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Another completely lost bird: Slate-throated redstart, resident of humid highland forests, turns up on South Padre Island, Texas

Estevan Medrano
Port Isabel-South Padre Press
Fri, 08 May 2015 19:12 UTC
Image

Slate-throated redstart.
The equivalent of a bird watching home run came in the form of a rare black and red chested wonder known as the slate-throated redstart spotted near the of the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center. The long-tailed warbler, almost exclusively found in humid highland forests, and had wandered north of the border only a few times on record.

The spotting occurred last Wednesday by avid birders Don Erickson and Fred Welden from Nevada. As two were bird watching in the Nature Center's butterfly garden the morning of April 29 they came across the specimen and then informed knowledgeable birder Tammy Bulow of the unusual sighting. The Nature Center attempted to call to send an expert to properly identify the red-chested visitor, but those they did contact were hesitant out of disbelief that a bird of that caliber could be sighted so from its expected habitat.

Cristin Howard, SPI Birding and Nature Center Director of Marketing, credits the rapid additions of native vegetation planted in the area which drew the "hidden treasure" to the area.


Comment: Other recent odd movements by birds:

Bizarre bird migration: Little Bustard makes rare visit to Finnish Lapland

Globe-trotting bird ends up in Sutton, New Hampshire

Rare bird from the Americas turns up in Somerset, UK

Great blue heron from North America turns up on the Isles of Scilly, UK

Eurasian shorebird (wader) turns up far inland near Winslow, Indiana

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Windsock

Waterspouts seen off Grand Bahama after thunderstorm warning

Denise Maycock
The Tribune (Bahamas)
Fri, 08 May 2015 18:24 UTC
Image

Waterspouts off Grand Bahama.
Waterspouts were spotted on Friday off the southern coast of Grand Bahama following a severe thunderstorm warning this morning.

According to weather officials, three waterspouts were seen in the water - one about three miles from land and a second about one mile from shore from William Town Beach, Freeport.

Public schools closed early due to a bogus report circulating on social media warning the public that an estimated seven tornados were expected to make landfall in Grand Bahama.

Trinard Tynes, of the Department of Meteorology in Freeport, said it was a hoax and that the department did not issue any tornado warnings.

"We had a thunderstorm warning issued in the morning and during that time the waterspouts formed on the southern side of the island," he said. "The problem is that someone sent out a hoax letter estimating seven tornados to touch down in Grand Bahama. The information was bogus and there was no tornado warning issued by our department or the Police."

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Wolf

Animal mauled girl in London, Ontario: Was it a coyote?

Jonathan Sher
The London Free Press (Canada)
Fri, 08 May 2015 17:19 UTC
Image

Coyote.
Police say a teenage girl was attacked from behind Friday morning in a London park by a coyote who knocked her to the ground and bit or tore at her face and arm.

While the girl survived the assault after an older male friend pulled the animal off her, news of the attack stunned a wildlife expert, who said he's seen nothing like it in seven or eight years reporting on coyotes in the London region.

"This is a rare occurrence," said Brandon Williamson of the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority.

Police say the teenage girl, who is less than 16 years old, had been walking with an older teenage male at 8:30 a.m. along the north bank of the south branch of the Thames River between Adelaide and Egerton streets.

Known as South Branch Park, it has a concrete path that's popular with bicyclists, joggers and people going for strolls — Yasushi Iwasaki was biking with his kids, ages 6 and 11, less than 12 hours after the attack.

"It's scary," he said when told what had happened.

Comment: See also these reports for the last 3 years of rare (or nowadays not so rare ) coyote attacks on people: Aggressive coyote attacks man in Saddle River, New Jersey

Coyote attacks two residents in Groveland, MA

Brampton woman attacked by coyote, Canada

Coyote attacks second young girl in Rye, New York

Man attacked by coyotes in Washington State

Colorado man fights off 3 coyotes using flashlight as weapon

Coyote shot dead after 3 attack a British Columbia woman, Canada

3-year-old Chicago boy attacked by a coyote

3 rare coyote attacks within 10 days in California and Oregon

Girl, 2, attacked by coyote in Cypress Cemetery, California

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Attention

More than 30 sei whales wash up dead along the Gulf of Penas coast, Chile


Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 09 May 2015 15:20 UTC
Image

A group of scientists discovered at least 20 dead sei whales on Chile's southern coast on the Gulf of Penas
A group of foreign scientists discovered at least 20 dead sei whales beached along Chile's southern coast on the Gulf of Penas and reported them to the National Fisheries Service.

A statement from Chilean officials on Friday said there were around 20 whales, while the scientists said they counted more than 30.

