IvorybilledWoodPecker: All Birders' Adventures, Ivory-bill Sightings, Products & Press

Best Time of the Year to Feed Birds:

2010-01-07T08:24:00.000-08:00

This time of the year, our featherly friends do not have enough foods. As the Winter months continue, less and less food is available to them. This is when these birds that grace our back yard with beautiful songs every morning need our help.

From your backyard to your office, think about putting food for them. These birds depend on us to help them out.

Would you like to help out? After all, what would be life without birds?

The Effects of Electro Magnetic Waves on Honeybees and Migratory Birds

2009-12-16T17:47:00.000-08:00

Studies have brought out evidence to support the theory of colony collapse disorder (CCD) among honeybees due to bioactive microwave radiation from cell phones and their relay towers.
Recent experiments have found that worker bees fail to return to their hives when their navigation skills are interfered by the mobile microwaves. Cell phones were placed near beehives. These hives collapsed totally in 5 to 10 days, with the worker bees failing to return to their homes.
The radiation also causes damage to the nervous system of the bee and it becomes unable to fly.
The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.
The phenomenon of CCD and resultant crop loss were first noticed in the U.S. several years ago, but it had spread to most European countries by 2007.
Sources: The Pioneer September 18, 2009
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
The threat of losing entire honeybee colonies is far more serious than just a farmer losing his livelihood or you having to go without honey for a while.
Honeybees are critical components of agriculture, used to pollinate many of the nuts, fruits and vegetables that feed the world.
A full one-third of the U.S. food supply depends on pollination from bees. Apple orchards, for instance, require one colony of bees per acre to be adequately pollinated. The California almond crop alone requires 1.3 million colonies of bees, and bees actually add an estimated $15 billion in value to crops like these.
So if bee colonies continue to be wiped out in unprecedented numbers, major food shortages could result, adding to the current food crisis.
In an average year, beekeepers expect to incur losses of between 5 and 10 percent. But in 2007, U.S. beekeepers surveyed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service reported a total loss of about 36 percent of their bee colonies, up from 13.5 percent the year before.
When nature’s pollinators start to mysteriously die off, it is a major clue that something is out of balance. This mysterious malady has been dubbed “colony collapse disorder” (CCD), and while a definitive cause has yet to be determined it seems cell phones may be playing a role.
How Cell Phone Towers Could be Killing Bees
Early findings pointed to a virus, a fungus or a pesticide as the most likely suspects in CCD, however it’s hard to ignore the research from at least two studies that point to cell phones as a major threat.
When cellular phones were placed near hives, the radiation generated by them (900-1,800 MHz) was enough to prevent bees from returning to them, according to a study conducted at Landau University.
Scientists believe the radiation produced by cellular phones may be enough to interfere with the way bees "communicate" with their hives. Cellular phones may create a resonance effect that interferes with the movement patterns bees use as a kind of language.
Most recently, experiments by Sainuddeen Pattazhy, a researcher and dean in the department of zoology at SN College, Punalur, Kerala, also found that microwaves from mobile phones appear to interfere with worker bees’ navigation skills.
When Pattazhy placed mobile phones near beehives, the hives collapsed completely in five to 10 days. The worker bees failed to return home and vanished, never to be found. Adding to the mystery, parasites, wildlife and other bees, which would normally raid the abandoned hives, would not go near the collapsed colonies. Pattazhy said:
“The navigation skill of the worker bees is dependent on the earth’s magnetic properties. The electro-magnetic waves emitted by the mobile phones and relay towers interfere with the earth’s magnetism, resulting in the loss of the navigation capacity of the bee. Then it fails to come back. Also, the radiation causes damage to the nervous system of the bee and it becomes unable to fly.”
A Combination of Deadly Factors?
Cell phones appear to be a likely threat to bees around the globe, but there may be a cumulative effect going on that is making it more and more difficult for bees to survive, let alone thrive.
For instance, tens of billions of bees are transported across the United States to pollinate oranges, almonds and other food crops. Though the pollination is a normal part of nature, transporting bees thousands of miles in the backs of trucks to a new location is not. Some experts believe this process is stressing bees, quite literally, to death.
Other possible causes of colony collapse disorder have also been pinpointed:
* Pesticides
* Genetically modified crops
* Micro-organisms that compromise the immune system
* High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), frequently used for feeding by certain bee farmers
Most researchers are pointing to a combination of the above factors. For instance, Penn State scientists analyzed pollen, beeswax, adult bees and larvae and found dozens of chemicals, including pesticides, present. These chemicals, especially when combined with these other stresses, are more than capable of overwhelming the delicate system of the honeybee.
What Does This Mean for YOU?
Just as you are bombarded with toxic chemicals from the air you breathe, to the soil your food is grown in, to the toiletries you use and the water you drink, bees are the true canaries in the coal mine, showing us what’s in store for you and me if we don’t clean up our act on several fronts.
And this includes the use of cell phones.
Wireless technology is already being linked to the death of migratory birds and numerous well-researched studies show that brain damage from cell phone radiation may be a fast-approaching new epidemic.
If the disappearance of honeybees, and its corresponding threat to the world’s food supply is not enough to make you think twice about holding a mobile phone to your head, perhaps this will:
Last year, a well-circulated Swedish study found that people using cell phones doubled their risk of developing brain cancer and acoustic neuroma (a tumor that damages your hearing nerve).
The study also showed that people who started using cell phones before the age of 20 were more than five times as likely to develop brain cancer.
So maybe it’s time to realize that the honeybees losing their way is not an isolated event. It’s a sign that the very fragile ecosystem we all depend on to survive is not quite balanced. Something is off kilter and it’s time to determine what it is … and then restore that balance as quickly as possible.
And in the meantime, I suggest you take the problems facing the honeybees as a major warning sign, and learn what you can do to protect yourself now.
Source: Mercola.com

Are Honeybees and Migratory Birds Being Killed by Electromagnetic Radiation from Cell Phone Towers?

