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Birds from the Arctic arrive early at Point Calimere, India

L. Renganathan
The Hindu
Fri, 09 Oct 2015 11:06 UTC
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Northern Shoveler
With the beginning of migratory season, thousands of birds, mostly from the Arctic region, have started arriving at the Point Calimere birds sanctuary here. Though the season is yet to peak, ornithologists fear there might be a significant drop in numbers and variety this year as even the common migratory wader species are scarce now. They attribute the phenomenon partially to climate change.

Headed by the Greater Flamingos, the flock of birds, including numerous near-threatened species, is flying into the internationally recognised 'Important Bird Area', while some of them use the sanctuary as a stopover before proceeding elsewhere.

Birds migrate when the weather in their breeding areas turns colder and beyond freezing point and food becomes scarce.

This migratory season some species have arrived early this season. Ducks, which normally arrive by October-end, are already here three weeks in advance. Northern Shoveller, a long-distance migratory duck species, which breed in the Arctic region, has come in several hundreds. Many species that are globally near-threatened, are now seen in significant numbers.

Comment: See also these similar recent reports from Europe and North America -

Migrating birds arrive early at nature reserve in Lincolnshire, UK - so are we in for an extra cold winter?

Britain faces longest winter in 50 years after earliest ever arrival of Siberian swan

30 Arctic Snowy owls arrive in Wisconsin; earliest date ever reported and record numbers

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Attention

Strange animal behavior: Deer breaks through window of college dorm


Sputnik
Fri, 23 Oct 2015 01:42 UTC
deer crashes through college dorm
We all know some sort of craziness happens in college dorms, but who would expect a deer to crash through a residence hall window? Augustana College staff didn't see it coming, but this is exactly what surveillance camera captured on October 19.

Comment: See also:

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Binoculars

Migrating birds arrive early at nature reserve in Lincolnshire, UK - so are we in for an extra cold winter?

Caroline Wilson
Lincolnshire Echo
Thu, 15 Oct 2015 19:27 UTC
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The Redwing bird has been spotted early at RSPB Frampton Marsh nature reserve.
Species of migratory birds have arrived at a Lincolnshire nature reserve earlier than expected this year.

But is this a sign that we are in for an extra cold and long winter?

Chris Andrews, the visitor services officer at RSPB Frampton Marsh, said that the site had seen several species of migratory birds arriving earlier than expected.

He said: "We are seeing some migratory birds arriving earlier than usual - such as the Wigeon duck which comes from Scandanavia and the Baltics.

"They would be just starting to dribble in by now but we've got a couple of thousand here already.

"We've got birds like the Redwing and the Fieldfare that have turned up early as well and we've also seen the Whooper swan too."
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Binoculars

30 Arctic Snowy owls arrive in Wisconsin; earliest date ever reported and record numbers

Paul A. Smith
Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel
Wed, 21 Oct 2015 17:41 UTC
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A snowy owl rests on a car in the Kohler Corporation parking lot Tuesday morning.
Snowy owls, the big, white birds that nest in the Arctic and sometimes fly south in the fall and winter, have begun showing up in Wisconsin over the last week, captivating wildlife watchers and raising questions among scientists.

About 30 snowy sightings were reported through Wednesday in Wisconsin, according to Ryan Brady, a wildlife biologist with the Department of Natural Resources who oversees the Wisconsin eBird website.

The reports are earlier in the season and higher in number than any year on record.

"It's unprecedented," said Tom Erdman, curator of the Richter Museum of Natural History at UW-Green Bay who began conducting snowy owl research in Wisconsin in the late 1950s. "It's causing us to ask 'Why?"

The first snowy of the season was sighted Oct. 15 near Ashland in Bayfield County on Lake Superior. The next day one was seen in Crawford County in southwestern Wisconsin. On Tuesday lone snowies were reported in Kohler and Milwaukee.

And on Cat Island in Green Bay earlier this week, six snowies were seen at once, Erdman said.

Comment: There was in addition this exceptionally early arrival date reported from North Dakota on September 28th.

See also: SOTT Exclusive: Snowy owls flee northern latitudes for unprecedented fourth consecutive year - Sign of impending Ice Age?

Britain faces longest winter in 50 years after earliest ever arrival of Siberian swan

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Attention

Dead humpback whale found on beach in Costa Rica


The Costa Rican Times
Tue, 13 Oct 2015 13:38 UTC
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Dead baby humpback whale
Costa Rica's south Pacific is world renowned for its whale watching excursions.

Unfortunately, a baby humpback whale was found dead on a beach on the Osa Peninsula on Sunday.

