Dear Kitty. Some blog

Today, temperature mostly below zero centigrade. A bit of snow in the morning, but later most of it is already away.

On my way to the village, quite some snowdrop flowers, plus the odd crocus.

A robin in front of a door.

From the window, a great tit at a feeder. Below it, a blackbird and a robin waiting for food bits to fall down from the feeder.

This is a short-toed treecreeper video.

A short-toed treecreeper creeping up a tree.

A blue tit.

In the nature reserve, a female great spotted woodpecker in a tree. Nuthatch sound.

In the water east of the reserve: coots, mallards, tufted ducks. Maybe gadwall ducks, but they fly away too fast to be 100% sure.

On the forest floor: a jay and redwings.

On the meadow: a hare and a lapwing.

This is a goldcrest video.

From flandersnews.be in Belgium:

Belgium counts its birds this weekend

Sat 06/02/2010 - 12:17 For the 10th winter in a row Natuurpunt is organising a count of the birds in people’s gardens. Thousands of Flemish families are counting the birds that come to their feeders and giving the information to Natuurpunt.

From 1 October to 31 March Natuurpunt collects and compiles the results of the bird counts by a number of volunteers.

They send information every month regarding the species of birds that come to their gardens and their numbers.

Apart from the monthly information from volunteers a national Bird Counting Weekend is held once a year.

That is what is taking place this weekend.

And how does this work?

After having replenished the feeder you count how many birds come during a period of 30 minutes. Per species, they write down the largest number in the garden at a given moment.

According to Natuurpunt you do not have to be an expert to count the birds in your garden.

On the Natuurpunt website there are photos of the most common birds in Belgium so you can recognise the type of birds you have in your garden.

Several dailies also periodically include posters with the most common birds in Belgium.

Last year 450 people were involved in the monthly counting. More than 6,600 took part in last year’s national Bird Counting Weekend. Some 290,000 birds were counted last year.

The information compiled by Natuurpunt is clearly not scientific, but it gives an idea of the trend from year to year.

Last winter was the coldest winter since the counting started and the result was that there were spectacularly more species of birds than in the previous winters. This winter is also much colder and Natuurpunt expects a wide variety of birds to be counted this weekend again.

This is a video of a hooded crow (and herring gulls) in Ijmuiden, the Netherlands.

From News On Japan:

An annual snow festival began Friday in Sapporo in Hokkaido, featuring some 240 snow sculptures at three sites in the northern city. Organizers expect more than 2 million people will visit those sites during the festival through next Thursday. Among the sculptures are those of polar bears and penguins from popular Hokkaido zoos and that of the Church of Our Lady in Dresden, Germany, which is the highest on record in the annual events at some 26 meters high.

From Viet Nam Net:

New gecko discovered in nature reserve

16:55′ 04/02/2010 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Researchers have found out a new species of gecko in the Ta Cu Nature Reserve in Binh Thuan province.

The new endemic gecko is named Gekko takouensis sp. nov. Ngo & Gamble since it was discovered by Ngo Van Tri, an expert from the HCM City Institute of Tropical Biology and Dr. Tony Gamble from the Minnesota University, USA.

This is the second endemic gecko species found on Ta Cu mountain. The other is bent-toe gecko named Cyrtodactylus takouensis Ngo & Bauer.

Recently, many rare species of animals have been discovered in the Ta Cu Nature Reserve, including francolin, mountain hawk, Truong Son silver douc and black-legged monkey (Pygathrix nigripes).

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Ta Cu Nature Reserve has 751 floral species and at least 15 species are very rare. It is also the home to around 178 species of terrestrial spinal [vertebrate] animals.

Dr. Vu Ngoc Long, Director of the HCM City Institute of Tropical Biology‘s Bio-diversity and Development Centre, there are at least 25 species of endangered animals at the Ta Cu Nature Reserve.

To protect the important nature reserve, a project has been launched to improve management capacity of local authorities and raise people’s awareness of protecting environment.

