• Biologists band four Peregrine Falcon chicks nesting at the Brady Sullivan Tower in Manchester, New Hampshire. It's the fifth year the same pair has nested there. The Audubon Society of New Hampshire has a webcam set up to watch them (Intenet Explorer only).
• The first of three Osprey egg hatches in nest located at Bassenthwaite Lake in Cumbria, England. It's the result of a reintroduction program managed by the Lake District Osprey Project. Check out the webcam to see how the chicks are doing.
• Environmental officials urging extra caution when visting Charles Island in Connecticut. They're trying to avoid disturbance of nesting sites of threatened birds such as the Great Egret and the Glossy Ibis, which may not return if they're chased away.
• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds investigating the disappearance of Peregrine Falcon chicks from their nests in the Lothians, Scotland. It's feared they've been stolen.
• Chinese official reports that over 1000 migratory birds have died in western China as a result of avian flu.
• Pennsylvania Game Commission looking for the shooter of an immature Bald Eagle in Clearfield. It was killed with a shotgun. There's a $500 reward for information.
• Foul-mouthed Green-cheeked Amazon Parrot saves man from cottage fire.

• Two pairs of Madagascar Teal (Anas bernieri) arrive in the United States as part of a captive breeding program. They were flown from the Netherlands to Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Center in Scotland Neck, North Carolina. They're the only ones in the US, and it's estimated only 500 to 1000 remain.
• Falconry courses being offered at the North Devon Bird of Prey Centre in the Milky Way Adventure Park in Clovelly, UK.
• Lockridge Ranch in East Texas fined $120,000 for baiting waterfowl during duck hunting. Federal law prohibits baiting waterfowl in order to protect them from being overharvested.
• Spring storms thought to be the cause of poor hatch rates for Peregrine Falcons in Massachusetts. Biologists have found only four of thirteen nests to be successful.
• Six species of birds found on the islets of Dokdo. These findings bring the bird species tally up to 72.
• Rehabilitated raptors set free during University of Minnesota Raptor Center's Spring Release.
• New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's annual tally of Red Knots (Calidris canutus) shows the bird could be extinct by 2010.

• Missing Bald Eagle found in tree. Alaska escaped from the Eagle Heights Bird of Prey Centre in Eynsford, Kent, UK during an exhibition.
• Army Corps of Engineers hunting Red Foxes on Craney Island in Virginia. There's been a dramatic population increase and they're wreaking havoc on the waterfowl. A group of foxes can wipe out 40 to 50 nests in one night.
• The Whipstock Hill Preservation Society wins petition approval to protect 80 acres of wetlands near Vermont's state airport.
• Final Environmental Impact Statement for Wisconsin's Forward Wind Energy Center concludes that the impact on birds may be worse than originally thought.
• US Fish and Wildlife Service proposing changes to the use of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in an attempt to protect the habitat and wildlife.
• Two Peregrine Falcons hatch at the State Capitol building in Lincoln, Nebraska. They're the first to hatch since officials began trying to get the species to nest there 14 years ago. The nest is only the second known active peregrine nest in the state's history. Check out their webcam.
• Boca Grande, Florida resident recounts her experience of saving an injured Osprey.
• Peregrine Falcons nesting atop in South Bend Indiana hatch three females. The nest box has been in place since 1993.
• Falcon Release Programme sees the release of 39 Saker and 47 Peregrine Falcons in the United Arab Emirates.

The Critical Habitat Enhancement Act of 2005 is a proposed bill by Democratic Rep. Dennis Cardoza of California that seeks to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Environmentalists are concerned that the new revisions are going to severely weaken the protection of habitat. Stop Extinction has a Fact Sheet that summarizes the issue at hand.

Last month, The Portland Press Herald had an excellent editorial that detailed the impact of the proposed changes.

The Endangered Species Act likely can be made better, but an amendment that weakens habitat protection won't be an improvement. If the places where endangered creatures reside, migrate and reproduce aren't protected, the effect of the law will be minimal. Such protection becomes more critical as time goes on and more habitat is lost to construction each day.

It goes on to list the concerns environmental organizations have with the proposed changes:

Environmental organizations are concerned that Cardoza's revived proposal would render habitat protection negligible.

They're concerned particularly about a language change that would make it easier for developers to avoid having their property subject to a critical habitat designation.

Cardoza's bill also would add more weight to economic considerations and allow the substitution of other programs that usually provide less protection than the critical habitat designations.

The bill also would weaken protection for so-called "unoccupied" habitat. A habitat that's not currently occupied by the species in question can still be protected because the species uses it for migration or reproduction.