The International Union for Conservation of Natures lists the sei as an endangered species and the whales are no longer supposed to be hunted commercially.
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Wolf

Angry gulls kill puppy in Honiton, UK

Ben Farmer
The Telegraph, UK
Wed, 06 May 2015 12:53 UTC
Image
© SWNS

Bella, the chihuahua puppy killed by seagulls
A woman whose chihuahua puppy was killed by a flock of aggressive seagulls has warned other dog owners to be vigilant for bird attacks.

Nikki Wayne said her pet Bella had been made a virtual prisoner in her home after being harassed by "brazen" gulls which gathered on her roof.

The gulls were so menacing that Ms Wayne made sure her dog never went outside without her protection.

But the birds struck when Ms Wayne left a door slightly ajar while she was in the shower and Bella managed to nudge her way out.

She was killed before she could get back into the house.
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Attention

Baby boy killed in his home by monkey after the animal escaped from a nearby private zoo in Crimea

Will Stewart
Daily Mail, UK
Mon, 21 Jul 2014 17:43 UTC
Image

The blue macaque that attacked.
A police hunt has been launched for the owner of a private zoo whose monkey killed a six-week-old baby after breaking free.

The boy Vladimir (Vova) Verbitsky was attacked as he lay in a pram at his home in Crimea and the unnamed man who kept a menagerie of exotic animals is now believed to have fled to Ukraine.

The blue macaque was tethered in the yard of the wealthy zoo owner's house in Kacha, a suburb of Sevastopol.

Police say the monkey gnawed through the rope and jumped a fence at the Verbitsky family home, leaping into Vova's pram and biting his face.

'The baby's head was almost torn to pieces and the child was thrown out of his pram," said one source.
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Bizarro Earth

Sinkhole swallows car in Liberty, Missouri

Haley Harrison
KMBC News
Sat, 09 May 2015 11:47 UTC
Image
© Unknown
A vehicle sank into a hole created by a burst water pipe under a hydrant in Liberty on Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the water pipe broke after a vehicle involved in a crash hit the fire hydrant at South Withers and South Wales before 5 p.m. Wednesday, releasing about 7,000 gallons of water and eroding the street.

It appeared the silver sedan sunk several feet into the ground.

Comment: Check out: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - April 2015: Extreme Weather and Planetary Upheaval

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Cloud Lightning

Massive tornado hits town of Rhome, Texas

Dave Goldman
KYTX
Fri, 08 May 2015 05:42 UTC
tornado damage
© KYTX19 Images
Tornado damage in Rhome, Texas (WFAA)
A trail of damage was left behind by tornadoes in Wise County. The town of Rhome was hit hard, with some residents waking up homeless.


The EF-1 twister tore Greg and Nanette Pickenpaws' home apart, but they say they feel lucky to have their lives. Twisted metal, broken wood, even a refrigerator, were found toppled on the ground. Personal belongings were left out in the open, spread across the grass. The Pickenpaws say they've never experienced a storm like this in the 20 years they've lived in Rhome.

Comment: Check out the SOTT Earth Changes Summary - April 2015:



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Attention

Female pilot whale beached at Kennedy Space Center

Jim Waymer
Florida Today
Fri, 08 May 2015 19:20 UTC
Image
© Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
Rescuers from Kennedy Space Center and Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute examine a pilot whale that beached itself Thursday at KSC.
Biologists will test whether a measles-like virus that killed more than 1,600 dolphins since July 2013 also did in an 11-foot-long pilot whale that beached itself Thursday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

"It's a big female," said Megan Stolen, a research scientist with the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute. "It was emaciated."

Stolen and fellow biologists are examining the pilot whale's remains today (May 8) at Hubb's lab near Melbourne Beach, extracting lung, lymph node and spinal cord tissues to test for the so-called morbillivirus.

The virus has been killing bottlenose dolphins along the Atlantic Coast for more than two years in the worst outbreak of the virus in almost three decades.

The virus claimed 740 dolphins from New Jersey to Florida in 1987.
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Black Cat

Leopard attacks rise in Nashik region India: 12 people killed in five years

Sumita Sarkar
The Times of India
Fri, 08 May 2015 18:27 UTC
Image
© Yathin S Krishnappa/Wikimedia Commons
Leopard.
The rising leopard population in the region has resulted in frequent human-animal conflicts over the past five years. Leopards straying into farms have claimed 12 human lives and caused 6,603 animal deaths since 2010.

Foresters said there have been 10 incidents of leopard straying and/or attacking human beings or animals in the span of past six months. More recently, two attacks were reported in a month in Sinnar area.

The recent attacks in Sinnar resulted in the death of a four-year-old and left a farmer with minor injuries. The forest department laid two cages to trap the leopard but is yet to catch the wild cat.

Forest officials said there has been a significant rise in the leopard population in the region. The recent incidents of leopards straying into human habitats have given rise to the question whether humans have encroached upon their habitats.
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