Blue tits, great tits

This video is called Blue Tit Singing.

This morning, a juvenile blue tit sitting on the fence between the balcony and the neighbours’ balcony.

Every now and then, its parent would fly to the house-shaped bird feeder, get some food, and fly to the youngster to feed it; like yesterday.

Apparently, the young blue tits are not good enough at flying yet to land themselves on the wobbly feeder.

Some great tits visited the balcony this morning as well.

UPDATE: the great tits now feed fledglings on the balcony as well.

A male blackbird managed again to land on and feed at the feeder. That would have been impossible if he would have been just a bit heavier.

Good Guatemalan amphibians and birds news

This video is called Carlos Vasquez Almazan – amphibian conservation in Guatemala.

After bad conservation news from Guatemala, today better news:

New reserve declared in Guatemala to protect indigenous frogs and Endangered birds

Sierra Caral Amphibian Reserve in Guatemala

May 2012. Conservationists are celebrating the establishment of the new 6,000-acre Sierra Caral Amphibian Reserve in Guatemala, which will protect some of the country’s most endangered wildlife. The reserve is home to a dozen globally threatened frogs and salamanders, five found nowhere else in the world, three species of threatened birds, and the recently discovered Merendon Palm-pitviper (Bothriechis thalassinus), an arboreal, blue-toned viper.

Isolated mountain range

Tucked away in the eastern corner of Guatemala near the Caribbean Sea, and running along the Honduran border, the Sierra Caral is an isolated mountain range that is home to numerous rare and endangered animals and plants.

New species

Exploration of these mountains has yielded several new discoveries of beetles, salamanders, frogs, and snakes over the past two decades.

Threatened birds

The site will offer protections for many birds including threatened species such as: the Highland Guan, Great Curassow and Keel-billed Motmot. Furthermore, the site is known as a haven for an abundance of migratory birds including the Canada Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Wood Thrush, Painted Bunting, Worm-eating Warbler, and Louisiana Waterthrush.

Major stop for migratory birds

“The new Sierra Caral Reserve safeguards key stopover habitat for perhaps millions of migrating U.S. birds, making it an invaluable addition to Central America’s roster of protected areas and a real benefit to U.S. bird conservation efforts,” said Dr. George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy (ABC).

The Sierra Caral forests are especially diverse due to the convergence of floras and faunas from North and South America, as well as many species unique to the region. Only a few Merendon Palm Pit Vipers have been found, most often in a palm native to the Sierra Caral. Guatemalan biologist Carlos Vasquez Almazan, one of the few individuals to find a Merendon Palm-pitviper in the wild, drew international scientific attention to the conservation importance of the Sierra Caral in recent years. He was recently awarded the prestigious Whitley Award for Conservation that recognizes outstanding nature conservationists around the world.

See also here.

Versatile Blogger Award again, thanks urbanperegrines!

Blogger urbanperegrines has been so kind to nominate me for the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you, and all the best for your fine blog!

I got this nomination at the same time as, when getting this award earlier, I had nominated urbanperegrines.

Here are the rules of the Versatile Blogger Award:

1. In a post on your blog, nominate 10 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award; and link to them. 2. In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award. 3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog. 4. In the same post, share 10 completely random pieces of information about yourself. 5. In the same post, include this set of rules. 6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.

I have nominated the following 10 blogs:

1 365 Days
2 Midnighthues Poetry
3 mothergrogan
4 bestrockmusical
5 Doli Siregar ~ Photography
6 Colddeadheart’s Blog
7 BlueDoorHotel.com
8 jmgoyder
9 Becoming Cliche. My Journey to Becoming My Mother
10 Gerry Frederick digital

And here are ten random pieces of information about myself:

