४ मार्च, २०२३

The bird news.

1. "Two suspected illegal immigrants shot and killed a bald eagle with the intention of cooking it for dinner, and the town’s sheriff whose department arrested them says federal authorities, who could keep them behind bars, won’t return his calls" (Washington Free Beacon).

2. "Swedish power giant Vattenfall did a two-year, €3 million study of seabirds at an offshore wind farm off Scotland.... Not a single collision between a bird and a rotor blade was recorded... 'these birds are really good at avoiding the turbines'" (electrek).

3. "This year marks the 80th anniversary of the federal duck stamp. Since its enactment, this landmark initiative has generated well over $900 million to conserve nearly 8 million acres of wetlands all across the United States through the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund" (Democrat and Chronicle).

4. "Exploring how birds use contractions... A team of researchers at Kyoto University has found evidence that the wild passerine species Parus minor appears to merge two consecutive calls into a single vocal message... the cognitive capability known as core-Merge...." (phys.org).

३५ टिप्पण्या:

Kate म्हणाले...

FREEBIRD!

Temujin म्हणाले...

My favorite part is the energy company doing their own study on whether or not they're killing seabirds.

The Drill SGT म्हणाले...

On the wind turbine story, I suspect they ae more dangerous sited on ridges, like they are i Calif, where raptors normally use ocean winds flowing over coastal ridges as free updrafts for lift.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

I hope Flaco the owl doesn’t get sick from eating a New York City rat.

Jaq म्हणाले...

In South Florida, you see criminal aliens (a person can't be illegal) killing and slaughtering people's pet horses for the meat.

Old and slow म्हणाले...

1. The illegals were in possession of a firearm?
The first, 18 U. S. C. § 922(g), which makes it unlawful for certain people, including aliens illegally in the country, to possess firearms. The second, §924(a)(2), which provides that anyone who “knowingly violates” the first provision can go to jail for up to ten (10) years.

That seems to cover the "keep them behind bars" part of it.

2. Scottish seabirds must be much more canny than their land based counterparts. Either that or wind-farm operators hire cooperative scientists. I do know for a fact that Irish motorway construction firms hire some VERY cooperative archaeologists when they are investigating the paths for new road construction. I had no idea just how profitable archaeology could be until I found myself working around them. Many of the infamous "brown envelopes" changed hands.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

I obviously know Stanton County. The real fault here is with the US Attorney for Nebraska.

NextEra Energy of FL was fined millions for killing eagles via wind turbines in WY. The husband of one of my classmates prosecuted the case, Dave Kubicek.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

@ Old and Slow

Apparently, it was an air rifle. Is an air rifle a firearm for purposes of that law?

Michael K म्हणाले...

Plenty of rats in NYC for that owl. He'll probably get fat on them. Some are politicians, of course, and too big for an owl to snatch.

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

If the windmill company wants to convince me, don’t buy radar, just put big nets under them and give me time stamped video of the nets for a month.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

Does eagle taste like chicken?

Mary Beth म्हणाले...

I think they're lying about planning on eating the eagle. I don't believe anyone with the skill to aim and shoot one would also think that the meat would be tasty.

MadTownGuy म्हणाले...

Old and slow said...

"That seems to cover the "keep them behind bars" part of it."

The only question I have is: can local law enforcement keep them behind bars if Federal law enforcement declines to prosecute? If the locals can't guarantee a speedy trial must the locals release them?

If a citizen of the US should so much as pick up a bald eagle feather, prosecution would be fast and furious.

Narayanan म्हणाले...

do windmills have suck side and blow side?

~ Gordon Pasha म्हणाले...

Eagle tastes like spotted owl. (Punch line to old joke)

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

do windmills have suck side and blow side?

I'd say no. They're not moving air. Air is moving them.

Old and slow म्हणाले...

Blogger Bob Boyd said...
@ Old and Slow

Apparently, it was an air rifle. Is an air rifle a firearm for purposes of that law?

I should have read the article before posting.... That would be a no.

wendybar म्हणाले...

And whales are dying because of the ocean wind farm developments, although environmental groups are denying it, because they hate hurting their main cause of getting rid of fossil fuels. They hate whales now.

ALP म्हणाले...

Time for a Peter Griffith "Family Guy" quote:

"Bird is the word."

Rusty म्हणाले...

I know a good survey.
How many so called environmentalists buy waterfowl stamps every year?
State?
Federal? Stamps. Not employees.

Madison Mike म्हणाले...

Re: Gordon Pasha

I thought they tasted like whooping cranes

Madison Mike म्हणाले...

Re: Gordon Pasha

I thought they tasted like whooping cranes

Big Mike म्हणाले...

Apparently, it was an air rifle. Is an air rifle a firearm for purposes of that law?

Well, according to the article it was an “Assault-style” air rifle. Seriously. [Rolls eyes.] I admit I had assumed before I read the article that it was an AK-47 capable of fully automatic fire.

Lazarus म्हणाले...

The seabirds are too smart.

They're all hanging around outside restaurants looking for scraps.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

And whales are dying because of the ocean wind farm developments, although environmental groups are denying it They hate whales now.

@wendybar, correct! Didn’t Althouse post an article a few weeks ago trying to blame the whale deaths on lobster fishermen? Lobstermen and whales have been peacefully coexisting for centuries. Whales and offshore wind farms not do much.

JaimeRoberto म्हणाले...

The nice thing about offshore wind farms is that the dead birds fall into the water and disappear unlike land based wind farms where the dead birds can be counted at the bases of the windmill.

~ Gordon Pasha म्हणाले...

@Madison Mike:

Haha. Sandhill Cranes are basically flying ribeye. Delicious.

typingtalker म्हणाले...

"After eluding various rescue attempts ... "

Flaco knows the difference between rescue and capture.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

On the one hand, hundreds of thousands of birds are killed by windmills every year.

On the other hand, you can buy a shiny $20 pinwheel that will keep birds out of your garden.

I don't get it either.

Michael K म्हणाले...

Blogger Narayanan said...

do windmills have suck side and blow side?


Only Secretaries of Transportation have those.

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

"do windmills have suck side and blow side?"

Windmills create resistance to wind flow, taking energy from the momentum of air molecules to rotate electrical machinery. The wind velocity after the plane of the turbine is lower, as is the water velocity after the turbine of a hydroelectric dam.

In a perfect world the windmills would reduce all wind velocity to zero, and there would be massive climate change that would ruin all agriculture, which has been the basis for man's survival for 10,000 years.

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

to be more clear, every windmill installed brings us closer to the day when humanity will starve.

JAORE म्हणाले...

Apparently Scottish birds are brighter than our eagles.

"A subsidiary of one of the largest U.S. providers of renewable energy pleaded guilty to criminal charges and was ordered to pay over $8 million in fines and restitution after at least 150 eagles were killed at its wind farms in eight states, federal prosecutors said Wednesday."
- AP

rcpjr म्हणाले...

Link #3 doesn't work. Here's a working link:

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/2023/03/04/federal-duck-stamp-impact-goes-far-beyond-the-scope-of-hunting/69845763007/

typingtalker म्हणाले...

... do windmills have suck side and blow side?

Only in the fantasy world of windmill promoters where the windmills suck money in and blow gently in our ears while producing just enough electricity to watch the first one or two quarters of local high school football and basketball games.