This video says about itself:

A Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth walking on the ground with her baby on her back. Taken in an animal sanctuary near Iquitos, Peru, in the Amazon rainforest.

Wild sloth killed by small spectacled owl in Panama

By Jody Bourton
Earth News reporter

Researchers in Panama have found the first evidence of a sloth that has been killed by an owl.

They found the body of a radio-collared three-toed sloth with lethal wounds that suggest it was hunted by a spectacled owl, which ate its organs.

Three-toed sloths are much larger than spectacled owls, a bird of prey standing around 45cm tall.

That adds to the impression that sloths are helpless on the ground, and camouflage is their main defence.

Details of the extraordinary kill are published in the journal Edentata.

A team of researchers from the US and Germany study sloths that live on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, investigating aspects of sloth behaviour including how they sleep in the wild.

Part of this process involves capturing sloths and radio-tracking their movements, including how sloths move up and down trees.

During this research one of their radio-tracked brown throated three-toed sloths climbed down a trunk, then suddenly stopped moving.

When the researchers investigated, they discovered the remains of their study subject at the foot of the tree.

An analysis of the sloth’s corpse in the laboratory revealed a series of puncture wounds that correspond to the talon markings of the spectacled owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata).

The sloth’s internal organs were also missing, as if pecked out by a bird of prey. Other predators such as ocelots usually take their prey and hide it, say the scientists.

Spectacled owls are much smaller and lighter than sloths, standing 45cm tall and weighing up to 1.25kg, compared to a sloth which has a body length twice as long and may weigh four times as much.

The identity of the sloth hunter surprised the scientists who discovered it.

“These animals are relatively large, so one would expect their predators to be limited to harpy eagles and ocelots,” says Mr Bryson Voirin of the Max Planck Institute of Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany, who undertook the study.

They are also surprisingly adapted to life in the canopy.

But this slow motion helps it avoid detection by predators.

Sloths also have fur that has green algae growing amongst it, providing camouflage against the canopy.

But “the problem with sloths is that when they do move, and are detected, they are an easy kill,” Mr Voirin explains.

Sloths are particularly vulnerable as every eight days or so, they make a perilous journey to the foot of the tree in which they reside.

They venture there to go to toilet, though no one knows why.

But out of the branches, they are much more exposed, and their slow movements become a liability.

The scientists believe that it was during one of the trips that the sloth was killed.

“In this case, the prey was a defenceless three-toed sloth, an animal that has evolved this strange slow behaviour so they can remain undetected in the canopy,” says Mr Voirin.

Why sloths behave this way remains a mystery.

But their lifestyle appears even more risky than previously thought.

“We think the evolutionary strategy of this cryptic lifestyle has opened them up to a wider range of predators.”

Brown throated three-toed sloths (Bradypus variegatus) are among the world’s slowest mammals, occurring in many forested habitats in Central and South America.

Brown-throated sloths are the most common of the three-toed sloths.

The sloth’s lazy image is an exaggeration, as they actually sleep for fewer than 10 hours a day.

Arboreal animals are those that are particularly well adapted to spending most or all of their time in trees.

Scansorial describes animals that spend much of their life climbing such as squirrels and sloths.

From Wildlife Extra:

New population of a rare and endangered Long-Whiskered owlet found in Peru

02/02/2010 18:37:23

Critically endangered Yellow-tailed woolly monkeys also found

February 2010. The Long whiskered owlet, one of the rarest birds in the world, has been filmed and photographed in January 2010 in the Neotropical Primate Conservation (NPC) main research area, La Esperanza, in Peru.

The owlet was observed by Shachar Alterman, an Israeli birdwatcher who joined the UK charity organization’s project for a month to carry out bird inventories in the region.

The species was also seen by Noga Shanee, co-founder of the organization, and Edin Fonseca, a local guide whose help made it possible to find such a rare species.