On Tuesday, ten world-renowned biologists wrote a letter(PDF) to the Senate urging them to strengthen the Endangered Species Act. They were very compelling. Some of the points made:

• Currently there is little doubt left in the minds of professional biologists that Earth is faced with a mounting loss of species that equals or exceeds any mass extinction in the geological record. Human activities have brought the Earth to the brink of this crisis. Many biologists consider that coming decades will see the loss of large numbers of species; these extinctions will alter not only biological diversity but also the evolutionary processes by which diversity is generated and maintained. Extinction is now proceeding one thousand times faster than the planet's historic rate.
• In the United States, there have been more extinctions of birds than of any other group of vertebrates - 2.3% of our endemic bird species are gone forever. Worldwide, the situation is even worse. Because of the incredible density of species in tropical regions that are facing rapid deforestation, we may be losing species at a rate of 30,000 per year, or an overwhelming three per hour.
• Habitat destruction is widely recognized as the primary cause of species loss. In the United States, habitat loss threatens about 85% of imperiled species. Worldwide, the figure may be higher. Agriculture, logging, urban development, dredging, damming, mining and drilling are just a few of the activities that eliminate or significantly degrade habitats.

They conclude.

Fortunately, we have the wherewithal and the tools we need to address this crisis. The most important of them is the Endangered Species Act. It is the alarm system our nation crafted to warn us when species are facing extinction. It is the measure by which we halt species' decline and give species a fighting chance at recovery. Viewing our looming extinction crisis as a crisis for humans as well as wildlife, the importance of the Endangered Species Act takes on even greater significance. In the face of this crisis, we must strengthen the Act and broaden its protections, not weaken them.

If you'd like to show your opposition to Cardoza's proposed amendments to the Endangered Species Act, be sure to check out the Defenders of Wildlife Save ESA website.

Things are getting tougher for the Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). In January, the US Fish and Wildlife Service denied it protections under the Endangered Species Act. Now, the US Forest Service has decided to perform controlled burns of the Greater Sage-Grouse habitat. The good news is that the original planned 2000 acres has been cut to 300, thanks to protests by environmentalists and Nevada wildlife biologists. The bad news is that this burn is happening during prime nesting season. What's more, it's being done without a formal environmental assessment to determine what birds are in the burn zone, and how the burn is going to affect the Greater Sage-Grouse population.

The Sierra Club's May 12 RAW newsletter has more details and it's definitely worth subscribing to their weekly report. In addition, 10,000 Birds has a great perspective of this, as well as other issues.

• Audubon New York has updated its list of Important Bird Areas. The list is used to determine conservation areas for a law passed in 1997 to expand bird habitat.
• The New Jersey Audubon Society posts the results of the 2005 World Series of Birding. Over 260 species were sighted over the 24-hour period.
• Albuquerque, New Mexico police investigating the theft of more than a dozen birds from the Psitty Scenes bird shop. Among the missing: a Bare-eyed Cockatoo, six African Grey Parrots, and six Amazon parrots. If you have any information, please contact the Albuquerque police.
• Two whooping Crane eggs being flown (by plane) to Maryland. The USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel hopes they will hatch, adding to the flock trained to migrate between Florida and Wisconsin. The eggs are expected to hatch early next week.
• Fifteen Red-crown Crane eggs being flown from the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Russia as part of a reintroduction program at the Khinganski Nature Reserve near the Amur River and China.
• New Jersey woman attacked by Red-tailed Hawk while going for her daily walk. Experts found and removed a nearby nest with chicks and are caring for them until they can be released. Even after a punctured head which resulted in a tetanus shot and antibiotics, the woman understands and feels bad for the hawks "just trying to protect their territory".
• "Big-eye" binoculars stolen from Hitchcock Nature Center in western Iowa. They were key for Hawk Watch raptor counts. There's a reward for information leading to the return.
• Watsonville, California proposing bird festival to attract tourists.

• Michigan guides offer tour to see the rare Kirtland's Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii). More info here and here.
• Colorado wildlife officials seeking landowner agreement programs to protect the Gunnison Sage Grouse (Centrocercus minimus) to help avoid listing it on the US Endangered Species List. It's already globally listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List.
• Black-Throated Finch Recovery Team formed in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia to help recovery efforts of the Southern Black-throated Finch (Poephila cincta cincta). It was reclassified from vulnerable to endangered in February.
• New York park rangers looking for the person responsible for killing a federally protected Piping Plover. They are asking for people with information to contact the National Park Service.
• New Jersey Audubon Society holds its 22nd annual World Series of Birding. Last year, about 70 teams sighted 272 species of birds in the 24-hour period.
• Daily Record columnist recounts her saving of a hawk from its would-be meal, a Texas Rat Snake.
• Peregrine Falcon feared poisoned after laying eggs at Hanson quarry in Clee Hill, near Ludlow, Shropshire in the UK.
• Illinois couple donates pair of endangered Red-fronted Macaws to Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Illinois.
• Game wardens seize thousands of black-market birds in Rio Claro, Trinidad & Tobago raid.
• Thieves return African Grey Parrot stolen from a home in North Carolina. It was extra special to the owner because it imitated her late husband's voice.

