Animals
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Binoculars

Wrong time, wrong place: Black-billed cuckoo from North America turns up on Scottish island

Nicola Bartlett
Daily Mirror
Fri, 27 May 2016 18:55 UTC
The bird was last seen in the UK in 1985
The bird was last seen in the UK in 1985
Bird lovers have flocked to a remote island to see a cuckoo not seen in the UK since 1985.

Some twitchers have travelled more than 400 miles to North Uist in the Outer Hebridies to try to get a glimpse.

The bird - called the black billed cuckoo - is native to North America and has only been spotted 15 times in the UK.

Some spotters are so keen to see the bird they have charted a private plane.

The rare bird arrived on North Uist in the Outer Hebridies last weekend and since then groups of birdwatchers have been making the trip out to see it some travelling from the south east of England to get a glimpse.

This is believed to be the only time a Black Billed Cuckoo has arrived on these shores in the Spring with other sightings taking part in the Autumn when the birds get caught up in storms and buffeted over to the UK.

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Ambulance

Arizona: Man killed by swarm of bees while hiking

Danielle Quijada
USA Today
Fri, 27 May 2016 17:42 UTC
bees
© Mark Henle/The RepublicThe highly aggressive Africanized bee population has risen by at least 1,000 percent in Arizona this year, according to Reed Booth.
A 23-year-old Louisiana man died after being attacked by bees Thursday morning as he and a friend were hiking within Usery Mountain Park in Mesa, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said.

A medical exam determined the man had been stung more than 1,000 times, officials said.

Just after 9 a.m., Alex Bestler and his friend were hiking the Merkle Trail when a large swarm of bees appeared without warning.

The friend was able to safely make it to a nearby restroom, but Bestler was overtaken by the swarm before he could find shelter, the Sheriff's Office said.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Another dead whale turns up off central Vietnam; 10 in 5 months


Thanh Nien News
Fri, 27 May 2016 17:10 UTC
A whale estimated to weigh 15 tons is stranded at a beach in Nghe An Province's Dien Thinh Commune on May 25, 2016.
© Pham Duc/Thanh NienA whale estimated to weigh 15 tons is stranded at a beach in Nghe An Province's Dien Thinh Commune on May 25, 2016.
A whale weighing around seven tons was found dead this morning in Nghe An Province where another large whale drifted ashore and was rescued two days ago.

Cao Hieu, chairman of Dien Thinh Commune in Dien Chau District, told Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper that he was informed by some locals of the dead whale after they saw its carcass floating around one kilometer from the shore.

The fishers estimated that the whale was 10 meters long, he said.

The whale will be brought ashore for burial, according to Hieu.

Early on Wednesday, another whale estimated to weigh 15 tons washed ashore here. Residents found the mammal alive, struggling to return to the sea.

Comment: See also: Whale found dead on shore in Vietnam

Whale found dead off central Vietnam

Third dead whale found within a month off central Vietnam

Dead whale washes ashore in central Vietnam; 5th in 6 weeks

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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills 21 cattle in McCook County, South Dakota

Danielle B Ferguson
Argus Leader
Fri, 27 May 2016 14:03 UTC
A single bolt of lightning killed 21 cows next to a metal bale feeder.
© Moody County Sheriff's OfficeA single bolt of lightning killed 21 cows next to a metal bale feeder.
About $45,000 worth of cattle was lost when lightning struck in McCook County Wednesday night, and the Moody County Sheriff's Department is using it as an example to remind people the dangers of lightning.

A Moody County Sheriff's Department Facebook page post Thursday showed dead cattle surrounding a metal bale feeder that was struck by one bolt of lightning, killing all 21.

"This is a very strong reminder of what lightning can do," the post, which has since garnered more than 35,000 shares as of Thursday evening, said. "If you start to see lightning and hear thunder, you need to get out of the open."

The post reminded people to stay off of lakes and golf courses and other outdoor activities if possible during severe storms and that standing under a tree is also not a safe place.

The National Lightning Safety Institute says when close to lightning to avoid water, high ground open spaces, metal objects including wires, fences, machinery, motors power tools and trees.


Comment: See also: Lightning bolt kills a dozen cattle in Phelps County, Missouri

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Ladybug

Millions of dead red tuna crabs turn up on the shores of Monterey Bay, California

Carly Mayberry
The Mercury News
Tue, 24 May 2016 18:54 UTC
Millions of pelagic red crabs washed up on Del Monte Beach in Monterey on Monday, May 23, 2016.
© Vern Fisher /Monterey HeraldMillions of pelagic red crabs washed up on Del Monte Beach in Monterey on Monday, May 23, 2016.
The bright red tuna crabs are back in the Monterey Bay, having washed up on Del Monte Beach in droves.

Early Monday, residents and visitors started noticing the crabs, also known as the pelagic red crab or pleuroncodes planipes.