1 Until yesterday, my only first hand experience of barn owls was hearing one and seeing one vaguely in the dark. Yesterday was my first opportunity to see (young) barn owls from a very close distance.
2 I saw my first little owl in Greece long ago. More recently, I saw this species on Lesbos island, also in Greece.
3 I also saw a scops owl on Lesbos.
4 I saw a pharaoh eagle owl in Morocco.
5 I saw various African owl species in the Gambia.
6 I have never seen a snowy owl in the wild, only in zoos.
7 Years ago, a tawny owl used to call in the tree opposite my window. I never saw it, only heard it.
8 I saw my first ever black woodpecker at its nest in a big tree. When I came back there many years later, that tree had decayed and the birds were gone.
9 I saw my first osprey in Egypt, near Philae island.
10 I saw my first redwing during summer months in Iceland (where they nest). I had seen wintering redwings much earlier, further south.

Peregrine falcons, kestrels and owls

This video is about a little owl nestbox.

The people who yesterday ringed young barn owls study other birds of prey and owls as well.

This spring, for instance, they found out that there are three young falcons in the peregrine nestbox at the Saint Vitus church in Hilversum. Last year, the first nest since a very long time, there was just one peregrine chick there.

As the barn owl ringing continued, many barn swallows flew to and from their nests in the cowshed, and a starling flew overhead, they said this year there will probably be a good nesting season.

The counting of nests in the region is not complete yet. So far, they found 17 buzzard nests. And 12 kestrel nests, five marsh harrier nests, two tawny owl nests, and three little owl nests. One little owl couple’s nest is in a woodpile.

This year, peregrine falcons nest for the first time in Utrecht city. A fledgling peregrine flew for its first time. It got tired and landed on a park bench. It was brought to a bird asylum to feed it, and return it to the nest later.

Blue tit fledglings on the balcony

This is a video of a blue tit fledgling calling for its parents.

At this time of the year, young barn owls are not the only birds which start flying or are almost ready to fly.

Yesterday evening, as I returned from the barn owls, there were young blue tits on the balcony.

Every now and then, one of their parents would land on the house-shaped bird feeder, get some food, and bring it to one of the chicks.

Landing on the feeder requires some flying skills, which the young birds, on their first day of flying, did not have yet.

This morning, sometimes three blue tit fledglings on the balcony again. A parent would go the feeder. Then, it would bring food to the youngsters on the balcony chair, the flower-pot, and the railing, respectively.

Sometimes, great tits (with chicks still in the nest?) would visit the feeder as well.

Once, a magpie tried to land on the feeder. Not very successfully: its weight made the feeder rock. It is also windy this morning, making the feeder extra tricky for bigger birds.

A male blackbird more or less succeeded in landing on the feeder on earlier days, but I did not see it today.

Young barn owls ringed and weighed

This is a video about a barn owl nest where baby owls are hatching.

Tonight, the regional ornithological society went to ring young barn owls at a nest in a farmer’s barn near the Eempolder nature reserve. The society has been doing this research for 25 years.

There are six owlets in this nest. The ringing should be now, as the older chicks are about 60 days old and will fly away soon. The oldest chick which had been ringed earlier, has already flown away. Some young barn owls which can already fly, will return to the nest to get food from their parents.

The ladder goes up. Five owlets go from the nestbox into the bag.

Downstairs, one questions for the reearchers is: how long are their wings? Are they healthy? To find out, they are weighed. Yes, they are healthy. One weighs 340g.

The rings go around their legs.

One barn owl, ringed in this area, was later found in the Ukraine. Others in southern France and Spain. Barn owls do not have seasonal migration; but sometmes, they fly long distances until there is a place which they like.

One of the juvenile owls is a darker colour form than the others.

The youngest owlet is still downy, while the others are already all feathers. The youngest one is just 43 days old. The chicks do not hatch at the same time.

Six owlets is a good result. The maximum number of eggs in a barn owl nest is ten. This is a good year for barn owls, as there are many mice and voles. Probably, the juveniles in this nest, as it is still early for common voles, are eating wood mice and brown rats.

Barn owl nest numbers in this area vary a lot, depending on rodent numbers. Rodents can survive cold snowy winters by digging burrows. However, in wet winters, they drown.

