General

Usutu virus now also infects birds in the Netherlands

Usutu virus detected for the first time in blackbirds and great grey owls in the Netherlands. Usutu virus was recently detected for the first time in the Netherlands but has been circulating in Europe for some time. To-date it has been identified in captive great grey owls (Strix nebulosa) and in living and dead blackbirds (Turdus merula). These findings have been reported by several research organisations including the DWHC and the Erasmus Medical Centre.

Merels in Gelderland, Noord-Brabant en Limburg leggen massaal het loodje vanwege dodelijk Usutu virus

De Vogelbescherming Nederland kreeg de laatste tijd al zeer veel meldingen van dode merels binnen en was dus al bang dat het Usutu-virus ook zou gaan toeslaan in Nederland. Onderzoek aan in Nederland dood gevonden merels heeft nu definitief uitgewezen dat het om het gevreesde Usutu-virus gaat. 'Het virus zorgde in 2012 nog bij onze Duitse buren voor een massale sterfte onder de merels en nu komen er talloze meldingen uit Gelderland, Noord-Brabant en Limburg', aldus de Vogelbescherming. Het Usutu-virus vindt zijn oorsprong in Afrika en wordt overgebracht door muggen.

Usutu-Ausbruch führt zum Massensterben heimischer Vogelarten

Das sogenannte Usutu-Virus hat in diesem Jahr erneut ein umfängliches Vogelsterben in Teilen Deutschlands ausgelöst. Der Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) berichtet von zahlreichen Meldungen toter Vögel. Die Ergebnisse von Virenforschern hätten eine Ausweitung des Ausbruchsgebiets bestätigt. Erstmals wurde das tropische Virus im Jahr 2010 in Stechmücken in Deutschland nachgewiesen. In den Jahren 2011 und 2012 folgte ein Massensterben unter heimischen Vögeln, insbesondere unter Amseln (Turdus merula), berichtet der NABU.

A parasite is killing Darwin’s finches on the Galápagos Islands

After almost two decades of observing Galápagos finches, Flinders University bird expert Professor Sonia Kleindorfer and Macquarie University biological sciences researcher Dr Rachael Dudaniec have released a new paper summarising the impacts of the lethal introduced fly parasite Philornis downsi in the Pacific Ocean islands.

Bird populations in steep decline in North America, study finds

North America has more than a billion fewer birds than it did 40 years ago, with the snowy owl and the chimney swift just two of the better-known species in dramatic decline across the continent, a recent survey has found. The total number of continental landbirds stands at about 10 billion, down from about 11.5 billion in 1970. The study’s authors – a range of academic, activist and government bodies in Canada and the United States – list 86 of North America’s roughly 450 breeding species as vulnerable, with some populations expected to be halved in a matter of decades.

Pesticides may hurt many songbirds by eliminating or poisoning the insects they eat

When I started with Save Our Seine, I was surprised by an unusual topic on every board agenda: "Things we have learned from nature." With recent news about mosquitoes, malathion, and the cosmetic use of herbicides, I would like to share things I learned from nature in 1981 that had a profound impact on me. Manitoba was in the midst of an outbreak of western equine encephalitis (WEE). Like West Nile virus, WEE is spread by infected mosquitoes. A DC-6 aircraft was brought in to quickly blanket the city with Baygon to reduce the mosquito population.

Scientists document a billion fewer landbirds in North America since 1970

A new analysis of the population status and trends of all landbirds in the continental U.S. and Canada documents widespread declines among 448 bird species — a troubling indicator of the health of these species and their ecosystems. According to the new Partners in Flight Landbird Conservation Plan, released August 15, nearly 20 percent of U.S. and Canadian landbird species are on a path toward endangerment and extinction in the absence of conservation action. Partners in Flight is a network of more than 150 partnering organizations throughout the Western Hemisphere.

21% of Europe's Bird Population Has Completely Disappeared Since 1980

According to a new study published in the journal Ecology Letters, Europe's bird population is under siege — and it's all our fault. Researchers found that the continent now has 421 million fewer birds than it did in the beginning of the 1980s. After studying 144 species, they concluded that the number dropped from a little over 2 billion birds in 1980 to just 1.64 billion in 2009. The main culprits, perhaps unsurprisingly, are humans — specifically, modern agriculture methods, reports the Agence France Presse. Nice going, everyone.

Wo sind die Wespen?

Ob beim Frühstück im Garten oder beim Eis essen auf dem Balkon: zumindest gefühlt stören dabei deutlich seltener Wespen. Aber stimmt das – gibt es in diesem Jahr wirklich weniger von den gelb-schwarzen Insekten? Oder sind sie nur spät dran? Das Gefühl trügt nicht, denn in diesem Jahr gibt es tatsächlich weniger Wespen. Das bestätigt auch die Hornissenbeauftragte Wega Kling vom Naturschutzbund (NABU) Saarland. Der Rückgang wird übrigens nicht nur am Kaffeetisch sichtbar, bisher gingen bei Wega Kling nur drei Beratungsanrufe von Bürgern ein.

There is the danger that we will only really take notice of insect decline when it is too late

There has been a lot of discussion about the decline in bee populations and its dire consequences for agriculture. We have also talked about the efforts to save the monarch butterfly, whose numbers have been dropping dramatically over the years. But the rest of the insect world does not get much attention. For the most part, we think of insects as a nuisance or as potential pests. A number of studies in recent years in Germany, Great Britain, and in the United States have concluded that many insect populations worldwide are in severe decline, and this is not a good thing.