By Brian, on January 4th, 2011
In early November, we blogged about at least five gulls in the San Francisco area with cut beer cans around their necks. Though the person responsible for placing the collars is still at large, wildlife rescue workers have successfully cut off three of the rings, the last of which took place this past weekend.
The most recent rescue happened on San Francisco State University’s campus on Saturday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Someone spotted the bird in November, and called it in to WildRescue and International Bird Rescue Research Center. After a few weeks of gaining the animal’s trust, the rescue groups removed the can with scissors. Then they released the bird, which but for some damage to feathers around its neck, was unharmed.
Continue reading Update: Beer Collars Removed from Three Gulls
By Brian, on January 2nd, 2011
You’ve done it—you created the perfect outdoor oasis. Now lilting birdsongs are your alarm clock; your double-decker birdhouse seldom has a peak-season vacancy; and “the restaurant”—otherwise known as the feeding station—practically requires a reservation. Things couldn’t be better. Then disaster strikes: a cat with a tuft of feathers dangling from its mouth. How can you protect your backyard birds from such an untimely end? Our expert ornithologist Steve Kress covers everything you need to know.
Continue reading Lock Up Your Cats! Do It For The Birds
By Brian, on December 29th, 2010
 Cedar waxwing. Image by Ingrid Taylar, Wikimedia Commons. Between now and January 5, 2011, birders across the country and North America will get out their binocs (if you need a pair, check out this handy guide we ran last year), open their guides books, and start tallying up the birds. It’s not as simple as writing down every bird that crosses your path during this two-week period.
Here’s, how it works, from the National Audubon website:Count volunteers follow specified routes through a designated 15-mile (24-km) diameter circle, counting every bird they see or hear all day. It’s not just a species tally—all birds are counted all day, giving an indication of the total number of birds in the circle that day.
Continue reading On Your Mark, Get Set, Count…
By Brian, on December 28th, 2010
 Australia is home to over 800 species of birds from honeyeaters to hawks, from spoonbills to cockatoos. It is also home to different species of bird lovers, some of whom take their interest to the extreme. These enthusiasts are known as “twitchers”.
Every year, an event takes place Australia-wide that brings twitchers together to take part in a highly competitive race – the “Twitchathon”. The aim is to spot as many species as possible in twenty four hours. Not easy at the best of times – but especially difficult with a camera crew tagging along.
“Chasing Birds” follows three teams – the Hunter Home-Brewers, the Hunter Thickheads and the Whacked-Out Woodswallows as they travel up to five hundred kilometres from the desert to the sea – in their attempt to spot more species than any other team.
Voted audience favourite at the 2009 Revolve Film Festival.
Screened at Sydney International Film Festival, St Louis International Film Festival, Guangzhou Documentary Festival and Big Sky Documentary Festival.
Continue reading Chasing Birds
By Brian, on December 18th, 2010
Photo: anyjazz65, Wikimedia Commons Senior editor Alisa Opar recently offered up the five best bird feeders for wintertime.
But it’s not enough to set your feeder and forget it. You need to clean it out, or you risk inadvertently causing the birds that visit to get sick. The same goes for birdbaths. The Grand Rapids Press ran a great article about this, which you can find here.
Some of the more common diseases that birds can spread through feeders include house finch eye disease (the colloquial name for mycoplasmal conjunctivitis, which can infect more than just the bird for which it’s named), salmonellosis (caused by salmonella bacteria), aspergillosis (a fungal respiratory disease), and avian pox.
To prevent the spread of illness in the birds that frequent your seed buffet, try these three steps:
Continue reading 3 tips to Keep Bird Feeder Disease-Free
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