October 31, 2005
Fledglinks
- Two California environmental groups file suits to shut down the wind farm at Altamont Pass during migration season. On Friday, Californians for Renewable Energy filed a suit demanding Alameda County conduct an environmental impact report. On Monday, the Golden Gate Audubon Society filed a sister suit. More birds are killed by the Altamont Pass wind mills than at any other wind farm in the country.
- Exotic birds being set free in the United Kingdom as people panic about avian flu. This is a very bad solution as pet birds sometimes have a hard time surviving on their own. Don't assume your bird has avian flu; take it to a vet to get checked.
- Endangered Hawaiian 'Akepa (Loxops coccineus) facing extinction threat from the invasive Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus), also known as the Mejiro. The nesting season for the two overlap, and the Japanese White-eye seems to be winning the battle for food. The 'Akepa is already being threatened by habitat loss from logging.
- Thirty-three ducks in Canada test positive for avian flu, but it's not yet clear if it's H5N1.
- Wellington Zoo partnering with Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre and Peacock Spring to breed New Zealand’s rarest duck, the critically endangered Campbell Island Teal (Anas nesiotis).
- The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is calling for a permanent ban on the import of captive wild birds into the European Union in order to help stave off avian flu.
- Barnice the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) released back into the wild after two month rehabilitation by a couple in Apple Valley, California. The couple is licensed to work with birds and cared for the owl after it suffered a broken wing.
- Twenty-two endangered Laysan Ducks (Anas laysanensis) raised on Midway's Laysan Island and released at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in an effort to help insure the species doesn't become extinct.