People opposed to a clean economy argue that birds get killed by wind turbines so therefore we shouldn’t build wind farms. Of course, those same people would argue that we should stick to planet-killing fossil fuels instead; somehow, in their minds using fossil fuels is better than renewables when it
Continue readingTag: birds
Things Are Good: Save the Seabirds, Save the World
Seabirds like the puffin are cute and curious things, and it turns out that if we help them thrive we can help the carbon cycle. Habitats that are good for seabirds can sequester carbon efficiently and due to the level of nutrients can provide energy for other lifeforms. The key
Continue readingThings Are Good: Puffinling Patrol Save Baby Puffins
In Iceland puffins get help from humans who volunteer on the Puffling Patrol to ensure that the little birds can thrive. When baby puffins, known as pufflings, hatch they usually head to the sea from their nests on shore, but when bright lights are nearby they’ll go towards the light.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Pigeons Outperform Radiologists
Radiology is very complex and even doctors with years of training and experience can make misdiagnoses. So far AI systems haven’t been competitive with humans; however, pigeons are. Researchers trained pigeons to identify cancers in radiology images and concluded that the birds are just as good, if not better, than
Continue readingThings Are Good: You Can Protect Birds by Keeping Your Cat Inside
We all love cats, they’re curious and fluffy and provide mixed feedback on whether they like you or not. We all love birds too, that’s why we shouldn’t let them meet. If you are a cat owner please please please keep your cat inside. Cat’s account for millions of bird
Continue readingThings Are Good: I See a Wind Turbine and I Want it Paint it Black
Believe it or not there are people out there who don’t want renewable energy and actively campaign to keep our power grid based on world-destroying fossil fuels. These backward thinking individuals have had success in stopping some wind turbine installations by arguing that wind turbines kill birds. Sadly, wind turbines
Continue readingThings Are Good: Simple Trick to Prevent Birds from Flying into Windows
The video above has a simple tip to prevent birds from flying into windows at home or at work. To save you 1.5 minutes of watching: use an appropriate marker to draw lines on the window. This is not as ugly (or damaging) as you might think since it’s a
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: It will be lonely when the birds are gone
I live deep in the city yet I enjoy visits from a number of our feathered friends. In the winter I am occasionally honoured by the visit of a wee chickadee. A bashful fellow, he flits half-hidden among the branches of a tall spruce that towers over my apartment. Frequently
Continue readingThings Are Good: Saving Animals Through Mass Surveillance
Readers of this site know that I don’t like mass surveillance of human beings; however, the technology behind the tools used for intrusive observations of our private lives can be used to help animals. Henri Weimerskirch, a French ecologist, is using tons of little sensors on birds to monitor both
Continue readingThings Are Good: How to Start Bird Watching
Spending time outside in nature is good for your physical and mental health, so why not do something while you’re out there? Bird watching could be the thing for you! Take your phone with you to catalog nature and help discover birds, that way you’re improving science while also improving
Continue readingThings Are Good: Bird Brains Avoid Wind Farms
Opponents of clean energy try to find any reason to stop renewable installations (I guess they hate the planet?) and when it comes to wind farms they suddenly start caring about birds. Their argument is that birds will fly into the blades of wind turbines. This argument was recently studied
Continue readingPostArctica: Birds With Arms Compilation
Because the internet is so much more than just copy and paste!
Continue readingThings Are Good: eBird App is Helping us Understand Birds
eBird is a mobile app that has been around for a few years and used around the world. As a result the app has been used to collect a rich dataset of bird sightings which provides enough data for researchers to have a very accurate understanding of some bird species.
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: For the Love of the Songbirds
Last weekend I went to see the film The Messenger. It’s about the demise of songbirds. It had some amazing shots of birds in flight, and there were really interesting vignettes, but the overall message missed the mark.
Standing in line before the sho…
Continue readingmark a rayner: Happy Yanksgiving!
Alltop prefers roast opossum. Original photo by Doug Brown via Flickr.
Continue readingknitnut.net: Certifiable
It’s a teeny-tiny backyard, but this year we added six bird feeders, some native plants, a composter, a bird bath and a mister. Now we’ve got a bunch of regulars who visit throughout the day, including cardinals, goldfinches, chickadees, woodpeckers, purple finches, squirrels, chipmunks, butterflies and bees. And we’ve been
Continue readingknitnut.net: Favourite Field Trip
Last weekend we drove out to Smith Falls to visit the Parrot Partner bird sanctuary in their groovy new digs. Since our last visit, they’ve become a registered charity and they’ve moved out of Judy’s house, which had been taken over by all the parrots she had rescued. You know
Continue readingknitnut.net: Christmas in May
Parrots are smart. They need plenty of stimulation or their mental health will suffer. Parrots are difficult enough to live with when they’re mentally healthy; you definitely don’t want to push them over the edge. So parrot toys are a necessity. And, since many good parrot toys will quickly be
Continue reading350 or bust: Saturday At The Movies
Amazing interaction between a wild raven needing help, and a helpful human.
Continue readingknitnut.net: What is she saying?
Kazoo is a 16-year-old Double Yellow Headed Amazon parrot. She talks. We don’t always know what she’s saying exactly, but we always know what she means because she’s remarkably expressive. Take a look at this video and see if you can tell what she’s yelling at the 7-second, 27-second and
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