Science & Environment

[spaminator]

Bird feeding surges in popularity despite being discouraged: Report
Author of the article:Kevin Connor
Published Aug 20, 2023 • Last updated 9 hours ago • 1 minute read
Think twice about feeding the birds. Bird-feeding is surging in popularity despite bering discouraged, according to new research.

Think twice before feeding the birds.


The popularity of bird feeding remains widespread despite being discouraged, according to new research.


“There was a surge in interest beyond traditional bird-feeding countries in North America, Europe and Australia: 115 countries in total, including many where feeding was assumed not to occur,” wrote research co-author Darryl Jones, according to PLOS ONE.

That finding came despite evidence that feeding “can lead to problems for the birds.”

Jones said some experts oppose feeding wild birds for many reasons, including the spread of disease, noting feeders have helped spread conjunctivitis in house finches. Birds can develop poor nutrition because of an unbalanced diet.

And feeding birds can alter migration patterns.


“These impacts occur everywhere wild birds are fed and are potentially serious,” Jones wrote.

“On the other hand, engaging with wild birds in this way is now recognized as one of the most effective ways people can connect with nature.”

Bird feeding increased during the pandemic.

“People throughout the world were forced to remain close to home. Aspects of life that seemed to be carrying on regardless, such as birds arriving each day to be fed, may have been a course of comfort and reassurance,” Jones said.

“These trends mean the simple, common practice of attracting birds to your garden by feeding them is taking on much greater significance for the welfare of both birds and people.”

Some studies, however, say birds can benefit from feeders during migration and harsh winters.

Some say feeding birds helps offset the decimation of woods and meadows as humans create shopping malls, homes and other developments, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“There’s nothing wrong with bird-feeding,” writes Paul Baicich, co-author of “Feeding Wild Birds in America: Culture, Commerce and Conservation,” published in 2015. “The birds don’t need the feeders. We do.”

Bird feeding surges in popularity despite being discouraged: Report

The popularity of bird feeding remains widespread despite being discouraged, according to new research.

torontosun.com

what wasn't mentioned in the article is do you want bird shit in your backyard?

 

[petros]

If I feed the birds I don't have to feed the cats.

 

[55Mercury]

If I feed the birds I don't have to feed the cats.

having owned a few cats myself, and one currently, I've always maintained that cats kill more wildlife than vehicles. daily they offered up new dead things on the doorstep.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

having owned a few cats myself, and one currently, I've always maintained that cats kill more wildlife than vehicles. daily they offered up new dead things on the doorstep.

Can’t find the reference offhand, but memory tells me I once read that domestic cats kill more urban and suburban wildlife than all other causes together. Some of them I can’t care about, they can slaughter all the mice in the world and I’ll cheer them on, and I haven’t much use for sparrows either, they’re quarrelsome bullying little thugs who’ll drive away the birds I’d rather have in my yard.

I’ve also read that our cats leave us dead things out of something like pity. They correctly perceive that we can’t hunt as they do and they’re trying to help us out. I don’t think I believe that, it’s not in the nature of cats to do anything for anyone but themselves. Mockery I’d believe, “Haha look what I can do and you can’t,” but help out? Not bloody likely.

 

[petros]

having owned a few cats myself, and one currently, I've always maintained that cats kill more wildlife than vehicles. daily they offered up new dead things on the doorstep.

Can’t find the reference offhand, but memory tells me I once read that domestic cats kill more urban and suburban wildlife than all other causes together. Some of them I can’t care about, they can slaughter all the mice in the world and I’ll cheer them on, and I haven’t much use for sparrows either, they’re quarrelsome bullying little thugs who’ll drive away the birds I’d rather have in my yard.

I’ve also read that our cats leave us dead things out of something like pity. They correctly perceive that we can’t hunt as they do and they’re trying to help us out. I don’t think I believe that, it’s not in the nature of cats to do anything for anyone but themselves. Mockery I’d believe, “Haha look what I can do and you can’t,” but help out? Not bloody likely.

