• The Audubon Society of Portland is fighting a proposal by the US Army Corps of Engineers to kill up to 16,000 Double-crested Cormorants (shown above) on an island in the Columbia River in order to aid survivability of juvenile salmon and steelhead. The proposed project, which would kill roughly 20 percent of the cormorant … Read more
• The U.S. Corps of Engineers will recommend a $1 billion (that’s with a B) plan to restore the Los Angeles River, a vital waterway of the L.A. basin that’s been largely entombed in concrete for decades. The multifaceted plan would “restore habitat, widen the river, create wetlands and provide access points and bike trails … Read more
Tristan Albatross, photo by JJ Harrison via Wikimedia Commons • A simple ruse is doing wonders to save albatrosses from becoming entangled in deep-sea trawling nets and drowning. The Cape Times in South Africa reports: The solution was simple: a 30m rope is tied to the back of the trawler and about five to 10 … Read more
A victim of the Galveston Bay oil spill, photo by Chase A. Fountain, © Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. • Clean-up and wildlife rescue efforts continue following the collision of two barges on March 22 that caused an estimated 170,000 gallons to spill into Galveston Bay, Texas. The National Audubon Society in a statement reported … Read more
Short-tailed Albatross, photo via Wikimedia Commons/USFWS • Sometimes it just takes a simple solution and an ounce of dedication. Though albatrosses face a barrage of threats to their existence, streamers made of plastic tubing are being employed on fishing lines to successfully deter species such as the vulnerable Short-tailed Albatross from becoming victims of longline … Read more
Close-up of the Northern Fulmar’s distinctive tubenose, photo by Cheryl Reynolds. This month, the most abundant species in our care is the Northern Fulmar. Our San Francisco Bay center is currently caring for 17 of these birds. Though this species is normally far out at sea, these birds were found unable to fly along the … Read more
Photo by Isabel Luevano Our patients of the week are six Northern Fulmars currently in care at International Bird Rescue’s San Francisco Bay center — five of which you can see in the photo above, recuperating in an outdoor pool. These fulmars have been received in the past week from San Francisco, Santa Cruz and … Read more
• Wisdom, a Laysan Albatross who holds the title of world’s oldest banded bird, was recently spotted with her life mate readying their nest on Midway Atoll in the Hawaiian Islands. Via U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Laysan albatrosses mate for life and Wisdom has raised between 30 to 35 chicks since being banded in … Read more
Dear friend, A few years ago, International Bird Rescue adopted the tagline “Every Bird Matters” because we wanted to show the world in simple terms what we’re all about. Whether it’s an oiled penguin in South America or an orphaned baby heron found in a Los Angeles storm drain, we care for one bird at … Read more
Laysan Albatross, photo by Paul Berry at International Bird Rescue’s Los Angeles center, January 2013 • Scientists studying albatrosses find that these magnificent seabirds have incredibly sophisticated flight patterns, which harness wind energy to propel them far more efficiently than their 11-foot wingspan could muster through flapping. Via National Geographic: A team of scientists from … Read more