First discovered in 1976

The Long-whiskered owlet (Xenoglaux loweryi) was first discovered in 1976, when it was caught in a mist nest

by an ornithological team. Since then, the wlet has been seen very few times. It is endemic to a very small altitudinal range in the humid mountain forests of Amazonas and San Martin. The species is listed as Endangered on IUCN Red List.

First sighting since 2007

Despite all efforts, by researchers and birders alike, no Long-Whiskered Owlet has been seen since 2007. Alterman and Sahnee state that “As far as we know, this is only the fourth time this rare bird has ever been seen in the wild - and the first time it has been captured on video”.

“At first I thought it was a frog, since it sounded coarser than the playback I have. But it is a very distinctive call”, Said Alterman after the sighting. “Suddenly it felt as though the whole forest is full of ‘Lechusitas’ (The common local nickname for the bird in Peru).

“After a brief moment of silence, they were calling from all different corners of the forest”, He added. “The bird itself was perched five metres above our head.”

“It’s been one of the happiest moments in my life. We birders are so easy to please, just give us a new bird and we’re satisfied, but this one tops it all. This is the first time that I feel that finding a new bird can help its natural habitat and a whole community. At least that’s what I pray will happen”, says Alterman.

More rare species - Rusty-Tinged Antpitta and Johnson’s Tody-Tyrant

Shanee added that “On the same night the owlet was found, the NPC group heard no less than five birds which responded to the recorded calls played by the team. No previous record of such dense population exists so far”. Two other species of rare and endemic birds; Rusty-Tinged Antpitta and Johnson’s Tody-Tyrant were identified on the same 3 week trip.

Yellow-tailed woolly monkeys

During the survey, Shanee also spotted 12 yellow tailed woolly monkeys - Adults males and females, and some young ones.

Critically endangered monkey - Threatened by deforestation

According to Shanee, the owlet is threatened by the same hazards which affect the yellow-tailed woolly monkey (Oreonax flavicauda). This critically endangered monkey is endemic to a small area of the Tropical Andes in Peru; itself an endangered ecosystem. The main threat facing the area and its inhabitants is massive deforestation which is directly connected to the growing human population and poverty. There are less then a 1,000 of these monkeys dispersed between several remote and unconnected populations.

“We are hoping that this new discovery of the Long-Whiskered Owlet’s population and the interest it will generate with birdwatchers and conservationist groups will help to further conservation efforts for this special forest”.

Neotropical Primate Conservation (NPC) was founded by Sam and Noga Shanee and Lizzie Cooke in 2007. It began as a non-profit organization and was awarded UK charity status in August 2009. NPC was set to promote the conservation of Neotropical forest habitat and all wildlife through various means. These include: land protection; research; improvement of degraded habitat for wildlife; creation of public awareness; environmental education; and facilitation of the commercialization of sustainable, ecological products on behalf of local people.

This is a Laysan albatross video.

From Wildlife Extra:

Lead paint still killing thousands of rare seabirds on Midway Island – outrage must end now say conservation groups

02/02/2010 08:47:34

10,000 Laysan Albatross chicks die every year

February 2010. As many as 130,000 Laysan Albatross chicks have been killed by lead paint flakes from 70 deadly lead paint-contaminated buildings since jurisdiction of Midway was transferred from the US Navy to the US Department of the Interior (DOI) in 1996.

Leading U.S. bird conservation group, American Bird Conservancy (ABC), and two Hawaiian groups - the Conservation Council for Hawai’i and Hawai’i Audubon Society, have renewed calls to Congress to provide funding to clean up on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

Droopwing

“Curious Albatross chicks are ingesting the lead-based paint chips, which causes a variety of painful ailments and ultimately, a slow death,” said Dr. Jessica Hardesty Norris, Seabird Program Director for ABC.

Many of the chicks on Midway exhibit a condition called “droopwing”, which leaves them unable to lift their wings. Unable to fly, many die of starvation and dehydration.

