Tufted Titmouse

 The ninth in a series of occasional rundowns of what’s happening in the world of birds, birding and bird blogging.

If you have a story that you would like to submit for inclusion, please contact John Briggs for consideration.

Ottawa boy’s invisible invention warns birds about deadly windows| Eighth grader Charlie Sobcov wants to stop birds from dying in collisions with windows, but he doesn’t want to ruin anybody’s view. For his latest school science fair project he has invented painted, plastic decals that can be placed — discreetly — right in the middle of a window pane. “This paint is a colour that birds can see but humans can’t,” he said Wednesday on CBC Radio’s All in a Day. “It’s like putting a big stop sign in the middle of the window.”

New species of babbler bird discovered in China |  A new species of the fist-sized babbler bird has been found in a network of underground caves in southwestern China, raising the prospect the country could become a hot spot for other discoveries, a conservation group said Thursday.

Woodpeckers in Rossmoor may soon end up in sharpshooter’s cross hairs| Woody Woodpecker was annoying, but real woodpeckers are incredible birds with complex social systems and an affinity for drilling holes in trees, in which they store food. So why would anyone want to kill them? In the upscale Bay Area retirement community of Rossmoor, it’s because acorn woodpeckers have been mistaking wooden homes, built within the birds’ natural habitat, as trees.

Cape Ann Birding Weekend

Cape Ann Chamber organizes weekend devoted to bird watching | In order to create an organized opportunity for bird lovers of all levels to further their birding knowledge, the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and Mass Audubon have collaborated in planning the first Cape Ann Winter Birding Weekend from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1. The price of the weekend is $10 per adult and $50 per person at the Birders’ Dinner. Event homepage

Snowy Owls Safely Removed From Logan Airport | This winter, Snowy Owls have been spotted in our area in huge numbers. Their favorite destination–Logan Airport. Although it is a long journey from the high Arctic, the icy tundra of Logan Field looks like home, attracting more Snowy Owls than anywhere else in the Northeast.

Snowy owls swoop southward, delighting birders | Biologists say an increase in snowy owl sightings in the South suggests that the arctic species did so well in its northern breeding grounds last year that competition is driving the young ones to warmer climates.

N.J. Town Shocked As Dead Birds Fall From Sky | Residents in a New Jersey town were stunned when hundreds of birds started dropping out of the sky to their deaths, but after officials explained why, residents became fuming mad.

DNA Confirms Fastest Evolving Birds | Birds from the family Zosteropidae—also called “white eyes”—could be poster children for rapid evolution. They form new species faster than any other known bird, according to new research.

Happy birding!

©2010 Birding in Maine. All Rights Reserved.

No related posts.

Here is an update to the devastating fire that struck the Yarmouth Business Complex on the night of Janurary 2nd, 2008.

YARMOUTH (NEWS CENTER) — The owner of a business building in Yarmouth destroyed by fire says he wanted a space for new businesses to thrive. Art Dyer bought the building at 500 Route 1 almost two years ago. 26 businesses used space in the building when the fire started Friday night. Almost everything was lost in the fire. Dyer says fire investigators cannot pinpoint the cause but he says the fire was not arson and started on the second floor. The building will have to be destroyed but Dyer hopes to rebuild a similar space for new business to thrive.

credit: WCSH Channel 6

 

In the above video, Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth proprietor Derek Lovitch is interviewed.

Initial estimates put the damage at over $3 million dollars. Seven investigators from the state fire marshal’s office and five ATF agents determined that the fire was not arson, but a cause may never be known. More than two dozen businesses were based in the building.

©2010 Birding in Maine. All Rights Reserved.

No related posts.

Sadly the Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth, and 9 other businesses in the building are no more. A 6 alarm fire destroyed the building last night.

YARMOUTH (NEWS CENTER) — Fire crews are still on scene trying to get a six alarm fire under control on Route 1 in Yarmouth.
The fire first broke out just after 9pm Friday at a commercial structure that houses several businesses and organizations, including The Wild Bird Center.
A full task force alarm has been sounded, meaning that all available mutual aid from Cumberland County is being called to the scene.
To assist in fighting the fire, power has been cut to the immediate area, leaving many nearby residents in the dark.
There are currently no road closures and no injuries have been reported. Crews expect to be on-scene well into the morning.