Even in good rodent years, many barn owls may die. About 80% of dead barn owls found are victims of motor traffic.

Before the young owls are put back into the nest, the nest is cleaned. Probably, the parents will have a second clutch; maybe even a third clutch.

Good Sandwich tern news from Texel island

This video from Britain is called Sandwich terns return to RSPB Coquet Island.

Translated from Dutch conservation organization Natuurmonumenten:

Record number of Sandwich terns on Texel island

Friday, June 1, 2012

On Texel this year, up to 2900 couples of Sandwich terns nest, for the first time also in Ottersaat nature reserve. This is a fifth of the total breeding population in the Netherlands. The first chicks have already hatched.

The Sandwich tern is a seabird with long, narrow wings, with which it can soar well above the water. The Sandwich tern is recognizable by its black crest and its [black] bill with a small yellow dot at the end. In winter, most Sandwich terns migrate to Africa or southern Europe.

For a long time, bird island Griend was the stronghold of the Sandwich terns. In recent years, this protected species has also settled in other places in the Netherlands, including Texel. Since 2004, there is a breeding colony in nature reserve De Petten. This year for the first time these terns are nesting in two other areas on the island, in ‘t Stoar (an area next to the Petten) and Ottersaat (near Oudeschild village). Unlike the Sandwich terns of Texel, the species is not doing well everywhere. The Sandwich tern is not on the list of endangered species for nothing.

Minke whales, striped dolphin near England

This video from Britain says about itself:

Short clip of a pod of Minke Whales seen off Hastings on May 29th 2012. We were fishing at the time and what we estimate to be about 5 – 7 whales came up to have a look and see what we were up to. The encounter lasted 15 minutes and this is a 1minute clip showing three of the whales.

From Wildlife Extra:

Minke whales off Hastings & Striped dolphin off Plymouth including video

June 2012. Two extraordinary sightings have been recorded off the southern coast of England during May – astonishing researchers at the marine research and conservation charity Sea Watch.

Striped dolphin

First, an unusual dolphin was seen leaping off Penlee Point, Plymouth, by the sail training organisation Morvargh Sailing Project and has since been positively identified by the marine research charity Sea Watch as a striped dolphin – one of very few live sightings in recent years.

5 Minke whales off Hastings

And then, on May 29, Tim Macpherson, of Catsfield, near Bexhill on Sea, was out sea angling with friends two miles off Hastings when they were amazed to find 5 large whales near their boat. They sent pictures and video to Sea Watch which has confirmed that they were Minke whales – a species not recently recorded in the area.

The confirmations brings to 11 the number of different species of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises seen off the UK coast during May alone. Sea Watch is the holder of the largest data base of whales, dolphins and porpoises in Europe.

Sea Watch Sighting officer Danielle Gibas says “We have seen an incredible diversity of species during May around the UK coast. Recorded sightings such as these are helping us to understand different species trends over the years – their distribution, and the health of populations. We are always delighted to hear sightings, and to help identify what has been seen. People can contact us as sightings@seawatchfoundation.org.uk or call 01545 561227,”

The striped dolphin sighting

The striped dolphin was in a group of three or four, but only one can be positively identified. The last three live sighting records Sea Watch has are in Porthgwarra, Cornwall in June 2007 with two sightings off the Hebrides in 2009.

Between 2005 and 2010, there were 55 stranded striped dolphins – 23 in Scotland, 18 in England, 10 in Wales, and 4 in Northern Ireland.

Sea Watch Sightings Officer Danielle Gibas said: “This striped dolphin is most exciting! It appears to be a very healthy individual. Striped dolphins are more often seen in the Mediterranean with a population off the Atlantic seaboard of France and the Iberian Peninsula.

“They are very rare off the Atlantic coasts of the UK , although it may be that they are sometimes confused with common dolphins. Sadly we more often hear of dead ones being washed ashore in the UK.”