10,000 birds die every year

The area encompassing Midway and its waters was included in President George Bush’s designation of the North-western Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument in 2006. Despite Midway’s designation as a National Wildlife Refuge and its location with the marine national monument, about 10,000 of these rare birds needlessly die there each year.

In a paper to be released in the scientific journal, Animal Conservation, Dr. Myra Finkelstein of the University of California-Santa Cruz and co-authors, including scientists and managers from the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, concluded that the death of Laysan Albatross chicks from lead exposure on Midway has long-term consequences for the nesting population of Laysan Albatrosses there. By 2060, there may be as many as 190,000 fewer albatrosses due to lead poisoning. By contrast, removing lead-based paint now could increase the population by up to 360,000 by 2060.

“The death of thousands of seabirds is contrary to the purpose of our National Wildlife Refuge System. We are preparing a letter to members of Congress to bring this matter again to their attention in the hopes that they can find a way to clean up Midway and stop the needless suffering of innocent birds,” said Marjorie Ziegler of the Conservation Council for Hawai’i.

70% world’s population of Laysan Albatross nest on Midway

About 70 percent of the world’s population of Laysan Albatrosses nests on Midway. The IUCN-World Conservation Union lists the species as globally vulnerable to extinction.

The DOI estimates that $5.6 million is needed to clean up the toxic lead paint on Midway Atoll. Approximately 70 of the federally-owned buildings must be stripped of all lead-based paint, and sand surrounding these old buildings needs to be thoroughly sifted to remove paint chips. DOI officials have stated that the current federal budget for the nation’s wildlife refuge system is insufficient to prevent the continued ingestion of lead paint by Laysan Albatross chicks.

“We strongly encourage Congress to pay close attention to the important scientific conclusions of today’s Animal Conservation paper on Laysan Albatrosses and enact a meaningful appropriation to address this severe and well documented wildlife hazard in Hawaii,” said John Harrison, President of Hawai’i Audubon Society.

This video is called Nairobi National Park Is The Only Wilderness Area in a Nation’s Capital.

From Wildlife Extra, with photos there:

Nairobi National Park drought over – Wildlife thriving

02/02/2010 11:05:33

By Will Knocker of the Silole Sanctuary

February 2010. After a two year drought, The Nairobi National Park finally received some decent rain in December and early January and the effects have been dramatic. Before the rains came, every last blade of grass had been grazed to dust by the 6000 or so resident herbivores & a similar number of illegal cattle. However the surviving cattle have now moved away to grazing lands in Maasailand.

The Nairobi National is 120 kms2 teeming with game and contains almost everything you might see bigger more remote parks, except elephants. In fact it is the best place in Kenya, if not the whole of Africa, to see Black rhinos in the wild.

Seasonal wetlands provide excellent habitat for aquatic birds such as this Saddlebill stork.

All predators, including the Big Cats have done well during the drought, with virtually all wildlife in the Athi-Kapiti ecosystem north of the Namanga highway being contained in the park owing to the presence of water & grazing.

Bohor reedbuck are doing well (many of them are translocated from Western Kenya) & are easily visible in the new short grass.

Buffalos surprisingly survived the drought well: there are close to a thousand of these large bovines in the park now.

Kongoni (Coke’s hartebeest) are now confined to the park because of human activities in the dispersal area. They are increasing in numbers & provide food for the ever-hungry & ever increasing NNP lion population (which is estimated at between 35 & 40 individuals.)

Dikdik in the Silole Sanctuary abutting the park: I have never seen this species in the park itself. Could somebody suggest why this might be the case?

Southern White rhino continue to do well; we have 11 in the The Nairobi National Park.

I estimate that there are between 35 - 40 lions in NNP. They are all descended from the 7 that survived the drought of 2005 when so many were killed after cattle-killing outside the park.

This is way above the historical average of 30 lions established by the lion researcher Judith Rudnai in the 70’s & a reflection of the changing conditions in NNP during a prolonged dry cycle.

