Earth ChangesS


Binoculars

Wrong time, wrong place: Tropical seabird rescued on beach at St Leonards, UK

Red-footed booby
© East Sussex WRASRed-footed booby
A rare bird normally found in tropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans was found in St Leonards at the weekend.

The East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service (WRAS) was called out mid-afternoon on Sunday (September 4) to reports of a seabird washed up on the beach.

Volunteers Andrew Loftus and Charlotte Humphreys had a surprise when they turned up and found it to be a red-footed booby.

WRAS founder Trevor Weeks MBE said: "Sunday afternoon saw rescuers rushed out to reports of a seabird on the beach at St Leonards. When they arrived they found a very usual bird.

"After some research the bird turned out to be a red-footed booby. This is a first for us and possibly a first for the UK if it has flown here. We assume it hasn't escaped from anywhere.

Info

Only 350,000 African elephants are left in the savannah

Just 352,271 African savannah elephants remain in the wild, it has been revealed.
Just 352,271 African savannah elephants remain in the wild, it has been revealed.
Just 352,271 African savannah elephants remain in the wild, it has been revealed.

The Great Elephant Census was a project that aimed to count all the continent's elephants by air.

90 scientists and 286 crew members have taken part in the ambitious study over the past two years - and the final total was far less than they had estimated.

30 per cent of the wild elephants died between 2007 and 2014 and in certain reserves in Tanzania and Mozambique that number was down 75 per cent due to poaching.

Ecologist Mike Chase told CNN: 'When you think of how many elephants occurred in areas 10 or 20 years ago, it's incredibly disheartening.

'Historically these ecosystems supported many thousands of elephants compared to the few hundreds or tens of elephants we counted.'

As well as the census, Chase and his colleagues have tracked several of the magnificent beasts by attaching GPS satellite collars to them.


Attention

Bear beaten by frightened villagers after it wandered into a house in China

Asian black bears are usually herbivorous but have been known to attack humans who trap or kill the animals for traditional medicine
Asian black bears are usually herbivorous but have been known to attack humans who trap or kill the animals for traditional medicine
This was the moment terrified villagers tried to fend off a wild bear after it wandered into a house.

The video, taken in China, shows the animal trapped within a courtyard as men and woman beat it with sticks and pelt it with stones.

According to reports from the country, it had accidentally strayed into the compound and desperate locals tried to keep it penned in fearing it could attack if it managed to escape.

They can be heard screaming as they use long poles to beat the bear away from a wall while others appear to throw stones at the large bear.


Binoculars

Pelicans are the Pacific Northwest's newest climate refugees

Puget Sound pelicans
© Katie Campbell, KCTS9/EarthFixWhite pelicans aren’t normally seen in Puget Sound and birders enthusiasts are trying to find out where these pelicans are visiting from.
American white pelicans are conspicuous birds. With their long orange bills and their nine-foot wingspan, they stand out, even at a distance.

Sue Ehler easily spots a squadron of them through her binoculars from over a mile away, coming in for a landing on Puget Sound's Padilla Bay.

"They've got that pure white. It just shines like a bright light out there. More than the other white birds," Ehler says.

Ehler visits this estuary in Northwest Washington every other week from spring to fall with her friend and fellow citizen scientist and retired biologist Matt Kerschbaum. They're volunteers with the Skagit Heron Foraging Study, tracking the health of the largest breeding colony of great blue herons in the Pacific Northwest.

Ehler and Kerschbaum were among the first to notice the pelicans.

"It was like seeing aliens arrive," says Ehler, a seasonal biologist with a degree in ornithology. "It's unprecedented for them to be here, so something really unusual is happening."

White pelicans are different from brown pelicans, a more common summer visitor to coastal Washington. The white pelicans' range stretches across much of the country but not into Western Washington.

No Entry

Thousands of bees swarm and attack family reunion at California park

Cerritos park
© CBS LAThe scene at Cerritos Regional Park.
Authorities say three people were sent to the hospital after a large swarm of bees attacked families picnicking in Cerritos.

Fire officials say the incident happened near the tennis court at Cerritos Regional Park on Bloomfield Avenue on Saturday afternoon, where a family reunion was taking place.

"It was thousands. It was thousands, like this whole grass area was covered with bees," said one park visitor. "They were chasing hundreds of people."

