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Posted: 28-10-2011 17:06 Post subject:

5ft bird sprints through town after escaping from farm
A 5ft bird causesd havoc in a residential area after escaping from a farm - because it had been spooked by a fox.
8:41AM BST 28 Oct 2011

The rhea bird - which is similar to an ostrich - ran almost three miles from a farm on the outskirts of Blackburn, Lancashire.
The South-American rhea was seen running around the Cherry Tree area of the town at around 8.15am on Thursday.

Adam Mazur, 13, was doing his paper round when the bird crossed his path.
He said: "It was right in front of me running really fast with its wings up. It just went across the road and ran down Feniscliffe Drive. I went home and told my mum I'd seen a giant bird but she wouldn't believe me." Cool

The bird's escape was finally stopped when it entered the garden of Tom Ansbro, 82, of Feniscliffe Drive. He said: "I couldn't believe my eyes.
It circled a couple of times and then stopped in our back garden."

Police then contacted Heath Kershaw, of Wellybobs Farm Park, Darwen, to deal with the situation.
He and colleague Karen Rostron managed to wrestle the bird into a trailer and calmed it by placing a hood over its head.

Farmer Michael Greenwood, who keeps around 50 of the flightless birds at Moorland Farm, Billinge End Road, Pleasington, said he was delighted to be 'rhea-united' with the bird.
He said: "I think she must have been spooked by a dog or fox and escaped. She's fine apart from a couple of grazes on her legs."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8855254/5ft-bird-sprints-through-town-after-escaping-from-farm.html

Posted: 03-11-2011 09:23 Post subject:

Twitchers baffled by Bufflehead's arrival
9:09am Wednesday 2nd November 2011

This duck had an excuse for looking slightly lost last week as it found itself thousands of miles from home when it landed in a small pool on The Lizard.
The Bufflehead is normally found in North America, and is not believed to have been seen in Cornwall before.

It was spotted last Wednesday, but had moved on once more by Friday.
It is thought it could have been swept across the Atlantic after being caught in a storm while trying to migrate to Mexico for the winter.
The diving duck was photographed by Mike Barker on the small pool close to Housel Bay.

He said: “It is an extremely rare bird to the West Country and a possible first for Cornwall.”
He added: “This is the second one I have seen; the last being an adult male that stayed on Roadford Reservoir in Devon for a couple of months at the end of 1999.

“The Bufflehead is a migratory duck in North America, spending its winter as far South as Mexico.
“Considerable numbers of American migrant birds get caught in storms that sweep across the Atlantic.”

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/9338738.Twitchers_baffled_by_Bufflehead_s_arrival/

Posted: 14-11-2011 21:41 Post subject:

Posted: 07-12-2011 09:21 Post subject:

Killer whales seen off Cornwall coast

Two killer whales have been seen off a headland in north Cornwall, a naturalist has reported.
Dom Clarke, 25, saw what he believed was a mother and calf about 100m off Trevose Head, near Padstow.
Mr Clarke saw the whales on 26 November while walking his dog. He said he was "amazed" with his find.

A spokesperson from Cornwall Wildlife Trust said the species was an "occasional visitor" although it was not reported every year.

Mr Clarke lives on Trevose Head and runs an adventure business called Explore the Shore.
He saw the whales at about 11:30 GMT.
"At the time they were heading south along the coast about 100m off the headland and 500m from the beach. It was pretty special.
"I walk around the area every day and it was beautiful to see these large marine mammals off shore.
"I'm so interested in anything oceanographic and I've never seen them here before. I was just amazed to see them."

The wildlife trust confirmed there had been a few reported sightings of killer whales off Cornwall this autumn.

Killer whales are also known as orcas, can grow up to 32ft (9.7m) in length and weigh up to nine tonnes.
They are mainly found around Iceland, Norway and northern Scotland, but occasionally seen as far south as the Atlantic coasts of Spain and Portugal.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-16050956

Posted: 07-12-2011 15:13 Post subject:

Saw this on TV earlier apparently one paper is running a warning to stay out of the water. North Cornwall not far from me I'd love them to turn up here.

Posted: 08-12-2011 00:53 Post subject:

Posted: 09-12-2011 01:32 Post subject:

Better than that we've got a pub on the cliff top overlooking a bay (where Gwen's, or whatever her name is, house is in Torchwood) where a lot of the local marine mammals hang out. Sit there and watch someone else get lucky.

If that fails and nothing turns up, you can always point out to sea and watch the tourists desperately trying to see what it is you spotted.