The NNP population of lions is very young, with all but 7 individuals being less than 5 years old & at least one more litter of young cubs recently observed.

Valentine’s Day, according to Wikipedia:

Valentine’s Day or Saint Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the English-speaking countries, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine’s cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery.

This video is called David Attenborough - Animal behaviour of the bowerbird - BBC wildlife.

From National Wildlife magazine in the USA:

Animal Valentines

Trickery, hermaphroditism and scented dung: For these species, courtship is hardly a long walk on the beach

02-01-2010 // NW Staff

Valentine’s Day is a celebration of romance and the art of courtship, and although it’s debatable whether romantic love exists outside the human species (and cynics might say within it), wild animals have courtship nailed down. They might not be giving roses and writing love poems, but they have some amazing rituals all their own:

* On warm, romantic summer nights, male fireflies flash their lights while flying—using a code that lets females know what species they belong to—then wait for the females to flash back from hiding places in vegetation. When a female lights up with desire, males zero in on her with hopes of finding a willing mate. But romantics, beware: The female of one firefly species copies the flashes of the females of species different from her own. When a hopeful male shows up, the mimic eats him, then goes on to mate with a male of her own species.

* In looking for a mate, male meadow voles—grassland rodents that look like mice with short tails—prefer females that have just given birth. Females are most receptive when males catch them only hours after giving birth. These females will mate after only about 5 minutes of courtship, compared to up to 90 minutes for other females.

* The mating inclinations of male bower birds, native to Australia and New Guinea, are every woman’s dream: He’s an excellent carpenter but also a fabulous decorator. He builds a stick structure called a bower and then decorates it to impress eligible females. Often he picks a monochromatic color scheme for his decor, which can include everything from shells, feathers, flowers and even bits of string, plastic and other human-made items. Only if the house and its decor are good enough will a female—and perhaps even more than one—choose him for a mate (an example from which some nonfeathered bipeds might well learn).

* Some animals can be both sexes at once. This double-gender condition is called hermaphroditism. Some sea slug species can be male, female or hermaphroditic. With so many sexual options, these slimy mollusks often engage in orgies of 20 or more slugs of various persuasions. Barnacles—marine creatures that live in shells fastened to objects such as reefs or wharfs—are also hermaphrodites. Since they are stuck in one spot, they have a special strategy for sealing the deal. Each barnacle has not one but two penises that can extend as much as 20 times the length of its body. This allows it to reach other barnacles for mating. Often, when one barnacle reaches another with one of its penises, the partner will reciprocate.

* When a male Australian cuttlefish feels the urge to get his groove on with the ladies but is thwarted by a bigger, tougher male, he’s got a trick up his tentacles. He can change color and shape to mimic a female and, in this disguise, slip right by the big guy. Females willingly mate with these diminutive but clever fellows right behind the backs of their burlier brethren.

* In rhinoceroses, females in mating condition produce specially scented dung piles that signal their readiness. Males will search for these females and fight among themselves over access to females … . Adult rhinos are usually solitary, socializing only to mate. Pairs stay together two or three days, mating for a half hour at a time several times a day. Young are born about 16 months later.

* Through a process that scientists call “parthenogenesis” and the rest of us call “virgin birth,” some animals produce young without ever mating. In these species, females clone themselves via embryos produced by simple cell division of the egg rather than by joining sperm and egg. Without sex, there’s no exchange of genetic information, so the resulting offspring are genetically identical to the mother. A female aphid can produce thousands of little clones of herself this way. In some bee species, queens can produce different kinds of offspring depending on whether their eggs are fertilized: Fertilized eggs all hatch as females, while unfertilized hatch as males. A number of lizard species can reproduce without sex, including the New Mexico whiptail and the largest lizard of all, the Komodo dragon. Some unmated sharks have produced young in captivity.

This article is adapted from a blog post by NWF Naturalist Dave Mizejewski.