Some Like it Cold

At the extreme northern margins of the arctic tundra lives the Snowy Owl, (Bubo scandiacus), the northernmost, heaviest, and most distinctively marked owl of North America. Snowy owls are one of the few birds that live in the arctic year round; if food availability is low they will travel to Canada, the northern United States, Europe, and Asia. Their plumage protects them so effectively that adults can endure temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero! Unlike most owls, which are nocturnal, snowy owls are diurnal--they hunt and are active both day and night. Also, snowy owls have two different colors of plumage depending upon the season. In summer, Snowy Owls are brownish with dark spots and stripes. In winter, they are completely white. Perfect camoflauge depending on the season.

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern - Population sizes difficult to estimate because of size and remoteness of habitat. No information on long-term population changes, except an apparent decline in northern Europe.


Bring Me My Dinner

Red-billed Hornbills (Tockus erythrorhynchus), found in savanna and woodland of sub-Saharan Africa, are monogamous--staying with the same mate for life. They nest in deep natural cavities, which the female seals with a plaster of mud, droppings and fruit pulp--effectively imprisoning herself to lay and incubate her eggs. She leaves only one narrow opening, just big enough for her mate to transfer food to her, which she then feeds her chicks when they hatch. The female stays in the nest cavity for up to two to three months! During this time, the female molts and re-grows her feathers, and raises the chicks, safe and protected from predators. It then takes about five hours for her to chip away the hard, brick-like wall so that she can leave the nest. The chicks then reseal the entrance, using their droppings and food remains while both parents deliver food for an additional month and a half until the chicks are finally ready to emerge and fly from the nest.

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern - Not threatened. Widespread and common, mixing well with domestic stock on open range as long as sufficient nest trees available.


What Blue Feet You Have!

Blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii) are aptly named, and males take great pride in their fabulously blue feet. They live on the Galapagos Islands, and during mating season, male birds show off their feet with a high-stepping strut -- the bluer the feet, the more attractive they are to female boobies. Both male and female boobies dance a mating ritual together by pointing their bills upward, as the male spreads his wings and whistles. The male often brings nesting material to the female, even though the pair doesn't make much of a nest; rather the female simply lays one to three eggs in a depression in the ground. Both parents care for their eggs, using their feet to cover the eggs and keep them warm.

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern - Largest breeding population located on Galapagos Islands, where they are protected.


NEWS BYTE:
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE? Studies show that parrots have an acute sense of rhythm. Harvard researchers have confirmed through studies and through analyses of YouTube videos that some types of parrots (and possibly an elephant) can bob their heads, tap their feet, and sway their bodies along to a musical beats. Click here for more...

All birds, no matter what species, have feathers and wings of some sort. Made up of thousands of interlocking strands that grow off a central, hollow shaft, feathers are as unique as fingerprints. Penguins may appear sleek and featherless, but they are actually covered with millions of tiny feathers. Feathers keep birds waterproof, warm, cool, and of course, give them the ability to fly. BUT, not all birds with feathers fly--take the aforementioned penguin, for example, or the kiwi bird of New Zealand. Penguins replaced flying with the ability to swim, using their wings to "fly" underwater. Kiwis have lived for centuries with no predators, and therefore have no need to fly. They live and nest exclusively on the ground. While they have skeletal traces of what were once wings, kiwis they are completely flightless. Here we will meet some amazing feathered friends and explore thier unique abilities and the role they play in the ecosystems in which they live.

