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As you’ll remember, Kentucky’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources unanimously passed its sandhill crane hunting proposal. The public comment period on the Kentucky sandhill crane hunting proposal ends AUGUST 1 2011. Here are six top reasons to protest this hunt. Why put additional pressure on a recovering species?
Originally a hunting term, the Big Five were the most dangerous and prized targets of the great white hunters on safari. Elephant The big – two species of elephant are now recognized as occuring in Africa, the smaller and more secretive Forest Elephant and the larger, more familiar African or Bush Elephant.
But, as with so many other species, these birds have been left to do their own whistle blowing. West Indian Whistling Ducks are the largest of the eight different whistling duck species. The whistling duck call carries with it the crimes of big business, the failures of governments and the ignorance of irresponsible hunters.
It has also found its way to Japan where it is considered to be an invasive species. Now and then individual catfish of various specieshunt nearer the surface and larger catfish such as the American Channel Cat will take a duck or other water bird. Or, it could just be some weird thing one group of catfish do.
Many of these refuges and associated Conservation Areas, which have the potential to protect more than 1 million acres of vital wildlife habitat, have been forged through creative partnerships with sportsmen, conservation groups and private landowners. She says, “there’s just a cultural bias against anything related to hunting.”
Although I once saw a group of Barn Swallows pass overhead a few weeks earlier, these birds were clearly on passage only as there was no sign of this species since. Eventually however, a large group was hunting insects over the pond in the nearby park, showing off their shimmering metal-blue backs.
The serpent-eagles of the genus Spilornis are an Asian group, not to be confused with two different genera found in Africa or, for that matter, the snake-eagles, a mostly African but also European and Asian genus (simple, right?). This species ranges from India to Japan and south down Borneo.
Logging roads have opened up vast areas to commercial hunting, leading to industrial-scale poaching and a more than 60 per cent drop in the region’s Forest Elephant population in less than a decade. The region also provides food, fresh water and shelter to more than 75 million people of nearly 150 distinct ethnic groups.
The Gulf of Cadiz, from Cadiz itself, right along the coasts of Huelva and the Algarve to Cape St Vincent in Portugal, is a favourite hunting ground of mine and the operators willing to take you out have been on the increase in recent years. Wilson’s Storm Petrel Oceanodroma oceani cus seems to be everyone’s target species.
The exploration of triads within the avifauna of Trinidad and Tobago has taken me through various families and speciesgroups on this blog. On the smaller island of Tobago there are three species of woodpeckers and three species of woodcreepers – one of each is found on Tobago but not Trinidad.
It has recently been reclassified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List; this category is reserved for only the most threatened species in the world. If this bird did become extinct, it would be the first pheasant species to have been lost in the 400 years since proper records began.
Further down the road, we reach a derelict building with a large veranda hidden among the trees – an abandoned hunting lodge (if I were in a situation to invest, I would choose to upgrade this into a luxury wildlife lodge). Birds included common species such as Black Drongos , Jungle Babblers and a Hoopoe.
We are too far into the year for many FOY sightings, but not quite far enough for most migratory species to make their return appearances. Still, in any given three-week period (which is the period I have dedicated to this latest group of thematic posts), dedicated birding will produce some sort of news. Does one ever?)
That honor goes to the Gray-crowned Crane , a very sexy species in its own right. Our group, led by world-renowned guide Herbert Byaruhanga, piled into canoes ostensibly to search for a variety of papyrus and wetland specialties, but really we were just looking for the shoebill. Nor is the Shoebill the national bird of Uganda.
APRIL 12: Second flight of a b h and then she hunts. ” Falcons do hunt pigeons, we all know that, but what is a Kamikaze pigeon? Take the Saker for example: with 52 to 64 breeding pairs ten years ago, Serbia held 13 per cent of the European population of this Globally Threatened species ( source ).
They like to fly in pairs or groups and in the evening they come together in big groups to roost in a favorite ‘dormitory’ tree. Such cavities are hard to find and are sometimes disputed by more than one species. To be more specific, this vast tropical savanna is home to some 800 bird species.
In front of us, the river is two miles wide… and it is paved with birds: smaller groups of Greater White-fronted and Greylag Geese , numerous Mute Swans and Mallards , plus Eurasian Teals , Gadwalls , Common Pochards , a few Ferruginous and Tufted Ducks , Common Goldeneyes and several Smews. A goose hunt sounds like a WWII battle.
The various national versions of Ducks Unlimited are mostly an outgrowth of sports hunting. I was very pleased to see several Brewer’s Blackbirds mixed in with a large group of Brown-headed Cowbirds and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. This is only my second sighting of the species on Lake Cuitzeo.
I did not have good views at all, although after a long time observing I had managed to pick up all the ID features, and enjoyed watching its different hunting behaviour compared to the plentiful Great Cormorants. I was very happy about this lifer as I had been hoping to see this species in autumn during my stay on Heligoland.
The refuge has more than 10,000 eBird checklists and 286 species have been observed by approximately 1,100 eBirders. The most popular of the ten eBird hotspots is McNary NWR–Headquarters/Quail Trail , which does indeed feature California Quail , as well as Yellow-Headed Blackbirds and numerous other species.
In the Orinoco, the largest observed groups number 30, but average is just above five. We sailed right into a group of more than a dozen Hoatzins (cover photo, by Tyler Ficker) with their orange mohawks and blue facial skin. At first one, then two more, then one more, and altogether some 6 or 7 dolphins were coming to the surface.
Birders in Northern California have been treated to rare sightings of several species, sending avid twitchers from all over the west in our direction. One of the cool things about this species is that they are year round residents in their territory. They also can be easily attracted to nest boxes (plans available here ).
