Mouth to Beak CPR, image from video

A veterinarian gives mouth to beak CPR to save a Bald Eagle.

The Bald Eagle was found in June by two women after it had been hit by a car in Oregon. The bird was brought to Dr Jeff Cooney. Jeff is an associate professor of biology at Central Oregon Community College, as well as a veterinarian specializing in raptor rehabilitation.

The Bald Eagle was under anesthesia for an exam and physical therapy. While under anesthesia, the bird stopped breathing. Jeff springs into action and gave the bird mouth to beak resuscitation.

In the video below, you can see the bird’s chest rise and fall with each breath.

Jeff said:

He has gained 10 percent of his body weight and is eating fish like crazy. His attitude is greatly improved, and he’s starting to act like a normal, rambunctious bald eagle.

Jeff goes on to say that the Bald Eagle is well on his way to recovery and that the bird’s fractured wing and dislocated elbow and wrist are all healing. The dislocated shoulder and his paralyzed right leg are his major problems right now. The next several weeks will determine if the bird can be released or live in a facility where the bird can get a second chance being used for educational purposes.

Good luck!

Japanese White-eye by John&Fish

We all know that some seeds consumed by birds survive the digestion process. New research proves some snails do too.

Shinchiro Wada of Tohoku University said:

Biogeography of wingless terrestrial invertebrates, in particular snails, is often faced with mysterious long distance dispersal patterns…

In order to understand these patterns, Wada and his team fed 174 Tornatellides boeningi snails to two bird species: the Japanese White-eye and Brown-eared Bulbul.

Wada explains the results:

We were surprised that a high rate, about 15 percent, of snails were still alive after passing through the gut of [the] birds.

This explains what is happening on the island of Hajima which is south of Tokyo in the Bonin archipelago. The surviving snails take advantage of this experience in order to take up residence on different parts of the island that they could never reach without  the birds.

These particular snails are very small, just a tenth of an inch or 2.5mm. There small size allows the birds to swallow them hole which helps the snail to survive.

Wada said further testing needs to be done to see if any other adaptations allow them to survive.

Osprey by NeitherFanboy

In this video, an Osprey that was caught in some fishing line near Eugene, Oregon is rescued.

Two things to takeway from this video. First, take out what you bring in, whatever it may be. If an Osprey can get caught in fishing line, you can be guaranteed that lots of other birds get caught too.

Second, when possible, call an expert. In the video, they called the Cascades Raptor Center. A person from the center untangled the bird and performed a quick physical check of the bird to make sure it was okay to be released.

This bird was very lucky!

Rehabilitated Bald Eagle released, image from video

I always enjoy seeing a rehabilitated bird being released back into the wild! Thanks to all those who volunteer their time to help wildlife!

Carbofuran Molecule by Ben Mills

Recently the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition by pesticide manufacturers that challenged the Environmental Protection Agency’s ban of a product blamed for sickening farm workers and killing millions of birds.

The pesticide is called carbofuran and goes by the trade name of Furadan. According to Wikipedia:

Carbofuran has one of the highest acute toxicities to humans of any insecticide widely used on field crops (only aldicarb and parathion are more toxic). A quarter teaspoon (1 mL) can be fatal. Most carbofuran is applied by commercial applicators using closed systems with engineered controls so there is no exposure to it in preparation. Since its toxic effects are due to its activity as a cholinesterase inhibitor it is considered a neurotoxic pesticide.

It is extremely lethal to birds. When in granular form, just a single grain can kill a bird.

In 2009 the EPA banned carbofuran under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because they had determined that all exposure resulting from existing legal uses is unsafe to humans and the environment. Since then industry organizations and corporations have petitioned the U.S. government questioning the ban. Fortunately, the Supreme Court upheld the decision!

Jason Rylander, senior staff attorney for Defenders of Wildlife said:

The EPA decision confirmed what we’ve been saying for years: carbofuran is a deadly poison that has absolutely no place in our food or the environment. The court’s action means that, in this case, the health and safety of the American people and our nation’s wildlife have trumped the profits of powerful corporations.

A win for the birds, the environment and humans!

Rescued Bird, image from video

A police officer named Byrd rescues a bird.

Officer McCageor Byrd, with the help of other officers, was able to capture the bird and get it to a wildlife rehabilitation center. According to the Audubon Society, it’s likely one of the three red-tailed hawks that have been featured on a local web cam. The bird had no injuries, but will have further tests done before being released.

Some really good advice at the end of the video:

Leave fledglings alone because there is a good chance the parent is nearby and taking care of that fledging.

What are the chances? Byrd and bird!

Duckling with Blow Dart by Sequim Gazette

A duckling that was shot with a blow dart has been successfully rescued and rehabilitated.

