News: Waterbirds & Waterfowl

[Kinderchick]

Well, I guess it is a good thing to keep the geese from nesting way up there again this year. No water for Mama Goose to lead her goslings to, once they hatch and it could be rather dangerous for them.

[jadoo]

...doubtful - i don't think the lights are that bright, and the only nearby apt complex i can think of is the one behind portage place - our green roofs are all on the third floor, so they aren't that high up, and would probably be blocked by the surrounding buildings.  I doubt the lights are retina-burners, anyway, they are solar powered...

[Kinderchick]

"... new lights installed on the green roofs at Manitoba Hydro Place this week to discourage geese and ducks from nesting. The intermittent flash from the solar powered light interrupts the fowls sleep...

Very interesting, jadoo. I wonder if the flashing lights will disturb the sleep of any of the human residents in nearby apt. complexes?

[jadoo]

...story in the Manitoba Hydro in-house news...

"... new lights installed on the green roofs at Manitoba Hydro Place this week to discourage geese and ducks from nesting. The intermittent flash from the solar powered light interrupts the fowls sleep. The building’s four green roofs each have two lights.
Previously, birds have attempted to nest on the building which has not been suitable for them."

...we shall see if blinking lights are enough to keep determined Canada Geese away from the area...

[Kinderchick]

I actually cheered in my car on my way to school this morning when I saw my 1st pair of geese standing in a nearby park!  

[Rose]

Some of the local geese are back, saw a pair on the ice of the pond just south of Richmond avenue and two small flocks (8 to 10 in each flock) flying low around this area.The snow is almost all gone in this area.

[pmg]

We saw and heard geese yesterday too, sitting outside and trying to not get a sunburn

[msdolittle]

That explains the geese I heard yesterday!

[The Peregrine Chick]

Not a new story but still news - the geese and some ducks are back at OHM - skating rather than swimming but given that we are suppose to hit double digits in the next couple of days they will be swimming soon enough!

[The Peregrine Chick]

Child Abuse in Birds: Study Documents 'Cycle of Violence' in Nature

Science Daily (Oct. 3, 2011)

For one species of seabird in the Galápagos, the child abuse "cycle of violence" found in humans plays out in the wild.

The new study of Nazca boobies by Wake Forest University researchers provides the first evidence from the animal world showing those who are abused when they are young often grow up to be abusers. The study appears in the October issue of the ornithology journal, The Auk.

"We were surprised by the intense interest that many adults show in unrelated young, involving really rough treatment," said Wake Forest Professor of Biology Dave Anderson, who led the study with Wake Forest graduate student Martina Müller. "A bird's history as a target of abuse proved to be a strong predictor of its adult behavior."

In Nazca boobies, traumatic abuse of developing young significantly increases the chances those maltreated individuals will exhibit the same maltreatment later in life as adults, Müller said. She is now at the University of Groeningen in the Netherlands.

The ocean-going seabirds live in colonies in the Galápagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. Among Nazca boobies, victimization by adults on other birds' chicks is widespread. They raise solitary nestlings on the ground and frequently leave their offspring unattended while foraging at sea. So, there is much opportunity for adult birds to bully and beat up neighbor nestlings.

The abusive adults patrol the breeding colony, searching for unguarded chicks. They frequently bite and peck the chicks, and even make sexual advances, sometimes leaving the chicks bleeding and stressed. Female adults show more aggressive behavior than males do, on average.

The young birds nest years later in the colony where they were born, making them ideal models for studying the effects of "chick" abuse on lifelong behavior.

The researchers collected data during three breeding seasons documenting which nestlings suffered abuse or neglect, then several years later evaluated their behavior as adults in the same colony. They tracked the birds and identified them using leg bands.

The findings shed important light on animal behavior. "This is not some contrived experimental situation with freaked out captive animals. This is an animal in a natural situation experiencing natural stressors when young. And, the outcome is their behavior later is influenced by the social stress they experienced," Anderson said. "As we determine how similar the physiology of this response is to the human situation, we may find opportunities for research on this stress response that are not possible to do with humans."

Co-authors on the study included Wake Forest graduate students Elaine T. Porter, Jacquelyn K. Grace, Jill A. Awkerman, and Mark A. Westbrock and technicians Kevin T. Birchler, Alex R. Gunderson, and Eric G. Schneider.

The Wake Forest team of researchers is already exploring physiological responses to abuse and have found a dramatic increase in corticosterone, the primary avian stress hormone, after a chick has experienced abuse. The surge in stress hormone may influence adult bird behavior. The study, led by doctoral student Jacquelyn Grace, was published recently in the journal, Hormones and Behavior.

"It's fascinating that what many would consider an extremely complex human phenomenon is also occurring -- perhaps through the same physiological mechanism -- in Nazca boobies, which are more closely related to crocodiles than mammals," Grace said. "Both studies suggest Nazca boobies might be a good model system to begin understanding the mechanisms underlying the cycle of violence in humans."


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111003132454.htm

[allikat]

Thank you for posting this Tracy!  

Wooping Cranes are absolutely magnificant birds to watch!  I call them graceful wings of the sky!  

Sometimes, it just feels like we can never do enough.

[The Peregrine Chick]

The Green Page: Researchers concerned as whooping cranes still flying through oilsands
Bob Weber, The Canadian Press  - 10 July 2011 - Winnipeg Free Press
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/greenpage/125308823.html

Oilsands threatens whooping cranes: endangered birds migrate through Alberta region, data shows
Bob Weber, The Canadian Press - 12 July 2011 - Winnipeg Free Press
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/oilsands-threatens-whooping-cranes-report-125398948.html

[pmg]

Bid to save sandpiper at risk of extinction in Russia

an interesting article from the BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/13627796

[Ellie]

Just thinking....could a peregrine have taken the idea that this goose was an intruder and much too close?  If they take ducks for food .........possibly a nesting goose??

[The Peregrine Chick]

Stop panicking about the City - they have an anti-poison policy for wildlife problems - the City has consulted us about using poisons and other toxicants in the downtown area.

And we try to keep in touch with private pest control companies to keep them up to date on the peregrines and many of them prefer not to use poison as it is just too difficult to be absolutely sure nothing will happen.  And besides, it doesn't solve the problem - kill the <insert species name here> and more move in because now there is a space for them in the environment.