Latest news with #AudubonSociety
CBS News
04-07-2025
- General
- CBS News
Video shows conductor stopping train, getting out and shooing young U.S. Steel eagle off the tracks
You could say Ocho has some nerves of steel. Ocho, the young eagle who recently fledged the nest at U.S. Steel's Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, was captured on camera sitting right by the tracks, appearing rather undaunted as a train approaches. Video posted by PixCams, which runs a livestream of the nest, shows the train rolling to a stop as Ocho sticks around. The conductor can be seen getting up, and after a few seconds, Ocho finally takes the hint. Ocho flies off and lands on a nearby wire as the train starts to roll again. (Photo: PixCams) Ocho is exploring the world after accidentally fledging the nest last month. One moment Ocho could be seen standing on a branch, raising its wings — and falling. The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania says eagles in the area usually leave the nest mid-summer and keep returning until their parents kick them out. While it's the sixth season for dad Irvin at the nest, mom Stella replaced Claire, who left the nest late last year. Irvin and Stella laid three eggs, but only Ocho hatched in March. The appropriately-named Ocho is the eighth eaglet to hatch at the U.S. Steel nest. The nest was built along the Monongahela River in 2019, and a wildlife camera has been livestreaming the family since 2021.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
California hummingbird beaks transformed by feeders: ‘more tapered and longer'
Which came first: the feeder or the bird? A seemingly straightforward question, but the answer might not be so simple. According to a recently published study in Global Change Biology, the use of human-made hummingbird feeders has changed the beak sizes and shapes of Anna's hummingbirds, and spread their range from a narrow pocket of California all the way up the coast to British Columbia. Nicolas Alexandre, one of the paper's authors, collaborated with 15 other researchers from a cumulative 12 institutions to produce the paper, which has been in the works since 2019. Alexandre compared the spread of Anna's hummingbirds to that of a better-known, less beloved aviatory fellow. 'Anna's hummingbirds are kind of like the pigeons of the hummingbirds because they've expanded north with human settlement,' Alexandre said. The changed bill shape and habitat size happened at a breakneck pace, evolutionarily speaking. Researchers analyzed archives from to look at the expansion of eucalyptus forests in California, a prime source of nectar introduced from Australia in the mid-19th century, and advertisements for hummingbird feeders. Urbanization statistics were pulled from the US census; bird populations were based off data from the Audubon Society's annual Christmas bird count; and bill shapes and sizes were pulled from museum specimens. The results were clear: as urbanization, particularly after the second world war, brought hummingbird feeders up the California coast, Anna's hummingbirds followed, and their beaks became 'more tapered and longer' to adapt to a new food source. Alexandre said that, from a hummingbird's point of view, the feeders are a no-brainer. 'Imagine you have a bunch of flowers and the shape of the flower is going to constrain how efficiently you can feed from that flower. Now imagine you have this giant reservoir of nectar that's always available,' Alexandre said. 'I want to get as much nectar with every drink before someone displaces me at the feeder. A longer beak with more volume is going to be advantageous.' While Anna's hummingbirds may have spread their wings to a wider range, hummingbird populations as a whole are on the decline. Alexandre views the case as a neat example of human hobbies pushing environmental change, and says the paper opens questions regarding why some species are flourishing in the face of human-induced change while many others struggle. 'It is a great example of how morphological change can happen really rapidly in response to an environmental change,' Alexandre said. 'There's so many other species that aren't able to change at the same rate climate change is happening.'
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
Florida man confronts neighbor accused of shooting protected bird, video shows
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – A heated confrontation between a Florida homeowner and his neighbor over the shooting of a protected bird has prompted outrage in the community. The exchange took place in Madeira Beach after the neighbor, identified as a 42-year-old male, allegedly shot a heron, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). FWC said the man accused of shooting the birds later admitted to doing so. 'No longer a spring break town': Florida beach town tells 'idiots' to 'go somewhere else' Footage of the confrontation, taken by the accuser, begins as he approaches his neighbor. A lifeless great blue heron appears to be floating in the neighbor's pool. The man then accuses his neighbor of shooting the protected bird, saying such activity is 'highly illegal.' He also claims that he overheard the neighbor discussing plans to rid his property of the birds. 'No, I said I was going to try to get 'em away,' the 42-year-old says at one point. 'You moved into the birds' house. You cannot kill the animals that live here,' the man filming the video shoots back. The 42-year-old is also heard claiming he 'did not mean to kill the damn thing' but rather scare it away. FWC officers responded to the home on April 12 in response to a complaint, and found a dead heron and a dead mallard duck in the homeowner's yard. The agency said the man told them he shot the birds with a pellet gun to keep them away from his pool. The man accused of shooting the birds was cited for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and was issued a notice to appear in court. Speaking with Nexstar's WFLA, Charlotte Arndt, an education coordinator at Seaside Seabird Sanctuary, said no one should be shooting at a protected bird. 'My best advice is if you don't want to have great blue herons on your property, don't move to a place where great blue herons live,' Arndt said. 'Removing any one bird from the area especially during mating season can have a devastating effect on the babies. Of course both parents contribute to the nest but taking one of those parents away takes a lot of the resources away which makes it less likely that all the eggs that hatch are going to become fledged adults.' Battle of the birds: Florida considers changing state bird The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary is about 10 minutes from where the incident happened. The vice president of the Clearwater Audubon Society, Kim Begay, said the 42-year-old could've reached out to the sanctuary, the FWC or even the Audubon Society for help. 'It's not that hard to deter them,' said Begay. 'You can install motion activated sprinklers. You can actually just bang a pot really loud when you see the bird in your backyard.' Begay said the neighbor may now be facing misdemeanor charges as a result of this incident. 'If you have a problem like this, reach out. Please don't just start shooting. It's not the way to go,' said Begay. The Audubon Society, however, also recommends getting law enforcement involved before confronting a neighbor on a problem. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Penguin Lessons' offers accidental lessons of its own