It's a mixed bag. Sometimes they eat the the rodents and birds, sometimes they just lick up the blood and leave them. I don't believe the gift or pity bullshit. They just love to hunt.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

It's a mixed bag. Sometimes they eat the the rodents and birds, sometimes they just lick up the blood and leave them. I don't believe the gift or pity bullshit. They just love to hunt.

Yeah, seems odd to me that domestication hasn’t bred any of that killer instinct out of them, if anything it’s made it worse, they kill things just because they like to, like weasels. Dogs know better, you can play a game with a dog and it’ll know that’s what you’re doing and play along. Not cats though, just watch a cat attack its toys, and what it chooses for toys ( basically, things that resemble prey): cats play to kill, and won’t hesitate to draw a little blood out of you too.

 

[petros]

Yeah, seems odd to me that domestication hasn’t bred any of that killer instinct out of them, if anything it’s made it worse, they kill things just because they like to, like weasels. Dogs know better, you can play a game with a dog and it’ll know that’s what you’re doing and play along. Not cats though, just watch a cat attack its toys, and what it chooses for toys ( basically, things that resemble prey): cats play to kill, and won’t hesitate to draw a little blood out of you too.

They say we domesticated specifically because they hunt. Some say it was to keep mice and rats from grain stocks when in reality it was to get rid of the snakes that ate mice and rats. You won't find snakes were there is no prey.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Yeah, seems odd to me that domestication hasn’t bred any of that killer instinct out of them, if anything it’s made it worse, they kill things just because they like to, like weasels. Dogs know better, you can play a game with a dog and it’ll know that’s what you’re doing and play along. Not cats though, just watch a cat attack its toys, and what it chooses for toys ( basically, things that resemble prey): cats play to kill, and won’t hesitate to draw a little blood out of you too.

All depends on who you think domesticated whom.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

All depends on who you think domesticated whom.

Good point. I’d have to conclude neither side really succeeded, but the cats got the better deal. Except for the castration part.

 

[55Mercury]

Good point. I’d have to conclude neither side really succeeded, but the cats got the better deal. Except for the castration part.

does the neutering diminish the male's interest in hunting?

spayed females still seem to bring home the bacon, but I haven't determined if that drive is lesser or greater.

 

[petros]

does the neutering diminish the male's interest in hunting?

spayed females still seem to bring home the bacon, but I haven't determined if that drive is lesser or greater.

Nooooope. Not one bit. It's more if indoor or outdoor cats. It's opportunity.

For us the female is the bird and bug cat the boys are the night-time mammal stalkers.

 

[petros]

Nooooope. Not one bit. It's more if indoor or outdoor cats. It's opportunity.

For us the female is the bird and bug cat the boys are the night-time mammal stalkers.

Correction. One of the boys chased bugs until stung by a bee or hornet. He was afraid of to go out for a week.

 

[spaminator]

Wildlife centre trying to save ducks covered in residue after Toronto industrial fire
Thousands of fish, a beaver, 10 ducks and a mink have died following the six-alarm fire last week

Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Nairah Ahmed
Published Aug 21, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Ducks are cleaned in a soap bath at the Toronto Wildlife Centre in Toronto on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.
Ducks are cleaned in a soap bath at the Toronto Wildlife Centre in Toronto on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.
Days after runoff from an industrial fire in west Toronto contaminated two nearby creeks, workers at the Toronto Wildlife Centre rub, scrub and massage soap into nearly 90 ducks one by one in sudsy tubs.


The charitable wildlife rescue says thousands of fish, a beaver, 10 ducks and a mink have died following a six-alarm fire at Brenntag Canada, a chemical distribution facility that blends lubricating oils last week.


But the centre has found 86 other ducks — as well as two cooper’s hawks — around the Mimico and Humber creeks, covered in oily residue, and are now trying to clean the waterfowl.

Nathalie Karvonen, executive director of Toronto Wildlife Centre, says once residue-covered ducks are captured, a medical exam is done and the animals are tubed with activated charcoal and fluids down their throat to help counteract the toxins they have already ingested.

Once stable, they are bathed in soap and water using a toothbrush and hose to get rid of the potentially toxic substances on their feathers.


