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The Peregrine Chick:
Feel good story for a colder Friday ....
Team rescues Canada goose from icy pond
You will want to watch the video!!
This pond is from one of the constructed wetlands in one of the newer housing developments in Winnipeg. The wetlands are constructed to act was stormwater systems but also work as wetlands cleaning the water and providing habitat for wildlife. Interestingly, because it is a wetland with wetland vegetation in/around it rather than a pond with grass running to/near the water's edge, geese don't nest here - they move off to places where the vegetation is lower so they can see what might be coming to raid their nests. These constructed wetlands are pretty neat actually, they are built usually before even the roads are installed so by the time the houses are being built, they are already doing their job to hold excess water and filter the water at the same time - so rarely are there algae blooms! They also provide green spaces for residents, habitat for all sorts of wildlife - from the smallest water invertebrates to mammals of all sizes to a huge array of birds species. They aren't mowed or cut back like more managed vegetation spaces rather they are "managed" with controlled burns every number of years to take out the accumulated old/dead vegetation which promotes healthy regeneration and prevents any particular plant species (including invasive species) from overwhelming the rest of the native plants which in turn helps keep the wetland healthy.
As you can tell, I think these constructed wetlands in urban areas are kind of neat ;)
carly:
Wow what an awesome sight to see! Thank you for sharing that dupre501!
dupre501:
'Goose Kindergarten' video goes viral
Dozens of Canada geese stopped traffic in Winnipeg, Manitoba this week.
In the video above two adult geese cross the road with dozens of goslings in tow. The footage was submitted to The Weather Network by Ed Solinske, and it's become a viral hit, racking up thousands of views.
The average Canada goose lays between 2 and 9 eggs each season but it isn't uncommon to see parents wandering the streets with two or three dozen goslings.
What you're seeing in the video above is referred to as a creche.
Canada geese will sometimes babysit, bringing goslings together in a kindergarten-style format.
Geese do this because there's safety in numbers. A group of goslings is far less vulnerable than one that's roaming solo.
It also frees up mature geese, allowing them to keep a protective eye over the entire flock.
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/goose-kindergarten-video-goes-viral-creche
The Peregrine Chick:
Third story today all looking at extinction events ... one is interesting but not really back from extinction, one is sad because we've let it get this far, maybe too far and the third, this one, a good news story, but with still a long way to go considering what caused their decline in the first place ...
Endangered bird returns to South Korea 40 years after extinction
John Sharman, The Independent / 22 May 2019
The endangered crested ibis has reportedly been reintroduced to South Korea 40 years after it went extinct in the Asian country.
Forty of the rare wading birds were bred in captivity before being released into the wild at Upo Wetland in South Gyeongsang province, southeast of Seoul, the Yonhap news agency reported.
The last time a crested ibis was spotted on the Korean peninsula is believed to have been in 1979 when it was spotted in the demilitarised zone separating the south from North Korea.
The bird used to be a common sight until pesticide use reportedly damaged its food sources.
A designated national monument in South Korea, it is also seen in China and Japan.
The captive population in South Korea has now reached 363, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency.
The breeding programme began with a birds donated by Beijing.
In South Korea the crested ibis is linked to an eponymous popular children’s song, composed when Japan ruled the country.
source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/crested-ibis-south-korea-endangered-return-extinct-a8925846.html
The Peregrine Chick:
British Isles populations of iconic curlew once hundreds of thousands strong ‘to vanish within a decade’
Phoebe Weston, The Independent / 3 June 2019
Curlews could be erased from their heartlands across the British Isles within a decade because of intensive farming, which is destroying their wetland habitats.
The British Isles used to be home to hundreds of thousands of the large wading birds, named after their haunting “cur-lee” call, but could soon be left with just fractured remnants of populations in northern England and Scotland.
There are now only 300 breeding pairs in southern England, 400 in Wales and 500 in Northern Ireland, while figures in the Republic of Ireland have dropped to 138, according to the latest research published in Wader Study.
If these trends continue, Dr James Pearce-Higgins, from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), estimates that the birds could disappear from the British Isles entirely within the next 50-100 years.
“The populations are on a steady downward trajectory … On that basis, the future doesn’t look good,” he said.
In the Republic of Ireland the population has dropped by 96 per cent in 30 years. As recently as the 1980s, there were 12,000 pairs.
To put that into perspective, this decline is equivalent to the population of the Republic of Ireland dropping from 4.8 million to 200,000. This collapse has happened in just one generation.
Lead author of the new study, Dr Barry O’Donoghue, from the National Parks and Wildlife Service in Ireland, told The Independent: “If you talk to anybody’s grandparents they’ll tell you that curlews were in almost every farm in Ireland. They will tell you the memories the curlew call brings back for them of working in the bogs or in the meadows.
“In contrast, you talk to their grandchildren and they might not have even heard of a curlew, let alone heard its beautiful call. We’re losing part of our cultural heritage as much as our natural heritage.”
Historically, the birds lived across marshes, heathland and farmland. In 1942 they were still so common you could buy them from UK butchers, and in Cornwall they were served up in pies.
Now they are on the Red List as being the highest conservation priority. “In areas such as Ireland, Northern Ireland, southern England and Wales curlews could go extinct in 10 years or so,” said Daniel Brown, senior conservation advisor at RSPB.
“It’s a really special bird and has been synonymous with the hills and valleys across the UK for hundreds of years. Lots of people want to keep it in the landscape,” said Mr Brown.
There are eight species of curlew in the world, two of which are already believed to be extinct. The survival of curlews in the British Isles is critical to global survival of the species, as it is home to 25 per cent of the world’s breeding population.
However, there are still signs of hope. Conservationists are working with landowners and community groups on grassroots projects to improve habitats.
Conservation programmes involving academics and stakeholders are being created up and down the British Isles.
“Time will tell if it’s enough, but there’s definitely a real energy and determination for those involved. We don’t want to lose the bird that has sculpted our lives for generations,” said Dr O’Donoghue.
source: https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/curlews-a8936031.html
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