Category: birds

Strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Kills Thousands of Birds in Quebec

The carcasses of thousands of white gannets have been covering the shores of Quebec’s Îles-de-la-Madeleine for the last two weeks, victims of highly pathogenic avian influenza. “Nobody had to tell me that this was happening; it’s obvious—we’re talking about thousands of dead birds,” Îles-de-la-Madeleine Mayor Jonathan Lapierre said in a recent interview. “We’re not talking…


Style at Home: The Birds and the Bees and Everything in Between

By Katie Laughridge From Tribune News Service Decorating with animals is nothing new. it is quite common for people to have a favorite animal or symbol that they use throughout their home decor. Some choose to decorate with dogs or refresh with rabbits. However, many little critters can make just as big of an impact….


Why Birds Migrate Vast Distances – and How You Can Help During Their Breeding Season

Now that spring is in the air, the UK is starting to see its summer visitors arriving. Ospreys are already back in their nests, chiffchaffs are singing their song to re-establish their territories, and puffins have arrived at their breeding sites around the British Isles. Several centuries ago, people believed that swallows spent the winter asleep at the bottom…


Letting Nature Do Its Thing: Balancing the Birds and Bugs in Our Gardens

Something is happening in our gardens. Little by little, a very unsettling silence is falling upon them. During my childhood, our garden was a blur of color as a multitude of brightly patterned insects busied themselves amongst the flowers. The number of bee species on the lavender bushes was a sight to behold and butterflies…


Garden Birds Are Struggling: Four Ways to Help

More than a quarter of Britain’s birds are now on the RSPB’s red list, meaning that their numbers are in severe decline. Some of the recent additions to the red list are thought of as common garden birds, such as the greenfinch. Others, such as the swift and house martin, only spend spring and summer…


Birds in Chinese Painting

In traditional Chinese culture, the following idioms are often used to describe a perfect marriage: lute and zither playing in harmony, flowers blooming under the full moon, dragons soaring and phoenixes prancing, mandarin ducks playing in water, and swallows and nightingales flying in pairs. These metaphors are inspired by objects in nature, among which bird-related…


Birds of Paradise: Falconry on Catalina Island Places Majestic Birds on Full Display

Not far off the coast of Southern California, Santa Catalina Island rises out of the Pacific, providing valuable ground for ecotourism and recreation in coastal desert scenery. Creatively cultivated by brilliant minds and wealthy captains of industry, such as William Wrigley Jr., Catalina’s main port of entry, Avalon, is a European-style riviera within the confines…


Highly Pathogenic Bird Flu Detected in Delaware and Florida

Highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza were also found in flocks of wild birds in Delaware and Florida this week, officials said. The Delaware Department of Agriculture on Wednesday said that testing confirmed that cases of avian flu were discovered in a Delaware chicken flock. “We have taken immediate action to contain this disease and…


Scientists Warn Wireless Radiation, 5G May Endanger Animals

Researchers have published a three-part, 150-page review of how wildlife could be suffering harms from the non-ionizing electromagnetic fields (EMF) produced by wireless infrastructure, raising questions about the environmental safety of wireless technology as 5G begins to blanket the United States. “We’ve known for a while now, through a number of scientific studies, that cellular…


Microsculpture Artist Uses Microscope to Carve Unbelievably Tiny Birds, Beasts, Buildings Smaller Than Pinhead

Making a piece of art smaller than a pinhead is a lot like life itself. Just ask microsculpture artist Marie Cohydon, 50, whose miniaturized creations taught her “to avoid believing that you have absolute control of the situation”—especially being the mother of an autistic child. “I had to deal with my son’s autism, an ordeal for…