Dot Shot: Amphibians in Suburbia - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com

amphibians in a pocket-park...
BTW the robins-eggshell he photographed is a natural hatch; parents carry them of + drop them, so that the white exterior does not draw airborne predators or attract other unwanted attention to their nest or hatchlings.
the author thinks it is a sad story - i know it is another infant, somewhere...

probably the same nest they flushed the incubating hen from.

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

why the hell take it into captivity?

Why not just take it to where its species naturally occurs and release it there? (ok a spell in captivity to ensure its not harbouring something nasty from the city... but still capture and release. If they were that concerned for its safety then thats what they should have done.

Appalling!

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precisely taking the bird to the Southwest where they arrive annually, and turning him loose after banding him,
would have meant one more bird out there making babies...

instead of sitting ALONE in a bloody mixed aviary of other tropic species. i think its criminal.

there are western-species hummers that are arriving more + more often along the eastern seaboard, and they unfortunately arrive in fall - and are marooned here until Spring.
if they have feeders with pollen + insect enriched food, NOT plain sugar, AND a heated area to roost at night, they can make it thru the winter outside - or they can be brought into a sunporch for the winter, turned loose come spring, and they do just fine.

the theory is that the harder winds (prevailing westerlies) are driving hummers with more force, and they are stuck here because they arrive too late to follow the fading blooms south.
friends of mine are very experienced + knowledgeable hummer-specialists, they average 5 birds each winter as fosters.

- t

Wildlife Extra News - First ever record of Ocelot from Arizona

ocelot went on the Endangered-Species List in the USA in 1972 -
it has been DECADES since there has been definitive proof of their presence.

welcome home, cat... we missed ya.

Purple Heron - BirdForum Opus

at least one of these striking birds is in Britain, now; perhaps more than one, as there have been 2 sightings.

Actually I do believe there is a nesting pair at one of the RSPB sites. I can't remember off hand which one though, sorry!