August 2012. Little Egrets have successfully bred at the Cotswold Water Park Trust’s Cleveland Lakes Reserve, near Ashton Keynes, marking the first breeding of this species in the Cotswold Water Park.
During May, when the weather was so wet and windy, the Little Egrets produced 2 nests and young were seen the day after some particularly stormy weather. Their survival is all the more remarkable when you see their nests; they are small, sparse and spindly on the outer branches of trees; they don’t look very wind-proof!
Young from these nests fledged, following which 2 more nests were found with young in. The nests of these bright white birds are surprisingly hard to locate in dense tree cover! Young from the later two nests also survived the wet and windy conditions. Young Little Egrets can be seen feeding with adults around Cleveland Lakes Reserve at present. At least 5 juveniles have fledged.
The Cotswold Water Park Trust thanks volunteer Kim Milsom for his herculean efforts made in 2012 in monitoring the breeding Grey Heron and Little Egret and other breeding waterbirds of Cleveland Lakes.
Kim Milsom, volunteer for the Cotswold Water Park Trust has been monitoring the waterbirds of Cleveland Lakes Reserve since 2009; “Supporting the Cotswold Water Park Trust in recent years by monitoring the great success of the habitat creation at Cleveland Lakes has had a number of highlights, but the successful breeding of the Little Egrets, the first in the CWP, is perhaps the greatest! On every following visit, I feared that the summer’s gales and driving rain may have destroyed the nests, but the chicks seemed very resilient and the parents did a great job and successfully reared at least 5 young”.
First observation of a mixed breeding colony of Cattle and Little Egrets at Rachgoun Island, Algeria: here.
This video from the USA is called GASLAND Trailer 2010.
From Truthout in the USA:
Special Investigation: The Earthquakes and Toxic Waste of Ohio’s Fracking Boom
An oil and gas rush is underway in Ohio, with widespread consequences for the economy and the environment. Truthout has been investigating the impacts the fracking industry is having on the local environment and on the people who live in the area. This is part one of a three-part series.
Are Fracking Wastewater Wells Poisoning the Ground beneath Our Feet? Leaking injection wells may pose a risk–and the science has not kept pace with the growing glut of wastewater: here.
Stop Apache Alaska from Launching Airgun Attack on Cook Inlet’s Endangered Beluga Whales
The Beluga Whale, commonly called the White Whale, is a marine mammal living in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic areas of the world. From a conservation perspective, the beluga is considered “near threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; however the subpopulation from the Cook Inlet in Alaska is considered critically endangered and is under the protection of the United States’ Endangered Species Act.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which is the federal agency (a division of the Department of Commerce) responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s living marine resources and their habitat, has issued a permit authorizing the Apache Alaska Corporation to “take” 30 beluga whales during the first year of its oil and gas exploration in Cook Inlet, Alaska.
NMFS listed this population as endangered in 2008 and designated over 3,000 square miles of marine habitat in Cook Inlet as critical for the species’ survival in 2011. Now they are allowing “take” of endangered whales for oil exploration? Are you kidding me?
September 2012. The US Georgia Aquarium is seeking to import 18 wild-caught belugas from the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia. Belugas in this area were subject to intensive hunting until the early 1960s and the population is still recovering: here.
August 2013. Following a public outcry, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have announced that it has denied the Georgia Aquarium’s request for a permit to import 18 beluga whales from Russia for public display in the United States. NOAA Fisheries based the decision on requirements of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA): here.
October 2013. The Georgia Aquarium has filed a complaint in a U.S. District Court in Georgia, asking the court to overturn a denial of their request to import 18 wild-caught beluga whales into the United States for captive display: here.
USA: Feds to reroute S.F. Bay ships to help protect whales: here.
“Spread out in Trafalgar Square they would have covered a large proportion of that space with a grass-green carpet, flecked with vivid purple, rose and scarlet.”
United by expertise, common-sense and outrage, by 1922 a group of people from different countries had seen enough. They concluded that the only effective answer to the growing trade of wild bird feathers had to be through co-ordinated international action.
These pioneers of modern conservation recognised the importance of birds in the “balance of nature”. They advocated their value to mankind and their need for effective protection: the intrinsic value of birds in their natural ecosystems far exceeding their fleeting value as fashion adornments.
This year, BirdLife International celebrates its 90th Anniversary and reflects on the foresight these people had to form the world’s first truly global conservation organisation, the International Committee for Bird Preservation (ICBP), from which became BirdLife in 1993.
The ICBP got straight to work in cultivating throughout the world an appreciation of the value of birds and after just two years already had 18 national sections- which would go on to become BirdLife Partners.
ICBP members were wise and sensible and they used their scientific expertise to provide clarity in their proposals- taking into account the diverse legislation and customs of different countries. Amongst lobbying against the traffic of wild bird feathers, by 1928 they had passed resolutions for: the creation of bird sanctuaries; preventing the collection of large numbers of rare eggs; an international convention on oil pollution and a “closed season” on hunting during the spring migration.
The Chairman, Dr Pearson stated in 1922:
“We believe that in organising a world-wide Committee we can be of much aid to each other in our several countries by the interchange of literature bearing on bird study and bird protection.”
90 years later – now with Partners in 116 countries – BirdLife International uses similar words:
“By united action we should be able to accomplish more than organisations working individually in combating dangers to bird-life.”
Taking the title phrase quite literally, a group of experts united by their passion for birds grew into a powerful flock of international NGOs that are furthering their work today.