They creatures are hard to miss, their red shells a stark contrast to the sand of Del Monte Beach. There were hundreds of thousands on the beach Monday according to Andrew DeVogelaere, a research coordinator director with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network.

DeVogelaere said the crab is usually found off the coast of Baja California but shows up other places during the El Niño weather pattern. Adults tend to live in the deep sea currents while their babies often wash up to shore, blown in by the currents.

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Sun

250 bats scorched to death in Dahod, India


The Indian Express
Sun, 22 May 2016 14:42 UTC
Dead bats
At least 250 bats were scorched to death in Dahod district's Devgadh Baria town, forest officials said Saturday. The flying foxes dropped dead from two banyan trees along a lake and a temple of Lord Shiva - the only location where the mammals nest.

Forest officials have sought help from the fire department to create "artificial rain showers" to save the surviving bats from the bout of scorching summer. R B Jadav, Range Forest Officer of Devgadh Baria, said that the mammals have the capacity to bear temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius, beyond which they suffer severe dehydration.

Jadav told The Sunday Express, "This is the first time that such a large number of bats have died during the summer as the temperatures have risen beyond normal range. On Friday, with the help of the local civic body, we disposed of the carcasses by burying them with salt, as per the procedure."
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning bolt kills a dozen cattle in Phelps County, Missouri

Dustin Hodges
ky3.com
Wed, 25 May 2016 14:04 UTC
Dead cattle
Severe storms killed a dozen cattle in Phelps County. The loss cost a farmer thousands of dollars.

"I lost a lot of money in that bull," says Sonny Hagen.

Sonny and Joyce Hagen are counting their losses after lightning struck a tree on their property and killed some of their cattle."

"It got 12 of them," says Sonny. "The herd was probably running for cover here and they was probably the front ones and as soon as they got to the tree the lightning hit the tree."

Their grandson was checking on the cattle Wednesday morning when he found them lying lifeless on the ground.

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Bug

Wasps deployed to fight the killer of 38 million ash trees


The Guardian
Wed, 25 May 2016 15:16 UTC
The emerald ash borer is a threat to trees in the US and Europe.
© Alamy The emerald ash borer is a threat to trees in the US and Europe.
Millions of tiny wasps that are natural parasites for the emerald ash borer have been released into wooded areas in 24 states of the US to try and peg back the tree-killing insect's advances.

The US Department of Agriculture has researched and approved for release four species of parasitic wasps that naturally target the larval and egg stages of the ash borer, which has killed an estimated 38m ash trees in urban and residential areas. The estimated cost of treating, removing and replacing the lost trees is $25bn, according to a report written by USDA and US Forest Service entomologists.

On average, federal and state resource managers spend more than $29m per year to manage ash borer populations.
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Attention

Australian town overrun by bats; state of emergency issued


Global News
Tue, 24 May 2016 21:29 UTC
gray headed flying foxes
© Reuters
Work was underway on Tuesday to eradicate thousands of bats from the Australian town of Batemans Bay, in New South Wales, with local government officials labelling the situation as a "state of emergency,' local media reported.

There are more than 100,000 bats that made their home in the coastal town south of Sydney, creating problems for local residents, according to local media.

The New South Wales state government says it will commit about US $1.8 million to help the local council disperse the bats, known as grey-headed flying foxes.
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Attention

Another dead whale found along Aquidneck Island's coastline in Rhode Island

Ryan Belmore
whatsupnewp.com
Tue, 24 May 2016 20:11 UTC
Dead whale
© Jessica Pohl
Visitors to Ocean Loop at Sachuest on Tuesday morning discovered a small dead whale had washed ashore.

This is the second whale to wash ashore on the coast of Aquidneck Island in the last two months, in April a dead humpback whale washed ashore Hazard's Beach in Newport. There have also been reports of whales washing up on the shore of Long Island, Block Island and Cape Cod in recent weeks.

Folks on scene this morning at Sachuest believed the dead whale to be a small Minke Whale.

According to the American Cetacean Society, the minke whales is the smallest member of the rorqual family of whales (those whales with baleen, a dorsal fin, and throat pleats). Adult males average about 8 m (26 feet) with a maximum length of 9.4 m (31 feet), while adult females average 8.2 m (27 feet) with a maximum length of 10.2 m (33 feet). Both males and females weigh about 10 tons. Both sexes are slightly larger in the southern hemisphere.

Comment: Recent reports (last 2 months) from this part of the world: Rare Right whale calf found dead off Chatham, Massachusetts

Dead 7-ton minke whale found on beach in Biddeford, Maine

Dead Humpback whale washes up on Duxbury Beach, Massachusetts

Dead humpback whale washes up on beach in Newport, Rhode Island

Dead humpback whale washes up on Block Island, Rhode Island

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