Seismograph

Shallow 4.6 magnitude earthquake hits Quito, Ecuador

Graph
© Dimas Ardian, Getty Images
The Geophysical Institute of Ecuador registered it as another earthquake and not an aftershock from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 16.

Another earthquake hit Ecuador's capital Quito at 7.22 p.m., local time. While only a 4.6 magnitude earthquake, the fact that it struck the capital again is alarming.

The Geophysical Institute of Ecuador registered it as an earthquake and not an aftershock from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on April 16.

It added that the epicenter was 11.8 kilometers from Quito and its depth was at only 4.7 kilometers. Many across the city left their buildings and ran to the streets as they feared a major aftershock.

Cloud Precipitation

Rain wipes out crops in New South Wales, Australia; third wettest winter on record

Farmers say they have lost up to 80 per cent of their crops.
© ABC NewsFarmers say they have lost up to 80 per cent of their crops.
Widespread, heavy rain has devastated crops in central western New South Wales, while other parts of the state have also been inundated.

Few farmers would usually complain about rain, but there is such a thing as getting too much and at the wrong time.

Record rainfalls in the past three months in parts of the state have damaged and killed winter crops such as wheat, barley and chickpeas.

The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) said it had been the third wettest winter on record.


Narromine district landowner Greg Broughton said he had lost between 50 and 80 per cent of his crops.

"I've never ever seen it like this at this time of year," Mr Broughton said.

Ice Cube

Global cooling: IPCC forgets Antarctic Ocean circulation and can't explain new record Arctic ice growth

old water
© YouTube/Adapt 2030 (screen capture)
With a loss at explaining new record ice over the last week of August and first week of September for Arctic sea ice extent and thickness plus continued growth of Antarctic sea & land ice, excuses and theories fly.


Attention

5 dolphins discovered stranded off Islamorada in Florida Keys; 3 euthanized

Staff of the Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder team transport four spinner dolphins that were rescued Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, after stranding off a small island about 20 miles north of Islamorada in Florida Bay off the Florida Keys.
© Art CooperStaff of the Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder team transport four spinner dolphins that were rescued Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, after stranding off a small island about 20 miles north of Islamorada in Florida Bay off the Florida Keys.

Five stranded dolphins were recovered in Florida Bay, and marine mammal rescue officials think they may have been pushed into shallow waters by Hurricane Hermine.

Four of the spinner dolphins were found Saturday 20 miles north of Islamorada on the flats near Rabbit Key, said Art Cooper with the Key Largo-based Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Response Team. A fifth was found a short distance off Lower Matecumbe Key.

Three of the dolphins were so dehydrated and had such elevated heart rates that federal wildlife officials determined they had to be euthanized, Cooper said.

The recovered dolphins were taken to Dolphins Plus in Key Largo. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution scientists evaluated the two other dolphins and had them transported to SeaWorld in Orlando for further treatment.

Tornado1

One dead and more than 200,000 without power as hurricane Hermine leaves swath of destruction up U.S. East Coast

hurrican hermine damage
© ReutersEmergency services responded to more than 300 calls overnight. Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum estimated as many as 100,000 area residents were without electricity Friday morning
Hurricane Hermine slammed into Florida leaving one person dead, 253,000 without power and caused dozens of towns in its path to evacuate as it continues to cause chaos on its way into Georgia and the Carolinas.

The Category 1 storm hit just east of St. Marks around 1.30am EDT with winds around 80mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Projected storm surges of up to 12 feet menaced a wide swath of the coast and an expected drenching of up to 10 inches of rain carried the danger of flooding along the storm's path over land, including the state capital Tallahassee, which had not been hit by a hurricane since Kate in 1985.

Florida Governor Rick Scott, who declared a state of emergency in 51 counties, said 6,000 National Guard members were ready to mobilize once the storm passed.

Hermine - downgraded to a tropical storm - weakened as it moved into southern Georgia, and was 55 miles southwest of Savannah, moving northeast while packing sustained winds of 55pm as of 10am EDT on Friday.

After pushing through Georgia on Friday, Hermine is expected to move into the Carolinas on Saturday and up the East Coast with the potential for drenching rain and deadly flooding in New Jersey and New York City over the Labor Day weekend.