• 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.

• United Kingdom government being questioned over lax quarantine procedures used to prevent avian flu. A licensed quarantine facility in Essex kept a consignment of parrots from South America in the same quarantine unit as a flock of exotic birds from Taiwan. Vets have admitted a possible mix-up in the samples used to determine the parrot thought be infected with the avian flu virus.
• EU bans live bird imports to prevent outbreak of avian flu. Malaysia has also followed suit.
• Fourth-grader at Moanalua Elementary School in Hawaii states some compelling reasons why and how to save the endangered 'Alae 'Ula, also known as the Hawaiian Common Moorhen (Gallinule choloropus sandvicensis). The world could use more young students of the environment such as Erin Voss.
• Municipality of Mati, Davao Oriental in the Philippines declares establishment of 7,000-hectare sanctuary for the endangered Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi). It's the first municipality in the country to do so.
• Philippine Eagle Foundation and Department of Environment and Natural Resources hail local Philippine residents for saving ailing endangered Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi).
• Vandals spill 250 gallons of diesel fuel into marshland at Princeton State Wildlife Management Area near Princeton, Iowa.
• Yellow-naped Amazon Parrot (Amazona ochrocephala auropalliata) surprises senators in Pennsylvania by singing "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?" and "Alouette".

• Avian flu virus discovered in parrot imported into the United Kingdom. EU officials are meeting on Tuesday to discuss banning of all live bird imports.
• Residents in Norfolk County, in Ontario, Canada, file appeal against construction of wind farm. They're concerned about the negative impact the wind turbines will have on various migratory bird species.
• Increasing number of hawks being found with misshapen beak syndrome along the West Coast. Since 1996, 86 hawks have been found with the problem, 77 of those affected being Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis). Nobody knows what's causing it, but this problem causes difficulty in eating and makes it hard for the hawks to preen themselves, leading to emaciation and lice. If you find a hawk with this problem, please report it.
• US Fish and Wildlife Service designates critical habitat for the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus). The habitat includes a 10-mile stretch of the Mojave River near Victorville, California, as well as 11.7 miles along Holcomb Creek and 12.6 miles along Deep Creek in the San Bernardino Mountains.
• Friends of Swainson's Hawk settles lawsuit against the city of Davis and Covell Village Partners. Friends of Swainson's Hawk, a Sacramento (California) nonprofit, claimed the environmental impact report for Covell Village, a proposed 1,864-housing-unit development, violated the California Environmental Quality Act by not properly mitigating for the endangered Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni). The agreement increases habitat from 422 acres to 516 acres and includes a one-time fee to provide a permanent endowment for monitoring and necessary oversight of the conservation easement.
• Smith Creek Ranch in Nevada working to improve habitat for the Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), which was denied Endangered Species Act protections in January.
• Megaera, a five-year-old Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), reunited with owner after she went missing in the Brechfa Forest in Carmarthenshire, in the United Kingdom on October 16. She picked the anklets holding her radio tracking device and disappeared for five days, likely surviving on rabbits and pheasants.
• Clinton Humane Society in Iowa expresses thanks to those who helped rescue a Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii). The hawk's leg was entangled in string, causing it to drag a branch.
• Siletz Bay named Imporant Bird Area by the Audubon Society of Portland and Lincoln City Audubon.

• Survey by the United Kingdom's Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs shows that the UK population of wild birds is almost 10% higher than ten years ago. However, the farmland bird index showed little change over recent years and numbers remain around 56% of the 1970 level.
• Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) sightings becoming more common in San Diego County in California, most notably at the San Elijo Lagoon. "We used to only see them in the winter now we see them year round and there's been 5 to 10 pairs in the county now," avian biologist Robert Patton said.
• Society for Protection of Nature in Lebanon (a BirdLife International partner) reviving program to manage natural areas such as woodlands, grasslands and wetlands, and protect them from over-exploitation.
• Plans for marshland windfarm in the United Kingom approved despite protests by environmental groups such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and English Nature. It will be the largest wind farm in lowland England. Steve Gilbert, the RSPB's Conservation Manager for South East England, said: "It is disappointing that the decision has been taken to site a windfarm in such a sensitive area. Windfarms are invaluable in helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but windfarms in the wrong place can end up damaging or destroying the very environment they are designed to save."
• US Fish and Wildlife Service facing challenge of finding the best solution to save birds that nest on Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts. As early as this winter, the ocean could deposit enough sand between Chatham's South Beach and Monomoy Island to connect the two, resulting in the arrival of land predators.
• Department of Natural Resources asking for help in finding those responsible for killing a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at the Lake Skegemog/Torch Lake area of Antrim County, Michigan. There's a $1000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

