Bird Events and News |
| Battle to save SkylarkAfter half a century of descretion, Britain’s dwindling stock of hedgerow is to be protected. One fifth of the hedgrows has disappeared in a generation. The barn-owl, which hunts small mammals in the thicket, is a rarity in many counties. The horseshoe bat which followed hedge-row lines like a beacon, feeding on moths, became disorientated when the row was broken. Common birds like the skylark and grey partridge have declined by half. Butterflies have vanished, and more than 300 officially recorded species are lost. Many gone forever. A new Environment Bill is wending its way through Parliament but could be defeated in the House of Lords. International Express 13.1.95 |
| Crunch Time for Animal Rites |
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| Animal Rites advocates cried "poor taste" after a French chef roasted about 20 tiny rare birds and served them to diners at a chic restaurant. Following tradition, diners held them by their skulls and devoured them in one bite: beak, bones and all.The weekend crunch took place at Le Cirque, the elegant East Side restaurant. The surprise dish was ortolan, a bird the French Government tries to protect. The ortolan migrates between Africa and southwest France, where it has long been served piping hot and eaten whole. Associated Press. |
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| Red-Tails snatch Crops |
| It is reported that the Red Tailed Black Cockatoos are making a nuisance of themselves by attacking the peanut crops grown on Lakeland Downs in North Queensland.Requests to Dept of Environment and Heritage for Permits to Shoot these birds have been so far denied, but arrangements seem to be in place to issue a Permit to Scare and so protect the crop. Don’t ask me how it’s done. |
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| Smugglers Baffle Radar |
| High-tech smugglers are using fibreglass aircraft to ferry valuable Australian wildlife to Indonesia under the noses of Coastguard patrols.Sophisticated gangs of smugglers are using powerful aircraft equipped to dodge Australian radar to make between $70,000 and $160,000 cash in hand for a same day return trip to Timor. "Because of the recession there are hundreds of aircraft sitting in Sydney which are not being used. The owners want money out of them and some don’t care as long as they get their money. " You can buy sulphur crested cockatoos in Singapore, Malaysia and Jakarta for thousands of dollars. Black Cockatoos fetch $US15,000 in Jakarta markets. The birds are then re-exported on normal flights to Europe and US where prices doubled. A red tailed black brings $35000 in Germany. |
| Egged On |
| On 3 May 1994 two Dutch Nations were
charged with the smuggling of wild-collected eggs of Black Cockatoos from Australia to the
Netherlands. The eggs were transported by couriers to the Netherlands, incubated and the
young birds then distributed to bird keepers and dealers in that country. 86 Black
Cockatoo eggs were seized . In 1988 the same person was fined for illegal possession of
Hyacinth Macaws but following an appeal, the fines were reduced. |