“(The birds’) feathers in nature are designed to be perfectly waterproofed to not let any water through, so that underneath the exterior feather they are nice, dry and warm,” Karvonen says.

“If they are not waterproof the water will get through to their skin and (they will) get hypothermia, which is life threatening to them.”

Once the ducks are healthy and waterproof again, Karvonen says the goal is to release them back into their habitat once the area has been cleaned.


The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks says cleanup and containment efforts of the contaminated water are underway including placing booms, haybales, installing underflow dams, deploying vacuum trucks to collect the oil slurry and diverting discharge from any further release into the creeks.


Testing to determine what ended up in the creek and on the birds is in progress.

Animal rescue crews have been on scene everyday, Karvonen says, noting the number of animals killed due to contaminants will never be known. Herons have also been seen eating the dead fish, while deer have been spotted drinking the contaminated water.

The ministry says staff have been on site since the Aug. 11 incident, monitoring the situation with the city of Toronto water department, Brenntag Canada and its spill cleanup contractor.

“A light sheen has been observed at the mouth of Mimico Creek to Lake Ontario,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Operators from the city of Toronto water treatment plants are aware…Currently, there have been no concerns of impacts to the municipal water supply identified.”

Runoff has not reached the Humber River, the ministry said.

The wildlife centre is urging anyone who sees an animal in the area covered in residue, distressed or sick to not feed or capture them, and instead call their hotline and report the animal.

Wildlife centre trying to save ducks covered in residue after Toronto industrial fire

Thousands of fish, a beaver, 10 ducks and a mink have died following a six-alarm fire at the chemical distribution facility

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Is the partridge in a pear tree OK?

 

[Dixie Cup]

Wildlife centre trying to save ducks covered in residue after Toronto industrial fire
Thousands of fish, a beaver, 10 ducks and a mink have died following the six-alarm fire last week

Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Nairah Ahmed
Published Aug 21, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Ducks are cleaned in a soap bath at the Toronto Wildlife Centre in Toronto on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.
Ducks are cleaned in a soap bath at the Toronto Wildlife Centre in Toronto on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.
Days after runoff from an industrial fire in west Toronto contaminated two nearby creeks, workers at the Toronto Wildlife Centre rub, scrub and massage soap into nearly 90 ducks one by one in sudsy tubs.


The charitable wildlife rescue says thousands of fish, a beaver, 10 ducks and a mink have died following a six-alarm fire at Brenntag Canada, a chemical distribution facility that blends lubricating oils last week.


But the centre has found 86 other ducks — as well as two cooper’s hawks — around the Mimico and Humber creeks, covered in oily residue, and are now trying to clean the waterfowl.

Nathalie Karvonen, executive director of Toronto Wildlife Centre, says once residue-covered ducks are captured, a medical exam is done and the animals are tubed with activated charcoal and fluids down their throat to help counteract the toxins they have already ingested.

Once stable, they are bathed in soap and water using a toothbrush and hose to get rid of the potentially toxic substances on their feathers.


“(The birds’) feathers in nature are designed to be perfectly waterproofed to not let any water through, so that underneath the exterior feather they are nice, dry and warm,” Karvonen says.

“If they are not waterproof the water will get through to their skin and (they will) get hypothermia, which is life threatening to them.”

Once the ducks are healthy and waterproof again, Karvonen says the goal is to release them back into their habitat once the area has been cleaned.


The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks says cleanup and containment efforts of the contaminated water are underway including placing booms, haybales, installing underflow dams, deploying vacuum trucks to collect the oil slurry and diverting discharge from any further release into the creeks.


Testing to determine what ended up in the creek and on the birds is in progress.

Animal rescue crews have been on scene everyday, Karvonen says, noting the number of animals killed due to contaminants will never be known. Herons have also been seen eating the dead fish, while deer have been spotted drinking the contaminated water.

The ministry says staff have been on site since the Aug. 11 incident, monitoring the situation with the city of Toronto water department, Brenntag Canada and its spill cleanup contractor.

“A light sheen has been observed at the mouth of Mimico Creek to Lake Ontario,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Operators from the city of Toronto water treatment plants are aware…Currently, there have been no concerns of impacts to the municipal water supply identified.”

