" Dying at a rate of around one every five minutes, the albatross
family is becoming threatened faster than any other family of birds.
Eighteen (of 22) species of albatross are globally threatened with
extinction, an increase from just seven in 1994." (quote from Bird
Life International Albatross Programme)
Read more including what you can do to help the cause :
http://www.birdlife.org/seabirds/save-the-albatross.html
http://www.birdlife.org/seabirds/save-the-albatross.html#Campaign_Partners
Some will recall when the bird found at Lake Ontario was first noted
on this NYS-Birds list. (The area where found is very near NY state.)
The following links were on the Ontario -Birds list for 11 Aug. 2010.
(This story is from recent days.) I had not heard of the outcome with
this bird - and indeed, that won't be final until (if) the bird is
actually released to the wild... as these stories suggest it may be.
Yellow-nosed Albatross is a South Atlantic Ocean breeder with home
base (during the nesting period) in the Tristan de Cunha islands. I am
making a strong assumption that this individual was found to be an
"Atlantic" Yellow-nosed Albatross! Although this may not be the most
endangered albatross species world-wide, all the oceans' albatross
species have seen population declines, as have far too many species of
sea-going birds and also many other marine species. Earth - our
Blue Planet, with far more surface water than land and the huge
majority of that water the salty seas, and of which we to this day
know not all that much about... there is always more to be learned
from the sea. The albatross - no mythical beast, these are majestic
creatures which now need some care and attention. These are birds that
may live in the wild for more than half a century and also may breed -
mated for life - for a similar time-span. Loss of even one individual
albatross is a loss of all the more - of the offspring that might have
been.
Completely unrelated to the above, but significant in effects on local
marine ecology are the large menhaden (aka "Bunker", a fish species)
die-off noted from coastal Mass. and now southern New Jersey :
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2010/10_0082.htm
(New Jersey-DEP's report - they cite warmer than typical ocean
waters)
Interesting to see all the excitement on the Genesee Birds (western
NYS) list on the latest New York occurrence of Black-bellied Whistling
Duck - and that ol' W.-w. Dove ain't bad!
In NYC's Central & Riverside Parks today & Thursday, the migrants were
in far lower variety or numbers, and so it seems a good many moved on
south, especially on Wed. night...
Tom Fiore,
Manhattan
- - - - -
>the Albatross in Ontario news >>>
from the Kingston (Ontario, Canada) Whig- Standard newspaper - on-line
edition -
"Southern Comfort" - August 12. 2010 (NB - yes, this is a piece about
a stranded albatross receiving rehab. & perhaps being released this
year.)
"When you're sick and stranded 6,000 km from home, lounging in your
own pool and being hand-fed your meals makes things a little easier to
take."
(article is available in full at):
http://www.thewhig.com/PrintArticle.aspx?e=2709129
A longer piece on the albatross' possible fate appeared Aug. 4, 2010
in the Napanee (Ontario, Canada) Guide newspaper's on-line local news
section:
http://www.napaneeguide.com/PrintArticle.aspx?e=2698398
There's also this brief piece from the Napanee (Ontario Canada) Beaver:
http://www.napaneebeaver.com/localnews/localnews_aug12_page8.html
and from a Canadian T.V. (news) station:
http://www.ckwstv.com/index.cfm?page=news&id=3055
A tourist of the feathered variety has just about wrapped up his visit
to Eastern Ontario.
transcript:
CKWS Television News-Watch, Kingston, Ontario - Canada
Your Local News
August 11, 2010
ALBATROSS DEPARTS:
RECENTLY, WE BROUGHT YOU THE STORY OF 'ALBY' THE ALBATROSS.
... A SALT WATER BIRD THAT WAS DISCOVERED ON WOLFE ISLAND.
NEWSWATCH'S MELISSA DUGGAN HAS AN UPDATE... AS "ALBY" PREPARES TO TAKE
FLIGHT.
"IT'LL BE BITTER SWEET FOR ME, IT'S GOING TO BE TOUGH"
THE STAFF AT THE SANDY PINES WILDLIFE CENTRE IN NAPANEE IS SAYING GOOD
BYE TO AN UNEXPECTED GUEST.
THIS YELLOW-NOSED ALBATROSS HAS BEEN THEIR PATIENT SINCE BEING
DISCOVERED JULY 17TH ALONG WOLFE ISLAND'S SHORE LINE - THOUSANDS OF
KILOMETRES FROM IT'S NORMAL RANGE IN THE MID-ATLANTIC. RESCUE
WORKERS BELIEVE IT MAY HAVE BEEN BLOWN OFF-COURSE IN A STORM.
"TO KNOW THAT HE'S FROM SO FAR AWAY, AND THAT'S HE'S HERE AND THAT
WE'RE ABLE TO HELP HIM IS REALLY COOL."
NOW, THE BIRD THE STAFF AFFECTIONATELY CALLS 'ALBY', IS SCHEDULED TO
BE SHIPPED, BY PLANE, FOR FURTHER TREATMENT BY THE VETERINARY STAFF AT
TUFTS UNIVERSITY IN BOSTON.
"THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME EXCITEMENT, THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME DOCTORS
THAT WILL BE LOOKING HIM OVER - FIGURING OUT WHAT HE NEEDS TO BE ABLE
TO BE RELEASED IN SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE AND FLY AGAIN."
WHILE "ALBY" WILL SOON BE SAYING GOOD BYE TO NAPANEE'S ANIMAL
SANCTUARY, HE WILL BE LEAVING A LEGACY BEHIND.
THANKS TO DONATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC, A POOL DESIGNED FOR WATER BIRDS
IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND WILL HELP FUTURE PATIENTS AT SANDY
PINES.
"I WAS THINKING YESTERDAY, THAT WAS THE LAST TIME I'LL FEED HIM. IT'S
GOING TO BE WEIRD NOT HAVING HIM HERE."
"IT'LL BE A SAD DAY, AND A HAPPY DAY - THAT OUR WORK PAID OFF. AND
THAT WE GOT HIM STRONGER TO THE POSITION THAT HE CAN GO TO THE NEXT
STAGE IN HIS JOURNEY. HAD HE FLOWN THAT FAR ORIGINALLY, HE MIGHT NOT
HAVE MADE IT. THE STRESS OF THE TRANSPORTATION ALONE. HE'S READY FOR
THAT NOW."
"LEAH FROM SANDY PINES GAVE US A LITTLE INSIGHT... INTO WHY SO MUCH
TIME, SO MANY RESOURCES, SO MANY MAN HOURS ARE BEING DEVOTED TO JUST
THIS ONE BIRD. WELL, THE BIRD IS ENDANGERED - AND LAYS ONLY ONE EGG A
YEAR... MAKING EACH BIRD THAT MUCH MORE PRECIOUS. ANOTHER REASON? THE
ALBATROSS MATES FOR LIFE. SO CHANCES ARE "ALBY" HAS A FEMALE ALBATROSS
WAITING FOR HIM SOMEWHERE IN THE MID ATLANTIC."
- MELISSA DUGGAN, CKWS-TV NEWS-WATCH, NAPANEE."
___________________
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ARCHIVES:
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