CREATURE FEATURE - Flying Machines

The Albatross



Wide-winged and long-lived, albatrosses are rarely seen on land, preferring to stay out on the open ocean and only coming on shore to mate and raise their young. The wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) is the biggest of some two-dozen different species, with a wingspan of up to eleven and a half feet (3.5 meters)! Albatrosses use their formidable wingspans to ride the ocean winds sometimes gliding for hours without flapping, to cross ocean basins, and to circumnavigate the globe. They have been tracked flying at 70 to 80 miles (112 to 128 kilometers) an hour and have been satellite-tracked traveling more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) in a single day. A parent albatross may fly more than 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) to deliver one meal to its chick and a 50-year-old albatross has flown, at least, 3.7 million miles (6 million kilometers). Most birds struggle to overcome wind; albatrosses exploit it. Strictly speaking, albatrosses are mediocre fliers--but excellent gliders. They can lock their wings in the open position like switchblades, the bird merely piloting the glider it inhabits. Catching the wind in their wings and sailing upward, then harnessing gravity while planing seaward, they travel in long undulations. If you could travel millions of miles fueled by clean, self-renewing, zero-emissions energy, you'd be an albatross.

IUCN Conservation Status: Vulnerable - At South Georgia, this species is undergoing a rapid decline over three generations (70 years). On the Crozet and Kerguelen Islands, the populations rapidly declined between 1970-1986, then stabilised, but have recently declined again. Overall, past and predicted future declines amount to a rapid population reduction over three generations, qualifying the species as Vulnerable. Longline fishing is believed to be a main cause of decline in this species, and this threat is ongoing.

Human Environmental Impact is defined as consequence of human action on nature: the indirect and direct consequences of human actions on the natural environment.

Every day, whether we realize it or not, humans directly impact the natural world in countless ways. Here we will explore different examples of human impact and discuss the simple things we we can all do to mimimize the negetive consequences to our environment.

UNSUSTAINABLE FISHERIES
TRUTH: The fishing industry supplies the world with food from our planet's vast oceans. In order to supply the increasing demands of our ever expanding population, fishermen often use massive nets and "long lines" (miles of line set underwater baited with thousands of hooks).

CONSEQUENCES: Many fisheries catch fish other than the ones that they target and in many cases these are simply thrown dead or dying back into the sea. For example, some shrimp trawl fisheries discard close to 90 percent of the catch. Other fisheries kill seabirds, turtles and dolphins, sometimes in huge numbers. Longline fisheries set long lines with thousands of baited hooks attached in our oceans every day. Birds dive for the bait, swallow it (hook included) and are pulled underwater and drowned. Around 100,000 albatrosses are killed by longline fisheries every year. Because these large seabirds reproduce slowly they are especially vulnerable and many species are facing extinction. There are many technical fixes that exist to reduce bycatch such as changing the type of hooks set on longlines and bird-scaring devices employed which radically cut the numbers of birds killed. Over-fishing is also a huge problem for our ocean ecosystems, which removes the main food source of seabird populations.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: We can help by making sustainable choices in the fish we eat. Click here to print the Pocket Seafood Guide from the Environmental Defense Fund. Use this guide when buying seafood at your grocery store, or when ordering seafood in a restaurant. Avoid eating species that are over-fished, and do not support businesses that offer these items for sale.

POLLUTION
TRUTH: There are many forms of unintended pollution--some we don't even consider. We overlook the hazards of certain items that we humans consider harmless and fun--like balloons.

CONSEQUENCES: At best, free-flying balloons become litter; at worst, they jeopardize wildlife. Once airborne, balloons can travel far and can often end up floating in the world's oceans. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration identifies balloons as a commonly reported source of marine debris. In 1999 more than 32,000 were collected during coastal cleanups around the world. Balloon litter floating at sea can be deadly for many marine wildlife species. Sea turtles and birds are particularly at risk, as they feed at the surface. They can mistake floating balloons for jellyfish and swallow them, or become entangled in the ribbons. A balloon will block the digestive tract if swallowed and eventually lead to death by starvation. Balloons in the terrestrial environment pose a threat to birds and other creatures that can become entangled in the loose string.

WHAT WE CAN DO: The answer is simple--think before you discard a balloon. Tie the string into a bundle so it cannot become a deadly snare for wildlife. Don't leave balloons outside unattended, dispose of them in a closed container when deflated, recycle rubber balloons, and simply DON'T LET GO of your balloon!