A feather in a woman’s hair, or on a hat, might not turn heads today. But a whole dead bird pinned to somebody’s head probably would. Not so 150 years ago, when wearable taxidermy was fashionable. In fact, birds on hats were so popular that they contributed to the decline of several species like the snowy egret and the common tern. It wasn’t until one particularly driven group of women took a stand that all this changed: here.
This video is called Xenophobic Violence in Greece.
From the Christian Broadcasting Network in the USA (a rather fundamentalist Christian Right wing source, so, far Right readers of this blog, no talk about “bleeding heart liberals”, “multiculturalist Muslim lovers” etc. etc.):
ATHENS, Greece — While the Greeks struggle with life amidst a collapsed economy, life for another group in Greece has become dangerous and unbearable: refugees.
Afghan refugees, huddled in their flat in central Athens, told CBN News that coming to Greece was the biggest mistake they ever made.
They called their life in Greece “a nightmare,” and claimed they hide in their home as much as possible to avoid being beaten up in the street.
Worse than Afghanistan
If they could, the Afghans said, they would go back to Afghanistan tomorrow.
It appears the only thing worse than being in Greece during the economic crisis is being an immigrant or refugee. The economic collapse has turned many Greeks against outsiders, especially from non-Western nations.
Greece is one of the main entry points for illegal immigrants into the European Union.
Mr Christian Broadcast Netwerk reporter Dale Hurd: human beings, especially refugees from terrible neo-colonial wars like in Afghanistan, are never illegal. Racist anti-immigration rules should be so.
“If I want to meet someone in that area, they usually tell me, ‘Come to my doorstep because I’m not going to go further away,'” said Sahar Lankhaar, an Iranian Christian who ministers to refugees in Athens.
“If they look different than Greeks, if they are Pakistani or Afghan or if they look Chinese, they have to be really careful because now they get beaten up for no reason,” Lankhaar added.
Ahmad, from Pakistan, was beaten up by a large group of people.
“They are asking me, ‘What’s your country?’ And then the beating,” he told CBN News.
The far-right party Golden Dawn now holds 18 seats in the Greek parliament.
Golden Dawn is far-right indeed. However, Mr Dale Hurd, you might have been still a bit more precise, by calling them nazis. Golden Dawn revere Adolf Hitler, bring the Hitler salute, and deny the Holocaust.
The group wants to use minefields to keep refugees out of the country.
A spokesman for the party said the food is free, but only for Greeks. Non-Greeks are not welcom[e] to the food, even if they are legal residents.
“This is only for Greeks, of blood and ethnicity. They can come here and we will help them,” Golden Dawn official Ilias Panagiotaros said.
“Golden Dawn is the perfect example of a sick government, of a failed state,” former government advisor Elena Panaritis said. “A state that is not able to police itself, to control its rules, to enforce its own regulations.”
Golden Dawn also wants to start a “Greeks only” blood bank. The party said it will come to residents’ homes if there is trouble, when the police don’t.
“Golden Dawn has set up the equivalent of a 1-800 number. People call Golden Dawn. These people are nothing more than bouncers,” Panaritis added.
“They use these guys to just go in and clean everything up,” she said. “They have the place painted, and they don’t even ask you for money.”
Greek citizen Giorgos Vardzis told CBN News he keeps the phone number for Golden Dawn in his pocket, in case of emergency.
More ‘Terrifying’ than Taliban
Meanwhile, an Afghan family of legally invited refugees said they are excluded from Greek society. Finding a real job is unthinkable.
Taher, the husband of the family, said he can only send his 5-year-old boy to kindergarten if he and his wife agree to clean the classroom once a week. They only go outside in groups.
Not only is there no protection from the police, the family said Athens police try to destroy their merchandise, sometimes running over it with motorcycles.
The Human Rights Watch report corroborates what immigrants told CBN News. They said the police and courts are doing nothing to stop attacks on migrants.
And the Greek newspaper To Vima has reported that police officers overwhelmingly support Golden Dawn.
“The police are the fascists,” Taher said. He helps guard family members who need to go outside.
“You never know when the fascists will attack. But when they see foreigners, they beat them up, especially women with headscarves,” he added.
Sara, also an Afghan, called life in Greece “terrifying.”
“We ran away from the Taliban, and now we’re stuck in something worse than the Taliban,” she said. “With the Taliban, we would be dead and it’s over. Here, it’s torture every day.”
The family’s home in Afghanistan was destroyed by the Taliban.
The fact that they would rather go back to that violence shows how dangerous Greece has become for outsiders.
Mission Failure Afghanistan: A Message Written in Blood That No One Wants to Hear. Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch: “If the Aurora shootings got all the attention here last week, far more Americans are dying at the hands of Afghan allies than died in James Holmes’s hail of gunfire. And yet the message from the more deadly of those rampages is barely in the news and few here are paying attention”: here.
On Monday the Greek government announced it would only publish the details of the new austerity package in August: here.
In Iraklion, Crete, the easy target was a father of seven children, without a job. And a unemployed wife as well. The man was arrested at his home and taken to local police station for a debt to the state. For owing the state the swirling amount of 5,000 euro: here.
In a bizarre twist to the Greek debt crisis, France and Germany are pressing Greece to buy their gunboats and warplanes, even as they urge it to cut public spending and curb its deficit: here.
USA: Neil Barofsky, the former inspector general for the $700 billion US bank bailout program, has in recent days denounced Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and the Obama administration for covering up criminal activity by major banks: here.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 