Zeni Hernandez, a local tour guide, made the discovery. The whale appeared at the very edge of the beach. Photographs were taken. By Monday the whale was gone and locals assume it was taken away by the strong tides.

A marine biology specialist, Frank Garita, described the baby whale as being just one to two weeks old, according to its size. It was between seven and eight meters long and weighed about a ton.

Full grown members of this species weigh up to 40 tons and measure up to 16 meters long.

He added that it is highly unusual to find a whale stranded on a Costa Rican beach, especially such a young baby.
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Attention

Sperm whale found dead off Taiwan

Huang Kuo-fang and Elizabeth Hsu
Focus Taiwan
Sun, 18 Oct 2015 13:25 UTC
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Dead sperm whale
A sperm whale that was rescued off the coast of Chiayi County last week was found dead at sea Sunday, according to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), which was part of the effort to release the stranded whale.

Local fishermen discovered the carcass of the 15-meter-long whale on a shoal in an area south of Bajhang River (八掌溪) estuary, the CGA said.

An examination of the carcass confirmed that it was the same the sperm whale that had become stranded near the shoreline of Chiayi on Oct. 15, the coast guard said.

A team of coast guard personnel and marine experts had rescued the whale and released it back into the open sea the same day.
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Binoculars

Lost hooded warbler a big draw for Calgary birdwatchers

Aaron Chatha
Calgary Metro
Tue, 20 Oct 2015 13:45 UTC
Image
© Wikipedia Commons / Magnus Manske

The first hooded warbler to touch down in Calgary in 11 years, the little bird was first spotted two weeks in Fish Creek Provincial Park.
Birdwatchers flock for a look and listen after warbler likely blown off course on its way to Mexico.

Bird watchers are flocking to Lafarge Meadows in Fish Creek Provincial Park to get a look at a rare bird, likely lost on its way to Mexico.

"This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first time in over 11 years one's been in Calgary," said Andrew Hart, president of Nature Calgary. "And the other one probably got lost as well."

Hart said the yellow-bodied hooded warbler, recognizable from the black feathers around its head, was likely caught in a storm and thrown off course.

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Wolf

Residents on alert after coyote attacks father and toddler in Forbes, California; six attacks in the area since May

Eileen Frere
abc7.com
Thu, 15 Oct 2015 13:21 UTC
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Irvine authorities and residents are on alert after the most recent coyote attack on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2015.
California Fish and Wildlife officials say they're working with professional trappers after a coyote attacked a father and his 3-year-old son in Irvine Wednesday night.

The attack happened in the first block of Forbes in Irvine, shortly before 6:30 p.m.

Authorities said the man was working in his garage when the coyote bit the toddler in his right knee. The boy then jumped to his father's back and then the animal bit the 40-year-old man in the right side of his buttocks.

"All of a sudden his son jumped on his back. He thought his son was just playing and when he got up, he realized his son was bit by a coyote," said Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi

Neighbors scared away the coyote and the animal has yet to be found.

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Attention

Deceased humpback whale turns up in Lloyd Harbor: Second dead whale for New York coast within a week

Paige McAtee
patch.com
Sun, 18 Oct 2015 12:46 UTC
Image
© Town of Huntington Facebook page
Humpback whales have been spotted playing in Long Island Sound waters several times in the past month. But unfortunately, a not-so-happy whale sighting was reported in Lloyd Harbor this weekend.

A dead humpback whale was found in the harbor after a local resident noticed that the whale may have been in distress on Saturday, according to the Town of Huntington.

The Town Harbormaster responded and confirmed that the female humpback whale was deceased. The Town then contacted the The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation and the Coast Guard, which then took the whale to a Coast Guard facility to determine its cause of death.

Comment: See also: Dead humpback whale washes up in Montauk, New York

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Attention

Dead humpback whale washes up in Montauk, New York

Taylor K. Vecsey
The East Hampton Star
Tue, 13 Oct 2015 12:36 UTC
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© Riverhead FoundationA dead humpback whale, measuring 26 feet long, washed up about a quarter-mile east of Ditch Plain Beach. The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation was notified of the whale on Monday.
A dead humpback whale washed ashore at Ditch Plain Beach in Montauk for what is believed to be the second time in less than a week. Officials from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation believe the carcass is the same one that washed up on Thursday and then was washed back out to sea before they could get to it.

The badly decomposed carcass was in a difficult area to traverse, about a quarter mile east of Ditch Plain, and biologists were only able to get there to examine it on Monday afternoon with the assistance of East Hampton Marine Patrol. The humpback was a male that measured approximately 26 feet. They believe it is the same whale that washed up nearby on Wednesday night. The tide had taken it back out by Thursday morning.
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