Fledglinks
- University of Iowa's Macbride Nature Recreation Area celebrating fall migration by hosting annual Hawk Watch program on September 17 from 9am to 2pm. Sponsors include the Macbride Raptor Project, the Iowa City Bird Club, Cornell College Biology Department, and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
- Federal lawsuit filed by the National Wildlife Federation and the Arkansas Wildlife Federation to halt the construction of the Grand Prairie Irrigation Project. They claim the Army Corps of Engineers and US Fish and Wildlife Service haven't fully considered the potential damage to the habitat of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis). "This project is designed to draw 158 billion gallons of water from the White River each year, effectively draining the wetlands habitat where the Ivory-bill was first sighted."
- Indiana Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) tests positive for mercury poisoning. Wildlife officials aren't sure if it was poisoned by eating tainted fish or by ingesting it in other ways. It was treated and released weeks later. Environmentalists claim Indiana ranks fourth nationally in mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. The toxic emissions eventually end up in the food chain. The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued relaxed regulations, switching mercury from being regulated as a hazardous pollutant to one with less stringent controls. A group of senators are trying to overturn the decision.
- Volunteers help install artificial burrows for five Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) saved from a development site in Sacramento, California. The installation was headed by the Burrowing Owls Preservation Society with help from Wild at Heart.
- Craig Webb preparing for launch of raptor rehabilitation center near Kettering, Tasmania. He formed Raptor and Wildlife Refuge of Tasmania Inc., a non-profit organization to help fund the center. Other sponsors have been generous in their contributions. So can you.
- North Carolina Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) recovering from being hooked in the bill and foot with a fishing lure. It's being cared for by the Carolina Raptor Center.
- Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) found safe after the van it was living in was stolen in Anchorage, Alaska. The falcon had tried to escape but got caught and was rescued in the nick of time.
- Australian residents of Magnetic Island participate in bird count, reporting 92 different species and a total count of 989 birds.
- Fort Myers, Florida developer who destroyed Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nest ordered to pay $365,000 in fines and restitution. Court documents show that company officials knew the tree had an eagle nest in it when they cut it down. The birds and their nests are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, adopted in 1940.