• North American Boreal Forest Region is disappearing. At 1.5 billion acres, it represents 26 percent of the land area of the US and Canada, 25 percent of remaining forests, and is relied upon for nearly half of all North American bird species. Check out the Boreal Songbird Initiative conservation effort.
• Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation report suggests that windfarms should not be built near populations of birds of conservation importance and that more research needs to be done on the impact of offshore windfarms since birds do not 'get used' to windfarms.
• Zambia given $7 million by the Global Environmental Facility and the United Nations Development Programme to protect endangered wildlife species in the country's game parks.
• Man calls police to report a burglary. Turns out the suspect was a Red-tailed Hawk that crashed through a window. The hawk was taken to a humane society for treatment.
• Glasgow University develops fake eggs to gather vital data in nesting birds.
• Golden Eagle egg laid in Glenveagh National Park in the north-west of Ireland. It's the first since 1912.
• Construction of hospital tower halted after the discovery of a barn owl chick. It might be relocated to the Ojai Raptor Refuge after obtaining the necessary permits.
• Power lines in South Africa being lit up to help save rare Blue Cranes from crashing into them. There's been 30 recorded fatalities, but the real death toll is expected to be significantly higher.

• Perergrine Falcon Soap Opera: Jersey City Peregrine Falcon loses his wing while his mate incubates eggs. Park supervisor offers the sitting female falcon food, but finds a second male defending the nest.
• Eagle Lake, Texas throws festival to help save the endangered Attwater's Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri). Urbanization has decimated them and now less than 50 remain.
• Five months after a raid on an Indian bird market, the sellers are back selling rare and protected birds.
• Payson, Arizona residents help to save injured Peregrine Falcon.
• Maryland elementary school students get a close-up view of an 8-week-old eaglet.

• The Nature Conservancy buys the farm. They're donating the 38.7-acre Smith farm in Greenland, New Hampshire to the Fish and Game Department to permanently protect the Great Bay corn field that provides an essential stopover for migrating waterfowl.
• New highway in Mauritius threatening the Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus). The kestrel was nearly extinct in the 1970s, but conservation efforts have brought the population back to 800-1000. This highway is runs right through its habitat, the Mauritius east coast mountains Important Bird Area.
• Scientists band Peregrine Falcon chicks atop the Pacific Gas and Electric building in San Francisco. The nest cam has been active March.
• Georgia State University's Raptor Center curator, Scott Courdin, leaves to serve in Iraq.

• Slate answers the question as to how the Ivory-billed Woodpecker came back from extinction.
• RSPB launches Operation Ocean Task Force to help prevent seabird deaths by educating fishermen. Longline fishing kills 300,000 seabirds a year and is causing 19 of 21 albatross species to face extinction.
• The Forest Conservation Council and the American Bird Conservancy are suing the Federal Communications Commission. They claim the FCC is contributing to millions of bird deaths by not complying with environmental laws when issuing licenses for communications towers.
• New Jersey officials taking extra precautions to save the Red Knot (Calidris canutus) shorebirds on their migration stopover along the Delaware Bay. If the birds continue on their current rate of decline, they may be extinct by 2010.
• Native Hawaiian Stilts threatened by Hawai'i Kai Marina Association's dredging project. Dredged material is planned on being dumped on a islet that the Stilts call home. It's the only breeding site in the state that's free of predators.
• Texas developers destroy 270 acres of habitat used by the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) that nests only in Central Texas. The firm agreed to set aside 340 acres of untouched land on the property and created a nonprofit association to maintain it.
• 127 waterfowl die in Yellowstone while trying to land during a storm.
• American Oystercatchers aboard ruins of a concrete World War I-era oil tanker resting on the Pelican Flats in Galveston Bay in Texas.
• UK company fined for unathorized construction in the middle of protected moorland in North York.

Beakspeak is happy to announce the addition of Photos. Using the revolutionary online gallery service, Flickr, Beakspeak is posting pictures of spontaneous sightings and various field trips since February, including trips to Carrizo Plain National Monument, Kern National Wildlife Refuge, and Owens Valley between the southern Sierra Nevada and White-Inyo mountain ranges, all in California. There are more trips planned and photos are being added on a regular basis, so make sure to check back often. Enjoy!