• US Fish and Wildlife Service reopens public comments on detailed review of the status of the California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis). The FWS is conducting a 12-month review (to be completed March 2006) to decide if the owl should be listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
• Animal Welfare Bill introduced in the House of Commons to help raise the standards of animal welfare, including banning the sale of animals to a child under the age of 16 and stiffening the penalties for animal fighting.
• Volunteers work to begin the rebirth of Plum Island in Illinois. The Illinois Audubon Society bought the island in 2004, in hopes of turning it into a bird sanctuary, giving the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) another place to nest.
• Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge in Swanton, Vermont celebrates the grand opening of its new refuge headquarters and visitor center.
• Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) celebrates third birthday at the Belize Zoo. The Harpy Eagle is one of the world’s largest and most powerful eagles. It's also the national bird of Panama.
• Maui on lookout for lost birds. The endangered seabird, 'Ua'u Kani also known as Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus pacificus), has short legs which makes it difficult to take off from the nest 8000 feet up. It sometimes ends up at the mercy of ground dwellers.
• Adult Greater Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos dubious) rescued from railway compartment at Fakiragram Railway Station in Assam, India. The Greater Adjutant Stork is one of the most endangered wildlife water bird speacies, with less than 700-800 remaining.
• Australian man receives two-year jail sentence for trying to smuggle 23 cockatoo eggs out of the country in his underpants. The eggs included the Gang-Gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum, Major Mitchell Cockatoo (Cacatua leadbeateri), and Red-collared Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus rubritorquis).
• Osprey returning to San Diego County in "significant numbers".
• Mysterious mass death among waterfowl in Iran. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) reported 3,673 wild ducks had died at Poldasht, in West Azerbaijan province around October 2.

• Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) take up residence in playground at Nightingale Elementary School in Stockton, California. Students and teachers are taking this opportunity to appreciate them. "There are not many of them left, because people like to throw trash in their holes," second-grader Anaiah Morris said of the burrowing owls. "We like to go out there and keep the playground clean for them."
• 90-million-year-old dinosaur discovered in Patagonia, providing more evidence linking dinosaurs to birds. Buitreraptor gonzalezorum is related to the Velociraptor and is about the size of a very large rooster, but with a long head and very long tail. It is the most complete small theropod (carnivorous dinosaur) ever discovered in South America.
• California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, signs bill designating 31 miles of Cache Creek in Yolo and Lake counties as a state wild, scenic and recreational river. The bill will prevent dams and diversions from being built from just below Clear Lake Dam to Camp Haswell, in the upper Capay Valley, as well as on the creek's north fork downstream from Highway 20.
• California Condors (Gymnogyps californianus) released at the Baja California peninsula in 2002 are expanding their range to San Diego County, California. It was expected to take them eight to ten years to expand their range to the north and join the Southern California population, but they are starting to move north towards the border. The last time one of the endangered birds was spotted in the wild in San Diego County was in 1910.
• Audubon Society of Rhode Island hosting the fifth annual Bird and Wildlife Carving Exposition on October 15 and 16 from 10 am to 4 pm. It will feature bird and wildlife carvings from 20 artists from Connecticut, Cape Cod and other parts of Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
• First captive-bred Cinnamon Quail-thrush (Cinclosoma cinnamomeum) chicks successfully fledged at Alice Springs Desert Park in central Australia.
• Olly the Eagle turns up "safe and well". The Eagle Owl escaped from Bristol Zoo in Clifton, Bristol, United Kingdom on October 3.

Holy Bird Blog! I and the Bird #8 is out and TroutGrrrl of Science and Sarcasm has done a superb job of rounding up the 23 entries that make up this edition, which includes submissions from writers in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe. This is an excellent carnival and the list of participants is really growing. Make sure to check it out.

And as always, if you'd like to add your name to the participant list, make sure to check out the "I and the Bird" info page. The deadline for submissions for the next carnival is October 25.