Matt Barraud, Director & Skipper of Morvagh Sailing, based in Plymouth, says he was at anchor in Cawsands Bay just off Penlee Point having breakfast when they sighted the dolphins.

“We had on board a group of a dozen 13-14year olds and they were just bowled over by the sight. The dolphins stayed with us for an hour or more, tail slapping and jumping. We can’t be sure whether there were 3 or 4 individuals, but it was a magnificent sight, and we will now be including sightings records on all our training trips.”

Minke whale sighting

The group was of 5 individuals swam close to Tim’s boat. At first Tim and his friends thought they might be Sei whale but identified the animals as Minke whales thanks to the white bands on their pectoral fins.

Tim said:” I have seen dolphins and porpoises before, but nothing this large, It was really amazing.”

Sea Watch Director Peter Evans confirms: “Minkes occur fairly regularly in the Channel Islands but are pretty rare off the south-east coast of England.”

Sea Watch is holding the National Whale and Dolphin Watch from July 27-29. Anyone can take part by watching out to sea and sending in sightings or by joining a manned watch or accredited boat operators. Full details of how to take part and of recent sightings around the UK can be found at www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk

Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)

Length: 1.0m/3.3ft (newborn); 1.95-2.4m/6.4-7.9ft (adult).
Head and Beak: Tapering forehead with a distinct groove separating black beak
Fin and Markings: Centrally-placed slender dorsal fin is sickle-shaped or erect. Distinctive white or light grey V-shaped from above and behind eye with one finger narrowing to point below fin, and lower one extending towards tail; two black lines
ID: Striped Dolphins are usually animated; they often breach and bow-ride. Grey blaze and two black stripes.
Food: fish, squid, octopus, krill, and other crustaceans

Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)

Length: 2.6m/8.6ft (newborn); 6.9-8.5m/22.8-28ft (adult).
Head and Beak: Slender with a pointed triangular head and single central ridge.
Fin and Markings: A relatively tall dorsal fin, sickle-shaped and situated nearly two-thirds along back. Head & body dark grey to black but with grey areas on flanks and diagonal white band on flippers.
ID: Inconspicuous (often unseen) vertical blow 2-3m high almost simultaneous with fin, before relatively arched roll. Minke whales can be confused with Sei whale and Northern Bottlenose.
Food: Plankton, krill and small fish

Seagrass back in Dutch Wadden Sea

This video is called Eelgrass (Zostera marina) underwater in Ireland.

Common eelgrass is a seagrass species. Till about 80 years ago, it was common in the Dutch Wadden Sea.

Then, it became extinct there, after a big dike separated the Ijsselmeer fresh water from the salt water Wadden Sea, and after a seagrass disease epidemic.

Now, the Dutch Wadden Sea Society reports that an attempt to bring the eelgrass back to the Dutch Wadden Sea has started successfully. Last year, volunteers collected 100,000 seagrass plants near the German island Sylt.

They brought them to the Dutch Wadden Sea. It turns out that the plants are doing well.

More common eelgrass will be brought in from Germany.

Common eelgrass is important for fish laying eggs, and for young fish to hide. It makes a good environment for seahorses and pipefishes.

It also makes good food for brent geese.

Per unit area, seagrass meadows can store up to twice as much carbon as the world’s temperate and tropical forests: here.

Are birds baby dinosaurs?

This video is called Bird Evolution and Adaptations.

From World Science:

Scientists: birds are just baby dinosaurs, in a way

May 31, 2012

Courtesy of The University of Texas at Austin and World Science staff

There’s a good rea­son birds are so much cut­er and less threat­en­ing than their scary an­ces­tors—the di­no­saurs—if new re­search is cor­rect.

It’s be­cause birds are in, in a sense, di­no­saurs stuck in ba­by mode.

“When we look at birds, we are ac­tu­ally look­ing at ju­ve­nile di­no­saurs” to a great de­gree, said Arkhat Abzhanov of Har­vard Uni­vers­ity, co-au­thor of a re­port on the find­ings.