 

Wild Bird Center Fire

Story, photo and video courtesy: WCSH Channel 6

(Video removed to make room for video in the update post)

I will bring you more information when it becomes available.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Derek and Jeanette Lovitch, and others who were affected by this disastrous fire.

©2010 Birding in Maine. All Rights Reserved.

Related posts:

1. Protecting online images from thieves

The eighth in a series of occassional rundowns of what’s happening in the world of birds, birding and bird blogging. This is the final installment for 2008.

Hawk flying over marsh

The CatBib Will Stop Your Cat From Catching Birds! | The CatBib was invented by a bird-feeding, cat-loving gardener in Springfield, Oregon, USA. This unique, patented product protects wild birds whenever your cat is outdoors. Here is a link to the video showing how the bib works.

An Eagle Christmas Story | This could have been a story of terrible cruelty with a sad ending. Fortunately, there are some very good people in this world and one young eagle will have a good Christmas.  From The City Birder

Turn your Christmas tree into a bird sanctuary | Your glorious Christmas tree dazzled through the holiday season with sparkling and treasured ornaments. Give that lovely Christmas tree another life by creating a winter bird sanctuary. Bird families can enjoy your tree as a backyard habitat. Decorate your tree as a feeding station during the winter when food is scarce for birds. The tree’s branches also furnish protection from wind and shelter from predators. From St. Louis Today

Female Red-breasted Merganser

The Spotted Owl’s New Nemesis | An epic battle between environmentalists and loggers left much of the spotted owl’s habitat protected. Now the celebrity species faces a new threat—a tougher owl. From Smithsonian.com

Avian airlines: Alaska to New Zealand nonstop | Tracked bar-tailed godwits set new nonstop flight record for birds: In an avian flight of epic proportions, a female bar-tailed godwit lifted off from her Alaskan breeding ground and flew south 11,680 kilometers, nonstop, until she reached her winter home in New Zealand. From sciencenews.org

Hawaii’s honeyeater birds tricked taxonomists | DNA from old museum specimens reveals evolutionary look-alikes: Five species of Hawaiian birds have made fools of taxonomists for more than 200 years, thanks to a fine bit of evolutionary illusion-making. From Science News

Snowy owl — a marine species? | Wildlife satellite studies could lead to a radical re-thinking about how the snowy owl fits into the Northern ecosystem. “Six of the adult females that we followed in a satellite study spent most of last winter far out on the Arctic sea ice.” From Biology New Net

What trouble can I get into?

 Happy birding!

©2010 Birding in Maine. All Rights Reserved.

No related posts.

The seventh in a series of occassional rundowns of what’s happening in the world of birds, birding and bird blogging.

Bird News

 A beak is a mysterious and incredible tool | A bird’s beak may be a rather curious object, but it remains a vitally important appendage.

Eagles “Cannibalizing” Other Birds as Otters Disappear | Some bald eagles in Alaska have switched to eating mainly other bird species, a new study says.

Hundreds of Birds Killed by School’s Artificial Lights | Hundreds of yellow warblers and other migratory birds died this week when they flew into a lighted school building that sits on a hill in Hambleton, W. Va.

Sea birds’ DNA may hold keys to aging and cancer, researcher says | Leach’s storm-petrels should die young but live a long life and break the conventional rules. First of all, they’re small, and there tends to be a relationship between body size and life span.

Beaches once thick with birds quiet thanks to Ike | One of North America’s renowned bird migration and bird watching areas is strangely silent. Blame Hurricane Ike.

The long march of the penguins | Exhausted birds are washing up on Brazil’s tropical beaches, thrown off course by changing currents.

Belfast Birds Found Covered In Grease | Something in the city of Belfast, Maine is making birds sick, and police are working with biologists to figure what it is.

Birding Blogs

Offshore Wind Power Comes to New Jersey | New Jersey has approved its first offshore wind farm, following the lead of similar projects in Delaware and Rhode Island. A DC Birding Blog

Segway Birding | In my almost four decades of seeking birds, I’ve been birding in many different ways, using many different modes of transport. Then, last week, I added a new mode of birding transport to my “life-experience list”: The Segway. Bill of the Birds

And for those who like jigsawpuzzles, try out this Bald Eagle puzzle.

Thanks to Audobon Birdscapes for the link to the puzzle site.

Happy birding!

©2010 Birding in Maine. All Rights Reserved.

No related posts.