The British do cozy cinematic whimsy like few others, and Peter Cattaneo has directed more than his share, starting with 'The Full Monty' in 1997 and sloping off gently from there. His latest, 'The Penguin Lessons,' shares with his 2019 drama 'Military Wives' the challenge of fashioning an uplifting, audience-friendly silk purse out of the sow's ear of the world's political complexities. When it works, it works, but in the new film it doesn't work as often as it needs to. It's Argentina in 1976, and the military is gearing up for a coup d'état — whimsical enough for you? Into this tinderbox comes Tom Michell (Steve Coogan), a diffident British schoolteacher who has been hired to force English lessons into the brains of ruling-class sons at a Buenos Aires private academy. The country is falling apart, but, as the school's fubsy headmaster (Jonathan Pryce, wasted) warns the new instructor, 'We try to keep out of it.' What about the penguin, you're wondering? During a week's beach holiday in Uruguay, Michell and a woman he meets at a bar (a charming, roguish Mica Breque) rescue a Magellanic penguin from an oil slick, and once the woman leaves, he's unhappily stuck with the bird despite all attempts to be rid of it. Coogan is a dab hand at dry British misanthropy (avianthropy?) with a soft center, and 'The Penguin Lessons' is very much in his wheelhouse as the hero grudgingly brings his new friend back through customs and into the cloistered confines of the school, where, dubbed Juan Salvador, it remains a secret for not very long. Think 'Dead Poets Society' with an assist from the Audubon Society. This is all adorable, but the film's political backdrop pushes increasingly and awkwardly into the foreground. In classic movie fashion, Michell sticks his neck out for nobody until he finds new friends at the school, among them a breezy fellow teacher (Björn Gustafsson) and the school's two cleaning ladies, the elderly Maria (Vivian El Jaber) and her vaguely leftist granddaughter Sofia (Alfonsina Carrocio). Then one of the characters is grabbed off a busy street in front of Michell by men with guns and sunglasses. Will he intervene? Would you? When all is said and done, 'The Penguin Lessons' is about finding the courage to stand up to injustice at one's own peril — only with penguin poop on the floor rather than blood. Jeff Pope's screenplay, adapted from the real Tom Michell's 2016 memoir, adds this fictionalized subplot to the story and includes a pro forma tragedy to the teacher's past to further goad him. The film acknowledges the 30,000 people who disappeared during Argentina's 'Dirty War' and places the grandmother with the real-life Mothers of the Plaza 25 de Mayo, but the solemnity is undercut by the glibness of the script and the cuteness of Juan Salvador as he wins over the hearts of everyone except those men with guns. It's the kind of movie where one of the main characters is taken into overnight custody and emerges with bruises from which the filmmakers discreetly look away. Torture's hell on the box office. Will you be moved? Possibly; I was at times, and sometimes against my better judgment. Coogan is the only actual human here, but, as in the far superior 'Philomena' (2013), he hoists the proceedings on the strength of his curmudgeonly decency. 'The Penguin Lessons' will please the kind of audiences who like to travel the world in comfort, as those PBS ads for Viking River Cruises say, but it accidentally offers those audiences uncomfortable food for thought. Cattaneo captures 1970s Argentina at a classic 'first they came for the socialists' juncture, one that might feel disconcertingly familiar once the credits roll and you check the news feed on your smartphone. Would you intervene? No amount of penguins make that question go down any easier. PG-13. At area theaters. strong language, some sexual references and thematic elements. 110 minutes. Ty Burr is the author of the movie recommendation newsletter Ty Burr's Watch List at
Axios
11-02-2025
- Science
- Axios
Minnesota's ducks don't want to be snowbirds anymore
Nick here. On my morning walks along the aqueduct connecting Lake Harriet and Minnehaha Creek, I've been surprised to see hundreds of ducks sticking it out in temperatures as low as minus 20. State of play: It's not just my imagination. More ducks are opting against migration due to evolution and natural selection — and there's an association with warming winters caused by climate change, Dale Gentry, director of conservation for Audubon Upper Mississippi River, told Axios. Why it matters: These hardy Minnesota ducks have puzzled me and my curious first-grade daughter because we can't figure out how they survive. How it works: Ducks have an incredible ability to keep themselves warm, Gentry said. Their feathers are so good at insulation that people use them in jackets and they have a heat exchange system that keeps their legs from freezing. Beyond that, Gentry said, they become more omnivorous in the winter, forgoing food like insects, worms and fish for plants, roots and seeds. While ducks don't need to have open water, they prefer it. And fast-moving Minnesota rivers and streams provide natural open water all winter, plus there are warm-water discharges from power plants and other human-made open water. Yes, but: It still begs the question: These ducks have wings. Why not fly somewhere warmer? "Migration is just incredibly challenging, and a lot of birds die in the process," Gentry said. "So if you don't have to migrate, it's probably advantageous not to." The ducks that stick around and survive breed more ducks that have the same inclination to stay home all winter. Fun fact: This is basically the plot of the 2023 kids movie " Migration." The father duck, voiced by Kumail Nanjiani, is scared of migrating from New England to Jamaica, but his family talks him into it. The big picture: It's not just mallards. The Audubon Society has been conducting an annual bird count around Christmas for 124 years that has also noted Minnesota robins and Canadian geese are migrating less. The bottom line: Minnesota retirees may be snowbirds, but our ducks, not so much.