You may not realize it when you look at those bizarre looking waders with the massive bills and the vacant expression, but you’re looking at a group of birds that has inspired humankind for literal centuries. The group has a worldwide distribution; 28 species living and two additional extinct.
Babita Tours has many years of experience organizing tailor-made wildlife tours for private groups in this wonderful country. On a recent visit I threw my bags in the hotel room and went straight there, and got over 60 species of birds in a few hours and fantastic views of Nilgai , the largest antelope in India.
And here in Europe, they are the real deal, an indigenous species and not domesticated animals gone wild. When I reached the levee earlier that morning, I met an elderly hunter from whom I learned that there was an ongoing duck and pheasant hunt, but no one was shooting from, nor towards the embankment, hence I should be safe there.
The official definition of CR status says the species could be gone within ten years, or could lose 80 per cent of its population within three generations – whichever comes first. Back to Gipsy and toward a distant group of farmers working their fields. Trips endangered species India lapwings Sociable Lapwing'
En route they will be “birding in nearly every country in mainland North and South America,” and, as they say on their excellent blog , “Our journey is about collecting valuable data on bird species, their status and distribution, current conservation issues, and more along the way. Horned Guan (Click for a bigger version.).
By Martin Garwood Martin has been interested in birds from an early age and has traveled extensively in pursuit of different species. He recently set up a charity, High Weald Swifts, to promote conservation in the UK of this now “red-listed” species. He has a particular passion for Swifts.
Just under a fortnight ago, I saw a report on the local bird alert of a sighting of a group of approximately 20 Nacunda Nighthawks at a wetland not more than 20 minutes from where I live. Scores of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks circled overhead, these vocal ducks are often hunted illegally here so it was refreshing to see so many.
The survival of songbirds depends in part upon eliminating illegal hunting. That means passing over the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East, where you’re liable to get shot, trapped, or otherwise hunted. Fearing that a natural disaster, introduced species, or disease could wipe this fragile population out, the U.S.
While preparing an article this week for a local newspaper on the nighttime denizens of Tobago, it crossed my mind that I never considered owls as a group, far less target species for any particular outing (except for a select few, upon which I shall expound here). This resulted in my only photograph of this species to date.
Many may find the inclusion of the Osprey into a post on German eagles odd, but the German name of the Osprey translates to “Fish Eagle”, and German birders would find it self-evident to include the species here. They used to breed throughout the country, but were wiped out mostly through hunting more than 100 years ago.
Like several of my favorite NWRs, this one was established as a haven for migratory birds, most notably waterfowl, during the bad old days when uncontrolled hunting and habitat loss had put the future of even species we now think of as common in doubt. An additional fly-over by more Trumpeter Swans got the group charged up.
Photo above by Louise Hunt, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) At just about 5,000 individuals, Florida’s only exclusive endemic is Endangered. And with the bird’s oak scrub habitat rapidly disappearing , scientists are searching for ways to preserve the species. Take the Florida Scrub-Jay.
I’m heading in a slightly different direction, focussing on a group we haven’t really looked at here before, but one that most people enjoy seeing, monkeys! Kibale National Park, in the west of the Central African nation of Uganda, is home to a 13 primate species, from Common Chimpanzees to bush-babies.
Still, how many birders visit this region and could be seen as the target group for this, already a second edition? Just last year, 5 new bird species and 5 new subspecies were discovered in a few short weeks of fieldwork on the islands of Taliabu, Peleng and Batudaka. The rest of the region remains fairly undervisited.
I’ve been leading a small but faithful group on Trinidad for several years to count birds within a livestock farm that is generally restricted to the public (you can read about some of those shenanigans here ); this was the first time I was to embark on a CBC on the smaller island of Tobago. Anyway, I digress. Mangrove Cuckoo.
There’s an unofficial series of posts on species of birds that occur in threes in T&T (see: bitterns , trogons , antshrikes , spinetails , manakins , hermits , honeycreepers , and resident warblers ). We also saw a small group of Guianan Red Howler Monkeys feeding nearby. Broad-winged Hawk. Slowly, we continued.
On the slow crawl into the farm, the first sighting was a small group of Green Ibis – a new species for me. Endemic to the Guianan shield, this species has captivated me since I first laid eyes on a photograph of it. Most notably of which was a pair of Blood-colored Woodpeckers. I had never before seen a Limpkin do this.
The proprietor of our ecolodge guides my small group of birders up a steep slope where we see, just at the point where a scope view deteriorates into pixels, a huge bird—a Chaco Eagle, also known as a Crowned Eagle—on a huge nest. September 2017, Cerrado, Brazil. We are cautioned to keep the location of the eagle a secret.
For example, hunting is not permitted in most NPS wilderness areas, but it is often allowed in wilderness areas managed by the other agencies. It is the only federal research group dedicated to studies needed to manage the National Wilderness Preservation System.
There’s something very matter-of-fact about seeking out non-native target species. There’s very little thrill of the hunt, very little excitement. If we have to endure yet another invasion from some or another Old World species, at least this one is pleasant to look at. It feels almost cheap.
The wonderful family Meropidae contains 27 dazzling species, of which Africa is endowed with no less than 20 species, the balance occurring across Asia and with one as far afield as Australia. We have both resident and migratory species, and this post will briefly discuss each of the 20 species of African bee-eaters.
And when I say bird migration I’m referring to a specific group of birds – shorebirds. Last weekend I wasn’t on the hunt for any species in particular though. This pervasive pandemic we’re currently experiencing has squashed everyone’s travel plans – humans that is. Greater Yellowlegs.
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