Runoff has not reached the Humber River, the ministry said.

The wildlife centre is urging anyone who sees an animal in the area covered in residue, distressed or sick to not feed or capture them, and instead call their hotline and report the animal.
View attachment 19066

Wildlife centre trying to save ducks covered in residue after Toronto industrial fire

Thousands of fish, a beaver, 10 ducks and a mink have died following a six-alarm fire at the chemical distribution facility

torontosun.com

aww he's so cute!

 

[spaminator]

Housing minister's chief of staff resigns after being named in Greenbelt report
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Aug 22, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

The senior Ontario political staffer at the centre of a scathing report into the provincial government’s decision to open up protected Greenbelt lands for housing development resigned Tuesday.


However, the departure of the chief of staff to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark failed to quell opposition calls for the minister himself to resign in the wake of the auditor general report.


Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk found that all but one of the 15 sites ultimately removed from the Greenbelt last year were suggested not by civil servants, but by Clark’s chief of staff Ryan Amato, who was given packages at an industry event by two key developers.

Developers who had access to Amato wound up with 92% of the land that was removed from the protected Greenbelt, Lysyk found.




Both Clark and Premier Doug Ford have said they were unaware the process was being controlled by Amato, but opposition politicians have said that defies credulity.

“This is the bare minimum of accountability for one of the most serious breaches of public trust in Ontario’s history,” NDP Leader Marit Stiles wrote in a statement.

“The auditor general’s report was very clear — this staffer obviously didn’t act independently.”

Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said Amato’s resignation does not resolve the situation.

“Minister Clark must resign and Premier Ford must open the books to a full investigation,” he wrote in a statement.

Green Leader Mike Schreiner also said Tuesday that Clark still needs to resign.


Ford has said no one received preferential treatment.

Last year, the province took 7,400 acres of land out of the Greenbelt to build 50,000 homes and replaced it with about 9,400 acres elsewhere.

Lysyk found Amato formed a small team of public servants to look at specific sites and if some of those did not meet the criteria for selection, such as for environmental reasons, the criterion was simply dropped rather than selecting a different site.

In selecting the areas where development would ultimately be approved, Amato used the packages he received from developers, the auditor general found.

Amato told the auditor general he did not disclose to the developers that the province would open up the Greenbelt.

Ford has said he accepts 14 of Lysyk’s 15 recommendations on process changes, but not the recommendation that he reconsider the removal of those lands from the Greenbelt. He has said that the province has an urgent need to build housing as the population rapidly grows.

The province’s housing task force had previously said in a report that the Greenbelt land was not needed to achieve the province’s goal of building 1.5 million homes over 10 years.

Housing minister's chief of staff resigns after being named in Greenbelt report

Premier Doug Ford's office said that the chief of staff to Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark has resigned.

torontosun.com

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

I take in it wasn't an honourable mention?

 

[spaminator]

Rare spotless giraffe born in Tennessee zoo
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Niha Masih, The Washington Post
Published Aug 22, 2023 • 2 minute read
An extremely rare spotless giraffe
An extremely rare spotless giraffe was born at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tenn. PHOTO BY HANDOUT /Brights Zoo
It’s easy to spot the difference.


A baby giraffe born and on view in a private Tennessee zoo is garnering global attention for its solid brown colour devoid of the characteristic camouflage patches.


The 6-foot-tall giraffe was born on July 31 at Brights Zoo in Limestone, which said in a statement Monday that she is the only solid-coloured living reticulated giraffe on the planet. The zoo hopes the spotless creature will help draw attention to the conservation of wild giraffes, whose numbers have dwindled in recent years.

The reticulated giraffe is one of the four distinct species of giraffe, according to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), a group that works to save giraffes in the wild. In 2018, the International Union for Conservation of Nature added it to a list of threatened species.


Stephanie Fennessy, executive director of the GCF, said the group had “never seen a similar giraffe in the wild in Africa.”

“Wild populations are silently slipping into extinction, with 40% of the wild giraffe population lost in just the last 3 decades,” Tony Bright, the founder of Brights Zoo, said in a statement, adding that the zoo was working to help the giraffe population through a breeding program.

