Latest Birds News
Illinois DNR suspects bird flu in deaths of 300 waterfowl
BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — State wildlife officials suspect that bird flu killed at least 300 waterfowl recently found dead at public hunting sites across southern Illinois. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday the wild birds, mostly snow geese, have been found...
Turkeys on ‘cute urban farms’ grow even as land gobbled up
BOLIVIA, N.C. (AP) — While most people only think about turkeys around meals on the holidays, Maud Kelly enjoys watching them wobble on her family farm in Bolivia. “I raised quite a bit this year and it’s the most I’ve ever raised,” she said. “It’s a crazy amount of...
US gives protections to rare Midwest bird as prairie suffers
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. government announced protections Thursday for two populations of a rare prairie bird that's found in parts of the Midwest, including one of the country’s most prolific oil and gas fields. The lesser prairie chicken's range covers a portion of the...
'The Lion King' hits a key milestone in its circle of life
NEW YORK (AP) — In the summer of 1997, audiences in Minneapolis at the Orpheum Theatre saw something no one had ever seen before: leaping antelopes, fluttering birds and elephants lumbering through the orchestra seats. “The audience started screaming so early. When the animals...
Climate reshapes life for tenacious gannets on Quebec isle
PERCE, Quebec (AP) — On Quebec’s Bonaventure Island, the ghosts of human habitation from years past and the birds that breed there now in extraordinary numbers tell the same story: of lives lived hard in a place of fairy-tale beauty. You see this from the tender ages on the...
Faithful mates, hot tempers form primal life for gannets
PERCE, Quebec (AP) — Northern gannets share two maxims familiar to humans: “home sweet home” and “don't tread on me.” They pack together on a Bonaventure Island plateau like New York commuters jamming a subway, only they're louder. They are devoted parents and could teach...
Animals trafficked in Mexico on social media sites: report
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A new report suggests that trafficking of wild and endangered species is common in Mexico and occurs largely online, where traffickers contact potential customers on social media like Facebook. The Center for Biological Diversity said in a report Wednesday it...
Their lagoons languishing, precious Spanish wetlands go dry
DOÑANA NATIONAL PARK, Spain (AP) — Flamingos, herons and fish once filled a freshwater lagoon in southern Spain. Today, it's a fetid brown splotch. The whisper of wind in the grass is a sad substitute for the cacophony of migratory birds. Biologist Carmen Díaz steps onto cracked...
US: Protect Louisiana, Texas land for rare burrowing snake
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Four areas in Louisiana and two in Texas should be protected as critical habitat for a rare snake that eats pocket gophers and takes over the rodents' burrows, the federal government says. Louisiana pinesnakes, which produce the largest eggs and hatchlings of any...
Pumpkins can be composted, donated to farms, fed to wildlife
Hold off before throwing that porch pumpkin into the trash along with Halloween candy wrappers. Those jack-o’-lanterns don't have to end up in the local landfill. Consider composting pumpkins in the garden, donating them to community gardens, farms or even a zoo, or simply leaving...
