival of a rare eastern osprey chick in South Australia. Fran Solly, secretary of the Friends of Osprey conservation group, says everyone in Tumby Island and Port Lincoln knows about the chick that hatched last Thursday. But the livestream has captivated bird watchers from as far away as… Read More Rare eastern osprey chick hatches in South Australia, captivating birdwatchers around the world

Dilip

I have studied emperor penguins for 30 years. We may witness their demise in our lifetime

Barbara Wienecke Last week I saw a headline announcing that last year thousands of emperor penguin chicks had died in the Bellingshausen Sea, when the fast ice broke out unusually early. I was deeply saddened and devastated, but not surprised. The region where this dreadful event occurred has been one of the fastest warming areas… Read More I have studied emperor penguins for 30 years. We may witness their demise in our lifetime

Dilip

Cornwall photographer catches ‘once in a lifetime’ kestrel picture

A self-taught photographer has come face-to-face with a kestrel swooping towards him in Cornwall Andy Maher Andy Maher, from Hayle, told BBC Radio Cornwall he was out taking photos of birds in flight when he saw the kestrel hovering above him. He said the bird then dived towards him and swooped away at the last second. Mr… Read More Cornwall photographer catches ‘once in a lifetime’ kestrel picture

Dilip

Look up, listen, and be very concerned. Birds are vanishing – and their crisis is our crisis

Mark Cocker Have we time enough and opportunity, we can attune ourselves to one of the greatest events of every April morning on our planet, since birdsong unfolds across all Eurasia and North America as daylight processes over those lands too. Think of it as the Earth rejoicing at the sun’s cyclical return. Mistle thrush… Read More Look up, listen, and be very concerned. Birds are vanishing – and their crisis is our crisis

Dilip

Rescuing endangered seabirds: world’s biggest single operation to remove mice from island

Patrick Barkham Non-native house mice are to be removed from Marion Island in the southern Indian Ocean to protect the wandering albatross and other endangered seabirds, in the world’s largest eradication programme of its kind. Mice accidentally introduced on to the remote island by 19th-century seal hunters have thrived in warmer and drier conditions over… Read More Rescuing endangered seabirds: world’s biggest single operation to remove mice from island

Dilip

Wildlife photographer took 40,000 photos to capture these extraordinary birds

Rebecca Cairns, CNN. Photos by Tim Laman I’m willing, more than most people, to go through some discomfort.” That’s how American conservation photographer Tim Laman ended up with water rising over his knees in a marshy river delta at midnight, his camera gear floating by his side. “I got myself into a situation,” he admits.… Read More Wildlife photographer took 40,000 photos to capture these extraordinary birds

Dilip

Pale Blue Flycatcher

I was walking a trail today when I spotted this juvenile actively self-feeding. No adults were in attendance and no calls were heard. The bird was feeding largely by aerial-sallying from perches and snatching caterpillars and insects from the tree foliage. Prey was extensively branch-swiped before being eaten and the bird would land on a… Read More Pale Blue Flycatcher

Dilip

Assam’s ‘hargila army’: how 10,000 women saved India’s rarest stork

Today the greater adjutant is endangered, with fewer than 1,200 adult birds in its last strongholds – the Indian states of Assam and Bihar, and Cambodia. Most of the global population is found in Assam, making Barman and the hargila army’s work critical to its survival. Indian conservationist Purnima Devi Barman transformed attitudes to the bird –… Read More Assam’s ‘hargila army’: how 10,000 women saved India’s rarest stork

Dilip

The man who has transformed our understanding of evolution

Katie Hunt, CNN On the Galapagos Islands, a ground finch that usually munched on small, soft seeds was forced, during a drought, to eat harder, larger ones. Within the space of a few generations, the bird evolved a larger but shorter beak better suited to cracking large seeds. The Galapagos medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis).… Read More The man who has transformed our understanding of evolution

Dilip