Earth ChangesS


Binoculars

A rare raptor visitor turns up near Batesville, Arkansas

Joe Mosby
Log Cabin Democrat
Sat, 30 May 2015 11:52 UTC
Image
Crested caracara
Among the birding community (don't call them birdwatchers) and with much of the public, raptors or birds of prey are something special.

Hawks, falcons, owls, vultures and eagles draw our attention in addition as being the sources for assorted misinformation, exaggeration and even fear.

One incident from close to 40 years ago was at a school assembly in a small northeast Arkansas town. The superintendent introduced Jane Gulley, the Arkansas Eagle Lady, and told the students, "We need to listen to her about eagles even if they do carry off a lot of our deer fawns."

Experts say eagles can lift four pounds at the most. No baby deer, no small children.

Birders and others were excited recently when a crested caracara was captured near Oil Trough on the White River downstream from Batesville.

Comment: See also: Rare tropical falcon turns up near Charleston, South Carolina

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Question

More than 80 kites die in Tumakuru, India

Niranjan Kaggere
Bangalore Mirror
Sun, 31 May 2015 11:44 UTC
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Local residents collected carcasses of more than 30 kites near Maralur village in Tumakuru
The incident has left forest officials, bird watchers and conservationists in Bengaluru and Tumakuru shocked

Is it an outbreak of a rare disease or spread of an unknown virus? Mysterious death of more than 80 kites in Tumakuru city (70 kilometers from Bengaluru), has set off alarm bells in both the forest department and animal husbandry department of the state. According to locals, in the last four-days more than 80 kites have mysteriously died and they suspect it to be either due to poisoning or the outbreak of a rare disease.

The incident has left forest officials, bird watchers and conservationists in Bengaluru and Tumakuru shocked. According to sources in the forest department, the incident came to light on Friday afternoon with locals collecting carcasses of more than 30 kites near Maralur village on Tumakuru's outskirts.
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Windsock

Sleepy English village hit by freak mini-tornado

Ian Mat
Shepton Mallet Journal
Fri, 29 May 2015 08:06 UTC
freak UK tornado
Mark Davis and the remains of his greenhouse, post mini-tornado, in Binegar
Freak weather struck one man's home in Binegar this afternoon, causing thousands of pounds of damage in minutes.

Mark Davis, 43, told dailymail.co.uk a mini-tornado was responsible for terribly damaging his home today.

The wind damaged his roof, garage and greenhouse.

Mr Davis told the Daily Mail: "'I've never seen anything like it. It made a deafening noise. I thought it was thunder and lightning to start with.

"The sky went very dark and it started pouring with rain. Some of my neighbours took cover indoors as debris was flying everywhere.

"It only lasted for about two minutes and appeared to be very localised. I would estimate the damage to my property to be around £2,000."

Comment: The UK Met Office is investigating reports that another mini tornado hit Newport on the same day.

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Question

Unusual tremors crack walls, houses on Fiji Islands


The Extinction Protocol
Sat, 30 May 2015 04:11 UTC
Image
Tremors experienced in the district of Nakasaleka and Rakiraki in Kadavu have stopped. The Mineral Resources Department says a team will be going to the villages that experienced the tremors to carry out a geological investigation.

Director Malakai Finau says they will try to find why it is localized. "We need to investigate so we could find out more information about the events such as the centre, the epicentre and the depths and that would help us find out the real causes of these tremors." The tremors were experienced in the past week. Villagers reported cracks to walls of a hall and some houses in Nakasaleka.
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Question

Mysterious bangs heard in Auckland


www.stuff.co.nz
Sun, 31 May 2015 00:38 UTC
Mystery Boom
© www.stuff.co.nzWhat was the unexplained bang heard in Auckland on Saturday night?
A mysterious loud explosion has stumped residents of Auckland's central suburbs as to what it could be.

The banging was reportedly heard on Saturday around 11.30pm.

Police say they had no reports of anything that may have caused such an explosion, other than fireworks being let off.

The noise was heard in the Mt Albert, Mt Roskill and Three Kings area - as well as far away as Waterview to the west and Papakura to the south.

Resident Ash Ball said there was a massive explosion which woke up the neighbourhood. "It shook our house and woke us up with a hell of a fright."

