White-tailed Eagles are attracted to railway lines and streets to scavenge on animals killed by trains or cars. In Germany, such collisions are one of the most significant causes of death: “When feeding on animal carcasses lying on the railway, White-tailed Sea Eagles collide directly with the train or are sucked by the air stream into the train” (Gefährdungsursachen des Seeadlers (Haliaeetus albicilla L. 1758), Oliver Krone, Norbert Kenntner & Frieda Tartaruch, Denisia 27 (2009): 139–146).
WtE killed by collision with a wind turbine. Photo: Jánoska Ferenc. FAL licence, via Wikimedia Commons
Video: Charlie Mgee & Formidable Vegetable Sound System from Australia.
“Experimental ‘ecological edutainment’ based around the principles of permaculture (a neat way to fix the world) mashing together ukulele with some electro-funk-swing, climate-change reggae, post-apocalypso and a decent serving of 'Radish Beets'.” http://music.formidablevegetable.com.au ... emix-album
The Eagle Project Report 2016 has been announced to be released soon by the Danish Ornithological Society (DOF). According to DOF, 83 White-tailed Eagle breeding pairs raised a total of 123 chicks in 2016 – a new record. Experts expect at least 100 active WtE nests in the country in 2020. In 1992 DOF aimed at having 75 local WtE pairs in 2040.
Some of the large raptors are less shy than in previous years and can be observed near human settlements, e.g. in the outskirts of Aarhus. The White-tailed Eagle became extinct in Denmark in the late 19th century; the re-colonisation began in 1996. According to DOF, many of the White-tailed Eagles on the Jutland peninsula are probably of German origin. In the neighbouring German state of Schleswig-Holstein, 88 WtE breeding pairs had 121 chicks in 2016. So far about 710 young eagles fledged from Danish nests between 1996 and 2016. Over the past ten years 59 of them were ringed. Source: Dansk Ornitologisk Forenings (DOF), Jan Skriver http://www.dof.dk/om-dof/nyheder?nyhed_id=1543
“Around the globe, millions of people, businesses, and landmarks set aside an hour to host events, switch off their lights, and make noise for climate change action. This year Earth Hour is at 8:30pm on 25 March 2017.” Read more https://www.earthhour.org/what-is-earth-hour
“One of the intriguing (and frustrating) aspects of the breeding biology of the small but growing reintroduced White-tailed Sea Eagles now pairing and nesting in the wild in Ireland is the fact that 6 birds that could and maybe should be breeding successfully every year have been tied up in trios over the last 3 years.” Read more: Golden Eagle Trust, Facebook, 29 March 2017 https://de-de.facebook.com/Golden-Eagle ... 808950774/
UK: Cookbook found at the British Library proves that unicorns were real
“A long-lost medieval cookbook, containing recipes for hedgehogs, blackbirds and even unicorns, has been discovered at the British Library. Professor Brian Trump of the British Medieval Cookbook Project described the find as near-miraculous.” Read more http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/dig ... brary.html
Unicorn (Monoceros). Conrad Gessner, Historiae Animalium; liber primus, qui est de quadrupedibus
viviparis, Zurich, 1551. Original work of the US Federal Government - public domain
I´d like to share this video about the miracle of life once more: How does an egg develop from the time it is laid to the time it hatches? For White-tailed Eagle eggs it takes about 38 days to hatch. Chicken eggs have a 21 day incubation period. The incubation times are different, but very similar things happen in the eggs of eagles and chickens.
The Genius of Birds - Embryonic development. Illustra Media, May 2013
This text has often been cited as early appearance of the Easter hare and Easter eggs in a written source: Disputatione Ordinaria Disquirens De Ovis Paschalibus. Von Oster-Eyern/About Easter Eggs (in German and Latin) Georg Franck von Frankenau. Ammon 1682. Online resource, Heidelberg University http://katalog.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/cgi ... prache=ENG
An Egg at Easter: A Folklore Study, Venetia Newall. Indiana University Press 1989. The New York Times wrote about the book: “Indeed, there may be more here about eggs than most people want to know —but for enthusiasts, and there must be some, there is a 20‐page bibliography for further reading.” Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/1971/04/11/archi ... .html?_r=0
The Book of Eggs, Mark E. Hauber. University of Chicago Press 2014. “The Book of Eggs introduces readers to eggs from six hundred species—some endangered or extinct—from around the world and housed mostly at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History.” Sample pages from the book (PDF) here http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/boo ... 93690.html
Spectroscopy allows in-egg chicken sexing, Emma Stoye. Article, Chemistry World 2017. “Identifying male chicks before they hatch could end the practice of culling cockerels in their millions.” https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/spe ... 74.article
The Ancient Art of Decorating Eggs, Stephanie Hall. Blog article, Folklife Today 2017 "If you have decorated an egg, then you have participated in one of the oldest decorative arts." https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/category ... -holidays/
Ernest Ingersoll – naturalist, shellfish scientist and author – about the Easter Bunny
“Wherever colored Easter eggs are displayed, images of a rabbit are likely to accompany them. Children are told that the Easter Rabbit lays the eggs, for which reason they are, in some countries, hidden in a nest in the garden. The strangeness of the association disappears when we remember that the date of the feast is determined by the time when the moon first becomes full after the spring equinox, and that the rabbit, which has from time immemorial been a symbol of fertility, is representative of the moon-goddess, Luna, which was worshipped annually at a date coinciding with the Easter festival. Thus, like many other pagan rites and symbols significant of reviving nature, it became confused with the Christian celebration of the Resurrection.” Ernest Ingersoll, Birds in legend, fable and folklore, published 1923
Ca. 1907. National Library of Norway [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons
Stop! Don’t Shoot Like that — A Guide to Ethical Wildlife Photography
“’I will not harm my subject!’ Every nature photographer should willingly and happily follow this simple credo – even when no one else is watching. This is not hard to do, and for those with a genuine love for nature, or even just a conscience, it should be second nature.
Unfortunately, thanks to the vast numbers of people who now own high-end photography equipment, and are constantly on the look out for excitement – and instant gratification on social media – instances of photographers harming wildlife or habitats in pursuit of the ‘perfect shot’ have become alarmingly common. Some of it is due to a lack of awareness, and some, a result of sheer callousness.
Whichever it might be, one thing is certain; if right-minded nature photographers band together, we can stamp out the menace of unethical photography to a large extent. Self-regulation is the best kind of regulation, so let’s kick-start a movement now.” Article and free booklet (PDF) by the non-profit, non-commercial portal Conservation India. Click here http://www.conservationindia.org/resources/ethics
I like birds – Eels. Video by Fenne x, December 2008
See also: Nature Photographers Ethics Resource Page (Nature Photographers.net): “The following information on nature photography ethics has been compiled from a variety of sources and is meant to serve as a guide for the nature photographer.” http://www.naturephotographers.net/ethics.html
Check out the documentary "Hannah Hauxwell - Too Long A Winter".
The true story of Hannah Hauxwell, a spinster living alone at Low Birk Hatt Farm in an isolated area of the North Riding of Yorkshire (now County Durham). She came to public attention in a documentary, made by Yorkshire Television and produced by Barry Cockcroft. The team chronicled the almost unendurable conditions of farmers in the High Pennines during the cold time of the year. UK 1973, 45min
