Author: sharonstjoan

This video from England says about itself:

28 January 2013

Record numbers of grey seal pups have been born on Blakeney Point Nature Reserve in Norfolk, taking the size of the colony to possibly more than 1,000 pups for the first time.

By Peter Frost in Britain:

More seals to see by the seaside

Friday 23rd January 2015

Thought our flippered friends were vanishing from the east coast? Don’t be so sealy, cautions Peter Frost

Mother nature certainly hasn’t lost her talent both for fighting back and surprising those who study and marvel at her mysterious ways.

In December 2013 I reported in these very pages that the storms and tidal surges on the east coast had devastated the seal colonies that come to pup and breed over the winter months.

It seemed clear that numbers would be down and I, alongside experts, predicted that it would take years for…

Inside a city that works hard at keeping the jungle in “urban jungle.”

by  Grace Chua:  Cityscope

“SINGAPORE — When it comes to discovering plant and animal species, this densely packed  metropolis of more than 5 million people is full of surprises.

“A year ago, a slender woody tree known as Alangium ridleyi, which was believed to have been lost to development, was discovered hiding in plain sight in the middle of Singapore’s heavily visited Botanic Gardens. (A dry spell triggered the tree to put out its small and delicate yellow flowers.)

“Then in May, researchers found a species of shrub brand-new to science called Hanguana neglecta, a shin-high spray of blade-like leaves. It was spotted right beside a footpath in a nature reserve.”  Source: citiscope.org

Singapore’s commitment to biodiversity is outstanding.

Grumpy baby Bulbul.

He wants to be FED!

Happy baby Bulbul, he got fed!

Red Vented Bulbuls were first identified in 1766 and originate from India.

People tend to not like them because they eat flowers. I like flowers, and Red Vented Bulbus.

The Fairy Tern is native to the south west Pacific. It’s numbers are rapidly decreasing and it is considered a vulnerable species.

The White Capped Noddy, is wide spread in tropical seas and doesn’t have much fear of people. You can walk right up to them and they are studying you!
Cheers to you from the clever birds of Polynesia~

This video says about itself:

21 January 2015

An elephant calf makes an escape after it fell into a water storage pit in China’s Yunnan province on Tuesday. The calf tried to climb out of the two-metre-deep pit unsuccessfully before being found by local villagers. Police officers spent half an hour shovelling in earth to lower one of the sides of the pit, so the calf could climb out and return to the forest.

From daily The Independent in Britain:

Video: Baby elephant is rescued in China after getting stuck down a water pit

The elephant is believed to have been stuck in the pit for a day before being spotted

Jack Simpson

Thursday 22 January 2015

A baby elephant has been rescued after it fell into an empty water storage pit in south-west China.

The tiny calf is said to have become trapped after venturing near the pit next…

This video is called Birds of Morocco: Levaillant’s Green Woodpecker.

After earlier birdwatching in Morocco, here a recent report.

From The Birder and Biologist blog:

Monday, January 19, 2015

Morocco Trip Report Part 1: Dec 26-28, 2014

And so the adventure begins…my first trip to Africa, and going solo.

December 26, 2014

Day 1 was essentially a travel day, slowly making my way from Oxford to Marrakesh. It began with a quick cab ride from Littlemore to the downtown Oxford bus station, and then a relatively long 2-hour ride to London-Gatwick airport (thank goodness for Sudoku). I had about 3 hours to mill about the airport, so had some lunch, studied the bird guide a bit, and tallied five species from the airport windows: Common Wood-Pigeon, Eurasian Blackbird, Common Buzzard, and Eurasian Magpie.

That is four species; not five.

At 3:40pm my EasyJet

In Patagonia, Chile

This video from the USA says about itself:

Habitat Earth Trailer | California Academy of Sciences

13 January 2015

Discover what it means to live in today’s connected world with Habitat Earth, a new planetarium show at the California Academy of Sciences. Narrated by Frances McDormand, Habitat Earth uses cutting-edge science visualization to take you on an immersive, non-stop journey through Earth’s intricate living systems.

Dive with sea otters, explore the life forms hidden within soil, and migrate through the oceans with whales—all from within the world’s largest all digital planetarium dome. Opens January 16, 2015. Get tickets www.calacademy.org.

Related articles

• Cal Academy’s Newest Planetarium Show “Habitat Earth” Opening January 16!
• How Much Biodiversity Do You Know?
• Over 221 New Species Identified In 2014
• 221 new species described by the California Academy of Sciences in 2014
• Shark female found to hold sperms for almost…

January 2015 – OKLAHOMA – A spate of mysterious booms that has been shaking central Oklahoma returned for a second day Friday, again rattling houses and frightening livestock. Oklahoma Geological Survey research seismologist Austin Holland said a series of booms, much like a sonic boom, rattled the Norman area starting at 11:19 a.m. Friday. Numerous others had been reported Thursday in the same area at about the same time. Friday’s booms weren’t “quite as frequent” as Thursday’s, Holland said. “It’s quite interesting.” The windows of Anthony Young’s home in the town that’s the outskirts of Oklahoma City rattled. “We thought some nut was out here, you know, with explosives,” Young told KOCO-TV. “It sounded like thunder, you could feel the ground shake, but it was nothing like an earthquake” Both Holland and National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Day didn’t have an explanation for the booms.

No earthquakes have been recorded…

Across Australia – and the world – the future of large old trees is bleak and yet large trees support many species such as birds and small mammals, says Mr Darren Le Roux, a PhD student at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions… Source: phys.org

GR:  Urban forests are islands of extreme diversity. They include many species of native and exotic trees planted in yards and along streets. The trees offer varied habitat for many arboreal wildlife species. But as they grow, they threaten homes, power lines, sidewalks, and streets. As indicated by the student’s research reported in this article, urban residents and city planners undervalue the wildlife habitat provided by the trees.  Alternatives to pruning and removal are rarely considered.  In many cities, people burn or inter in garbage dumps the branches or trunks of trees that are pruned or removed.  We should pile such materials in…