• Sierra Club, National Audubon Society, and Greenpeace among the coalition of 20 environmental groups suing the Bush Administration for repealing President Clinton's Roadless Area Conservation Rule that banned development, logging, and road building on nearly one-third of the nation's forest wildlands. A month ago, attorneys general for California, New Mexico, and Oregon brought forth a similar suit.
• Migrating birds feeling the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Gulf Coast is a major energy-building stopover for them before they continue south, but much of the habitat has been destroyed. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) relies on flowers to double its weight before continuing to Central America, but this year many of the flowers are gone.
• Mani, a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), stolen during a burglary at the Henson Robinson Zoo in Springfield, Illinois. Mani was hand-raised and cannot survive in the wild. Possession of a Red-tailed Hawk is a federal offense. "We're setting a kennel outside of the zoo so that the person who has him can return him anonymously," said zoo director Talon Thorntorn. If you have any information, please contact Crime Stoppers.
  Update Oct. 17, 2005: Two men have been charged with burglary and felony theft for setting Mani free. Mani, however, remains at large.
• Hawaii's national wildlife refuges reporting a number of unusual migrants including the Nazca Booby (Sula granti) and American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana), both of which had never been seen on the islands.
• BirdLife International’s Save the Albatross Campaign launches Operation Ocean Task Force, placing trainers on longline fishing vessels to show the crews simple and practical techniques to prevent seabird deaths. Around 100,000 albatrosses (about one every five minutes) drown each year due to long-line fishing. Because of this, 19 of the world's 21 species face the threat of extinction. Visit Save the Albatross.
• South Florida Wading Bird Report shows wading birds in the Everglades fell victim to heavy rains and high water during their spring nesting period. Mark Cook, co-editor of the survey reports that many birds were forced to abandon nests perched in Everglades shrubs and trees, while rising water drowned nests established closer to the ground in cattail stands.
• Report by Friends of the San Juans and the national Center for Biological Diversity shows that 957 species are at risk at Puget Sound, which surrounds Seattle, Washington. Read the full report "The Puget Sound Basin: A Biodiversity Assessment" (PDF).
• Recovery efforts for the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) take another hit as Number 164 is found dead in Ventura County, California. He was captive-born and then released eight years under the supervision of the Ventana Wilderness Society. It was hoped he would be the first breeding male in Monterey County in the last 100 years. Read about my encounter with this incredible species.
• West Bengal, India to inaugurate new sanctuary on October 29. Narendrapur Wildlife Sanctuary covers about 17 acres of land in South 24 Parganas. The inauguration will mark the beginning of the celebration of Wildlife Week all over the state.
• Energy workers in Queensland, Australia move power lines down the pole to protect Sea Eagle nest. The nest has been there for four years and is getting so big they're worried the birds may get hurt by the line.

• Penguins rescued from Hurricane Katrina placed on exhibit at California's Monterey Bay Aquarium.
• Record numbers for EuroBirdwatch 2005. Nearly 40,000 people observed 3 million birds througout the 35 participating European countries.
• Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and Iowa Department of Natural Resources to buy 93 acres of land that was to be developed into lakeside homes at Big Spirit Lake, Iowa. This will save the lake's last remaining bed of Bulrush (Typha latifola), aquatic plants used to shelter spawning fish. The area also is home to a dozen threatened or endangered bird species, and so many more common species that it qualifies as a state bird sanctuary.
• US Fish and Wildlife Service announces $17 million in grants to the agency's Pacific Region. This money is part of the $70.5 million offered nationally through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (authorized under section 6 of the Endangered Species Act), which may in turn be awarded to private landowners and groups for conservation projects.
• US Fish and Wildlife Service announces that it is acquiring 1,800 acres of land for the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge to benefit waterfowl and a host of other wildlife species including the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis). It's using $2.43 million raised by the Federal Duck Stamp program to buy the land, which is presently owned by The Nature Conservancy.
• Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina named one of the nation's most endangered refuges. The refuge is close to a proposed Navy landing field. "Despite overwhelming scientific evidence, court decisions and public opinion opposing the site, the Navy continues to waste money and time on this project," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. See what else is on their Top Ten list. One of my favorite places, the Salton Sea, is also listed.
• Actress Julianne Moore seeking medical treatment for her African Grey. He's plucking its feathers when they're apart. She "didn't realise how needy the bird would be." People often underestimate the intellectual and emotional capacity of birds. If you ever consider taking on a companion bird, please make sure you learn about it first.

• New Orleans Audubon Nature Institute announces "Audubon October" to help raise funds for recovery efforts of the Aquarium, Zoo and Species Survival Center, which were victims of Hurricane Katrina. Zoos and aquariums across the nation are joining in by hosting donation boxes throughout the month of October. Online donations may be made by visiting the Audubon Nature Institute website. They're expecting it's going to take at least $60 million and 2 years to restore their facilities.
• Three critically endangered Visayas Writhed-billed Hornbills (Aceros waldeni) successfully fledge at Mari-it Conservation Park in the Philippines. This marks the world's first successful breeding in captivity for this hornbill. This bird is one of the most critically endangered species of hornbills in the world, with an estimated 65 pairs remaining in the wild.
• Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) taking up residence in Woodland, California. The population has grown from about 10 to 30 in recent months. Gino Celoni, an 89-year-old resident, is just hoping they're not looking for him.
• Workshop a noisy success after over a hundred kids register for a day of Screech Owl education and nest-building at the Audubon National Wildlife Refuge in North Dakota.
• Massachusetts Environmental Police investigating an alleged attack on a Blue Heron by three teens. The bird was too badly injured to be saved.
• Nearly fifty people attend parrot workshop hosted by Minnesota's University Raptor Center. Barbara Heidenreich, author and trainer, helped people understand parrot behavior. She presented advice on the basics of training, reading body language and modifying behavioral problems. Parrots are often abused or put up for adoption because people don't understand them.
• Pigeon fancier in Scotland fined £450 after pleading guilty to owning traps used to catch and kill wild hawks.
• Public invited to help install Osprey platform in a salt marsh in the lower area of the Quinnipiac River in North Haven, Connecticut on Sunday morning at 9. It's a wonderful way to learn about Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). They usually move right into the nests. This will be the 19th nesting platform along the river.