Abzhanov and col­leagues an­a­lyzed doz­ens of bird and di­no­saur skulls. They found that rath­er than take years to reach sex­u­al matur­ity, as many di­no­saurs did, birds sped up the clock­—some spe­cies take as lit­tle as 12 weeks to ma­ture—al­low­ing them to re­tain the phys­i­cal char­ac­ter­is­tics of ba­by di­no­saurs.

The report ap­peared May 27 in an on­line edi­tion of the jour­nal Na­ture.

In ev­o­lu­tion, spe­cies change be­cause some char­ac­ter­is­tics are more use­ful than oth­ers in a given envi­ron­ment. Thus in­di­vid­u­als with more of those traits thrive, and through their off­spring, spread those fea­tures through a popula­t­ion. In­di­vid­u­als lack­ing those traits grad­u­ally drop out. As this goes on, spe­cies can even­tu­ally be­come nearly un­rec­og­niz­a­ble com­pared to their old selves.

Most ev­o­lu­tion­ary re­search has fo­cused on the phys­i­cal struc­ture of or­gan­isms, but “what is in­ter­est­ing about this re­search,” Abzhanov said, is that it il­lus­trates how great changes can oc­cur “simply by chang­ing the rel­a­tive tim­ing of events in a crea­ture’s de­vel­op­ment.” Thus, he added, “na­ture has pro­duced the mod­ern bird—an en­tirely new crea­ture and one that, with ap­prox­i­mately 10,000 spe­cies, is to­day the most suc­cess­ful group of land ver­te­brates on the plan­et.”

Di­no­saurs have long snouts and mouths bristling with teeth, while birds have pro­por­tion­ally larg­er eyes and brains. But what in­spired the study was the real­iz­a­tion that skulls of mod­ern birds and ju­ve­nile di­no­saurs show sur­pris­ing si­m­i­lar­ity, re­search­ers said.

“No one had told the big sto­ry of the ev­o­lu­tion of the bird head be­fore,” said Bhart-Anjan Bhullar, a Har­vard doc­tor­al stu­dent and first au­thor of the stu­dy. “There had been a num­ber of smaller stud­ies that fo­cused on par­tic­u­lar points of the anat­o­my, but no one had looked at the en­tire pic­ture. … When you do that, you see the ori­gins of the fea­tures that make the bird head spe­cial lie deep in the histo­ry of the ev­o­lu­tion of Ar­chosaurs, a group of an­i­mals that were the dom­i­nant, meat-eating an­i­mals for mil­lions of years.”

With col­leagues at The Uni­vers­ity of Tex­as at Aus­tin, the re­search­ers con­ducted CT scans on doz­ens of skulls, rang­ing from mod­ern birds to theropod­s—the di­no­saurs most closely re­lat­ed to birds—to early di­no­saur spe­cies. By mark­ing var­i­ous “land­marks” in the skull the scien­tists tracked how the over­all shape changed over mil­lions of years.

“We ex­am­ined skulls from the en­tire line­age that gave rise to mod­ern birds,” Abzhanov said. “We looked back ap­prox­i­mately 250 mil­lion years, to the Ar­chosaurs, the group which gave rise to crocodiles and al­li­ga­tors as well as mod­ern birds.”

It turned out, he said, that while early di­no­saurs, even those closely re­lat­ed to mod­ern birds, un­dergo vast struc­tur­al changes as they ma­ture, the skulls of ju­ve­nile and adult birds re­main re­markably sim­i­lar. In the case of mod­ern birds, Abzhanov said, the change is the re­sult of a pro­cess known as pro­ge­n­e­sis, which causes an an­i­mal to reach sex­u­al matur­ity ear­li­er.

“To really study some­thing you have to look at its whole ex­ist­ence, and un­der­stand that one por­tion of its life can be parceled out and made in­to the en­tire life­span of a new, and in this case, radic­ally suc­cess­ful or­gan­is­m,” Bhullar said.