2009-12-16T17:43:00.000-08:00

One out of every three bites of food that we consume is due to the work of honeybees, serving as crucial pollinators. Yet our food supply may be severely impacted by the recently identified Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) syndrome that has annually wiped out more than 30% of all honeybees from 2005 to today!

In light of the mounting evidence that new seed chemical coatings are deadly to bees, Sierra Club has been urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the use of specific chemical treatments to protect our bees and crops until more study can be done.

At issue are the nicotinyl insecticides (also known as neonicotinoids) being used in a new way -- as seed coatings. For years, farmers have been spraying neonicotinoids onto their crops to stop insect infestation. Now huge agribusiness corporations have acquired patents to coat their proprietary corn seeds with these neonicotinoids. These “neonics” are extremely persistent. They enter the plant and are present in pollen and on droplets of water on leaves.

Federal agencies in France, Germany and Italy have already taken responsible regulatory actions to suspend use of these pesticides based on the best available scientific evidence. Strikingly, honeybee populations in Italy immediately rebounded when these chemicals were suspended!

The State of California has required that almost all 282 nicotinyl pesticide products be immediately re-evaluated because of toxic concentrations in pollen and nectar, and high residual concentrations in soil. Unfortunately, the EPA is moving too slowly to take action to suspend nicotinyl pesticides.

The Sierra Club Genetic Engineering Action Team has been asking the EPA to suspend use of nicotinyl insecticides until the EPA obtains scientific evidence that sublethal effects do not cause harm to America's critically important honey bees. This has fallen on deaf ears. Now it's time for every citizen to make their voice heard!

We urge the American public to view the outstanding documentary entitled Nicotine Bees. Producer/Directors Kevin Hansen and Krista Keenan did a superb job researching, interviewing and splicing together an extraordinary story on the CCD problem. We suggest showing the 45-minute film at organizational meetings, home parties, classrooms and community events. Then add your voice to our demands to protect our pollinators!
Without a doubt, Nicotine Bees is a must see for every family, school and library to have!

One of the Top Binoculars used by Birders: Which one do you use?

2005-10-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Birding Trails that promote tourism

2005-10-17T23:21:00.000-07:00

Alabama Coastal Birding Trail

Connecticut River Birding Trail

Lake Champlain Birding Trail

Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail

Central Coast, San Joaquin Valley Birding Trail

What Others are saying about the Ivory Bill

2005-10-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

Here's an excerpt from Ivorybill.org:

"'Finding the ivory-bill in Arkansas validates decades of great conservation work and represents incredible hope for the future,” said Scott Simon, director of The Nature Conservancy's Arkansas chapter. “For over 20 years, many agencies, conservation organizations, hunters, and landowners have worked to conserve and restore the bottomland hardwood and swamp ecosystem. Now we know we must work even harder to conserve this critical habitat—not just for the ivory-billed woodpecker, but for the black bears and many other rare species of these unique woods.'"

If you want to read more about the bird, don't hesitate to visit ivorybill.org. Lots of info there!

Ivory Bill Rediscovered in Arkansas

2005-10-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

This was not any story. This was the main story of the morning for me. The Ivory bill Wood Pecker was found. In Arkansas. A week or so later, 60 Minutes presents a story on the bird. The Lord God Bird!

"Morning Edition, April 28, 2005 · A group of wildlife scientists believe the ivory-billed woodpecker is not extinct. They say they have made seven firm sightings of the bird in central Arkansas. The landmark find caps a search that began more than 60 years ago, after biologists said North America’s largest woodpecker had become extinct in the United States."

Source: NPR

http://www.npr.org

As far as CBS is concerned, here's how Ed Bradley reports the story.

"The ivory-billed woodpecker’s resurrection is an amazing story — not just about the bird but the people who are obsessed with it. It’s also a story involving extraordinary luck, secrecy, millions of dollars and months of searching a forest in eastern Arkansas looking for a flying needle in a haystack.

All that’s left of the “Big Woods” — a forest that once covered 24 million acres and stretched from Memphis, Tenn., to Little Rock — is some 500,000 acres in Arkansas. The spectacular swamps and hardwood forests of the South were once home to the ivory-billed woodpecker."

Source: CBs
href="http://www.cbsnews.com

The Ivory-Bill, The Lord God Bird is Found in Arkansas

2005-10-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

This is a bird that is not like any other birds. It's a bird that was not seen for 60 years. Then, after lots of expeditions to the marshes of the South, or precisely the waters of Arkansas, the White River. Since the bird was rediscovered by a group of researchers, it has been featured in countless radio and TV programs. In fact, it now has its own festivals. NPR and 60 Minutes devote segments to the Ivory-billed Wood Pecker. All birders are in paradise. They want to see this bird. If you are not a birder, you may not understand this. I have been one all my life. I am now in heaven.

Welcome to Ivory-billed Wood Pecker: All Birders' Adventures

2005-10-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

If you are a birder, you care about all birds. If this wood pecker is sighted once more, it is to the delight of all birders. We hope to connect with all birders all over the world to celebrate the return of this important wood pecker.

Let us know about your experience with the bird, news about it, products and merchandises. Send them our way. Show us how you are celebrating the return of this bird.

The Ivory-billed Wood Pecker in its Glory

2005-10-16T20:20:00.000-07:00