The long-necked animals have spots that work primarily as camouflage, experts say. Each patch contains a system of blood vessels underneath it that helps them release and regulate body heat.

The zoo has shortlisted four names for the newborn and will open them to a vote on Tuesday. The four choices are: Kipekee (unique), Firyali (extraordinary), Shakiri (she is most beautiful) and Jamella (one of great beauty).


On the zoo’s Facebook page, hundreds of excited followers chimed in.

One commenter wrote that a class of second-graders read about the giraffe in school and voted for her to be named Jamella.

“Congratulations to this uniquely beautiful girl. Kipekee suits her perfectly,” another commented on the zoo’s post. Several others had their own suggestions for names.

The zoo is a family-owned facility in East Tennessee and is home to some rare and endangered animal species, including addax (white antelope) and Bactrian two-humped camels. Red kangaroos, spider monkeys and pandas are other exotic creatures housed in the zoo.

Rare spotless giraffe born in Tennessee zoo

A baby giraffe born in a private Tennessee zoo is garnering attention for its solid brown colour devoid of the characteristic patches

torontosun.com

 

[55Mercury]

looks like the sire was a Rhodesian Ridgeback

I wonder if they'll name him 'Spot'

 

[spaminator]

OPP refer Greenbelt probe to RCMP to avoid any 'perceived conflict of interest'
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Aug 23, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 2 minute read

The RCMP has started to look into a potential investigation related to the Progressive Conservative government’s removal of some areas from Ontario’s protected Greenbelt for housing development, the police force said Wednesday.


A day after the resignation of the Municipal Affairs and Housing minister’s chief of staff, who was at the centre of a damning Ontario auditor general’s report into the Greenbelt land swap, the Ontario Provincial Police said it had referred the matter to the Mounties.


“The OPP has received a number of inquiries regarding an investigation into the Greenbelt,” the provincial police wrote in a statement Wednesday.

“To avoid any potential perceived conflict of interest, the OPP referred this matter to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.”

The RCMP was similarly tight lipped, but confirmed the police are looking into it.

“At this time, RCMP O Division is beginning our evaluation of the available information as referred by the Ontario Provincial Police,” the Mounties wrote.


“After we have conducted a full assessment, we will determine whether to launch an investigation.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking at an unrelated news conference Wednesday, declined to comment on the probe and directed questions to RCMP.

While Trudeau recognized a need for more affordable homes across the country, he said “we don’t think that the only solution is to build on protected lands.”

News of the potential police probe came a day after Ryan Amato resigned as chief of staff to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark.

Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk found that all but one of the 15 sites ultimately removed from the Greenbelt last year were suggested not by civil servants, but by Amato, who was given packages at an industry event by two key developers.


Developers who had access to Amato wound up with 92 per cent of the land that was removed from the protected Greenbelt, Lysyk found.

Both Clark and Premier Doug Ford have said they were unaware the process was being controlled by Amato, but opposition politicians have said that is not credible and are still calling for Clark himself to resign.

Last year, the province took 7,400 acres of land out of the Greenbelt to build 50,000 homes and replaced it with about 9,400 acres elsewhere.

Lysyk found Amato formed a small team of public servants to look at specific sites and if some of those did not meet the criteria for selection, such as for environmental reasons, the criterion was simply dropped, rather than selecting a different site.


Ford has said no one received preferential treatment.

The premier has said he accepts Lysyk’s recommendations on process changes, but not the recommendation that he reconsider the removal of those lands from the Greenbelt. He has said that the province has an urgent need to build housing as the population rapidly grows.

The province’s housing task force had previously said in a report that the Greenbelt land was not needed to achieve the province’s goal of building 1.5 million homes over 10 years.

Ontario created the Greenbelt in 2005 to protect agricultural and environmentally sensitive lands in the Greater Golden Horseshoe area from development.

OPP refer Greenbelt probe to RCMP to avoid any 'perceived conflict of interest'

It comes a day after the resignation of the chief of staff to the Municipal Affairs and Housing minister

torontosun.com