The duckling was shot with a 5 inch blowdart in a pond at Lincoln park in Port Angeles, Washington. The Northwest Raptor and Wildlife Center rescued the bird.

Jaye Moore, the center’s executive director said:

The dart went straight through the duckling’s chest, close to the surface of his skin. He’s clearly in pain and undersized compared to his siblings, who we left with their mom.

After the dart was removed, the duck was released back in Lincoln Park where it was reunited with its family!

In this next video, the duckling is filmed swimming with his mother moments after the realease.

Matthew Randazzo, the center’s president said:

We believe we have identified the weapon of choice as a Terminator Blowgun. We also have received reports of kids and teenagers fishing at Lincoln Park who are intentionally striking ducklings when they cast their fishing lines.

I hope they find who ever did this.

World Migratory Bird Day is this weekend. Do you have any plans?

Go birdwatching, complete a bird related project or watch a movie like the Life of Birds with David Attenborough. What ever it is, have fun!

Wisdom with her chick by USFWS

A Laysan Albatross named Wisdom is the oldest known bird in the United States at 60 years old and she just had a baby!

John Klavitter, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, spotted the bird a few weeks ago with a chick in the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge where he is also the deputy manager.

The bird was originally banded while incubating an egg in 1956 by U.S. Geological Survey scientist Chandler Robbins. Since then, Wisdom have worn out a total of 5 bird bands!

In 1956 Chandler conservatively estimated Wisdom to be 5 years since this is the earliest a Laysan Albatross would breed. In reality, these birds usually breed at 8 or 9 years of age after a courtship that can last several years. So, Wisdom could even be a few years older!

Bruce Peterjohn, the chief of the North American Bird Banding Program at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland said:

She looks great! And she is now the oldest wild bird documented in the 90-year history of our USGS-FWS and Canadian bird banding program. To know that she can still successfully raise young at age 60-plus, that is beyond words. While the process of banding a bird has not changed greatly during the past century, the information provided by birds marked with a simple numbered metal band has transformed our knowledge of birds.

Bruce goes on to say that Wisdom probably raised at least 30 to 35 chicks in her lifetime. An Albatross lays only one egg and it takes nearly a year to incubate and raise the chick. So sometimes these birds may take the next year off. Since Wisdom is an experienced parent, her numbers may be even higher! John saw her with chicks in 2008, 2009 and 2010! She hasn’t taken a year off for the past 4 years!

From the USGS press release:

Almost as amazing as being a parent at 60 is the number of miles this bird has likely logged – about 50,000 miles a year as an adult – which means that Wisdom has flown at least 2 to 3 million miles since she was first banded. Or, to put it another way, that’s 4 to 6 trips from the Earth to the Moon and back again with plenty of miles to spare.

I hope Wisdom is around for many more years to come!

Northern Cardinal 2011 Data from the Great Backyard Bird Count

Participants have until March 1st to submit their Great Backyard Bird Count checklists, but you can explore the 2011 data right now.

You can look at top ten lists, maps of particular species, state tallies or get nerdy with some of the detailed reports!

I particularly enjoyed looking at the Top Ten Lists for 2011. The list called Localities Submitting the Most Checklists caught my eye. As of this writing, Mentor, Ohio submitted the most checklists out of all other cities in North America! They actually tripled the number of checklists of the second place city! Wow, there must be a lot of birdwatchers in Mentor!

Top ten lists to see. I’ll post the top 5 of a few of them, but you’ll have to visit the Great Backyard Bird Count results page to see the rest!

As of this writing, here are the Most Frequently Report Birds.

1. Northern Cardinal
2. Mourning Dove
3. Dark-eyed Junco
4. Downy Woodpecker
5. American Goldfinch
6. Blue Jay
7. American Crow
8. Black-capped Chickadee
9. House Finch
10. Tufted Titmouse

What I found interesting about the list above is that three of the birds are primarily found only in the eastern parts of North America. This could be that there are just a lot of them, but it also correlates to the fact that most of the checklist submitted are from states where these birds are.

The Most Numerous Birds so far are:

1. European Starling
2. American Robin
3. Common Grackle
4. Canada Goose
5. Red-winged Blackbird

During last year’s Great Backyard Bird Count, the American Robin was the most numerous bird in North America. This year, the European Starling more than doubled its numbers to take over the number one spot.

It looks like New York is pulling ahead in the States/Provinces Submitting the Most Checklists competition:

1. New York
2. Ohio
3. Pennsylvania
4. North Carolina
5. California

Here’s an interesting piece of information. New York has been number one 11 times in the Great Backyard Bird Count’s 14 year history!

Visit the Great Backyard Bird Count website to explore the rest of the 2011 results!