But some residents are convinced something more untoward is going on.

One person tweeted that it sounded like a bomb exploding while another emailed to Stuff declaring it to have been a sonic boom.

In June last year, a series of mysterious "explosions" were reported across west and north Auckland leaving police mystified then as well.

Those explosions turned out to be Defence Force training exercises at the Kaipara Bomb Range.
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Cloud Precipitation

Texas farmers facing 'total loss for this year'


CNBC
Sat, 30 May 2015 22:14 UTC
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Texas' farmers were among the first to applaud the rain that abruptly halted a grueling multiyear drought that had tormented the region.

But what began as a blessing has turned quickly into a disaster, as corn and wheat crops rot in flooded fields.
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Bizarro Earth

USGS: Earthquake Magnitude 6.4 - Izu Islands, Japan region


US Geological Survey
Sat, 30 May 2015 19:50 UTC
Izu Quake_300515
© USGS
Time
  1. 2015-05-30 18:49:07 (UTC)
  2. Times in other timezones
Nearby Cities
  1. 398km (247mi) SE of Hachijo-jima, Japan
  2. 546km (339mi) SSE of Katsuura, Japan
  3. 552km (343mi) SSE of Tateyama, Japan
  4. 552km (343mi) SSE of Kawaguchi, Japan
  5. 627km (390mi) SSE of Tokyo, Japan
Scientific Data

Comment:



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Attention

Portents and signs: Dog with two bodies and eight legs born on Tonga

Cindy Tran
Daily Mail, UK
Sat, 30 May 2015 19:09 UTC
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Mirror reflection: The pup was born with two bodies joined at the chest with eight legs complete with two tails
Meet the puppy who was born with eight legs.

Incredible photographs reveal the newborn has two bodies joined at the chest with two sets of front legs, two sets of back legs - and complete with two tails.

The black and white puppy was born with a total of eight limbs in Vaini of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday and was one of her five siblings to have any abnormalities.

Vukitangitau Maloni, from Tonga, who took the images soon after she was born, said the whole community was shocked and speechless at the animals extra legs.

Comment: Other freak animal births this year:

Portents and signs: Mutant pig born with strange features and appendage in China

Portents and signs: Mutant pig born in Scotland

Portents and signs: Calf born with 2 heads at Florida farm

Portents and signs: Lamb born with face like an 'angry old man' in Dagestan

Portents and signs: 5-legged lamb born in Wales

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Fish

Thousands of dead bunker fish found at Riverhead, New York

Denise Civiletti
riverheadlocal.com
Fri, 29 May 2015 18:46 UTC
Image
© Peter BlaslDead bunker washed ashore on Simmons Point early in the morning of May 29, about an hour after low tide.
Officials are scrambling to avoid a major fish kill in the Peconic Estuary due to exceptionally low oxygen levels in the water.

"We're asking for help from anyone with a haul siene net and permit to get the baitfish out of the water before there's a major fish kill like we had here several years ago," Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter said this afternoon. "If you've got the net and the permit, please call Riverhead Police to let us know," he said. "Please call 631-727-4500 to let police know you can help."

The town will pay fishermen an as-yet undetermined amount per pound to make the effort economically viable, Walter said, because the market price for baitfish is very low.

"This is an emergency, because if we don't get the fish out of the water right away, while they're alive, we're going to have a major die-off," the supervisor said. "Disposing of massive quantities of dead fish is a huge problem, as town officials learned several years ago," he said. "We want to do whatever we can to avoid that problem again. We need to get them out of the water immediately — like yesterday."
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Fish

Swordfish kills Hawaii fisherman trying to reel it in


Sputnik
Sat, 30 May 2015 17:56 UTC
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© Kona patrol
A swordfish killed a Hawaii man on Friday during a fishing accident in Kailua-Kona.

At about 10:48 a.m., police received a call about a swordfish being spotted in Honokohau Harbor and a man jumping into the water with a spear gun. Randy Llanes, 47, was then seen being punctured in the chest by the sword fish, which measured about 3 feet long and weighed approximately 40 pounds.

The Hawaii County Fire Department responded and attempted CPR on Llanes before transporting him to Kona Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at around 11:30 a.m.
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