Posted: 10-12-2011 18:28 Post subject:

Posted: 14-12-2011 18:01 Post subject:

Posted: 17-12-2011 13:14 Post subject:

A python found dead :

http://www.francetv.fr/info/live/message/4ee/4d1/1d1/cc6/f04/388/003/7b3.html

On saturday 10 December, in Sassenage, near Grenoble, a resident who was pruning his tree, a weeping willow, was stunned when he saw a big spotted snake wrapped around branches. He called the firefighters, who climbed the tree to catch the reptile. They found it was dead, probably from cold. According to Le dauphiné libéré (11.12.2011), the snake, at 2.15 m long, was identified as a python belonging to the genus liasis, native from Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia. The firefighters brought it to a veterinary surgeon, in hope that he could find a chip allowing to identify its owner.

Posted: 17-12-2011 13:31 Post subject:

Crocodile found in box outside Wolverhampton pet shop

A pet shop in the West Midlands is trying to find a new home for a young crocodile thought to have been abandoned on its doorstep.
The South American crocodile, which could grow to 2.5m (8ft) long, was found in a plastic box outside Wickid Pets, Wolverhampton, earlier this week.

Owner Jimmy Wicks said legally bought crocodiles had to be microchipped.
"This has been scanned and there's no chip in it and so it's obviously come through the black market," he said.
He hopes to find a new home for the female crocodile, who is four or five years old and currently a metre long, at a local safari park.

Bob Lawrence, Director of Wildlife at West Midlands Safari Park, said people often bought exotic pets without realising what they were taking on.
"It's people like us and the RSPCA who have to pick up the pieces once they become unmanageable or escape," he said.

Mr Wicks said it was not the first time the shop had had to look after an abandoned crocodile.
"It's the fourth one we've had in 18 months Shocked

and so now when we see a plastic box we have to approach it with caution," he said.

He said they had also had to find homes for turtles, birds of prey, snakes, and lizards that had been left outside the shop.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-16230521

Posted: 24-12-2011 17:04 Post subject:

Hurricane Katia blows North American birds to Cornwall
By Chris Ellis, BBC News Online, South West

An "exceptional number" of North American birds have been seen in Cornwall after being blown off course by a hurricane, an organisation said.
This autumn, 18 species native to the Americas were seen compared to 10 in 2010 and seven in 2009, the Cornwall Birding Association said.
Hurricane Katia, which affected the East Coast of the US in early autumn, was behind the "influx", it added.

The RSPB said some good species had arrived this autumn in the south west.
The association's Paul Freestone said: "We have certainly had an excellent autumn with an exceptional number of American vagrants.
"The hurricane created ideal conditions for pushing migrating American landbirds across the Atlantic to our shores."

Species reported in Cornwall from the Americas between August and November included wading birds such as the lesser yellowlegs and spotted sandpiper and small birds like the scarlet tanager and red-eyed vireo.

Tony Whitehead, from the RSPB, said the combination of birds migrating across the Americas and the weather system had caused them to arrive in the UK.
"The birds will arrive exhausted, with some surviving for a while and living amongst similar UK species, but many will die shortly after they arrive," he added.

Mr Freestone said the number of each species that reached Cornwall this year had increased compared to autumns of 2009 and 2010, with most species arriving around or shortly after the hurricane hit the East Coast of the US.

During the autumn, there were about 20 separate reports of a wading bird that migrates from North to South America, called a buff breasted sandpiper.
The species was seen at various locations in Cornwall, including at Marazion, Wadebridge and the Lizard, he said.
This was compared to three in 2010 and two in 2009.

The rarities were reported and counted by birdwatchers throughout the season and collated by the association.
Two species seen this autumn, a wading bird called a greater yellowlegs and a songbird called the scarlet tanager, have both only ever been recorded in Cornwall on one other occasion, Mr Freestone said.

Hurricane Katia caused large waves and strong winds off the East Coast of the US.
The remnants of the hurricane caused storm-force winds and heavy rain to affect areas of the UK in September.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-16088864

Posted: 10-01-2012 13:33 Post subject:

Saw the beginning of this programme last night;

Ball Cutter Fish Kills Fishermen by Biting off Their Testicles
By Sumitra on January 6th, 2012 Category: Animals, News

Posted: 10-01-2012 13:39 Post subject:

What with this Ball Cutter Fish, and a reputed spider the size of a small dog -- I have totally removed New Guinea from my list of possible holiday destinations. (I gather that the human inhabitants can be a bit dodgy, too.)

Posted: 10-01-2012 13:40 Post subject: