Honduras trip report

One of the last things I expected to see on my trip to Honduras was a Prothonotary Warbler.
                                                   

But on our first full day of our visit, there he was, flitting between bushes at the lodge, looking for insects.

Prothonotary warblers are one of the many warblers who migrate from South America to nest in North America. They have nested on our land in southeast Texas, but I most commonly see them at High Island, a small town on the northern Texas coast world renowned among bird watchers as a great spot for spring migrants. There he was, a bird I could easily see at home.

Instead of being disappointed, I was thrilled to see that half-ounce bird on his way to my back yard! The amount of energy he has to expend to travel approximately one thousand miles is amazing, not to mention all the dangers he faces along the way, from wind turbines to loss of habitat.

Central American hummingbirds are amazingly colorful and acrobatic. We spent one day at a lodge with dozens of hummingbird feeders.

Although they are beautiful they are also quite aggressive as they defend their food sources. Several times one hummingbird literally knocked another out of the air, leaving it on the ground apparently unconscious for several moments. All of the victims did eventually wake up and fly off to continue their participation in the hummingbird wars. I've always thought if they weighed 5 pounds, we would all be scared to death of them.

The white-headed capuchin monkey sometimes rubs plants, ants or millipedes on its hair and skin, possibly as a protection from insects, ticks and parasites. They also use tools, such as sticks to hit snakes who try to catch their babies. One even used a squirrel monkey as a projectile by throwing it at a human. The one we photographed was quietly eating flowers.

The surprisingly weak scientific case for emotional support animals

A college student wanted to bring a hamster on a plane and then flushed it down an airport toilet after Spirit Airlines told her she wasn’t allowed to board with it. A United Airlines passenger attempted to get on a flight with a peacock. Another air traveler took a turkey on a plane. Yet another brought on a duck wearing red booties. Just Wednesday, a dog’s teeth scraped a little girl’s head on a Southwest Airlines flight.
                                                   

These were real events that happened in America: travelers toting “emotional support animals,” claiming they need the ESAs (which are distinct from service animals trained to help those with physical disabilities) to stay calm while flying. And there are more of them out there: in January, Delta reported that it carries around 700 service or support animals daily and has had to create a special support desk for them.

How is it legal to bring your duck on the plane? Under the federal Air Carrier Access Act, passengers are allowed to bring animals aboard by showing a letter from a mental health clinician or doctor asserting that the pet is part of their therapy. But the law is surprisingly vague about which species can come on board and gives airlines significant discretion. “You are never required to accommodate certain unusual service animals (e.g., snakes, other reptiles, ferrets, rodents, and spiders) as service animals in the cabin,” it reads.

Crossman’s research is about finding ways to reduce the mental health treatment gaps in America. “Traditional models of treatment therapy and medication reach a very small proportion of the people who actually need services,” she says.

And given that one in five Americans experience mental illness in a given year, she thinks animals are an intriguing option to help more people. They could also be crucial for combating the loneliness that comes with an aging population.

Iowa Animal Hoard Overwhelms Shelter With Up To 1,000 Sick Pets

The Cedar Valley Humane Society closed temporarily over the weekend as workers and volunteers continued health evaluation on hundreds of animals taken in after a seizure from a Vinton home on Jan. 16. Police and animal rescue officials found between 500 and 1,000 animals in poor health, along with many dead animals.
                                                 

Officials seized ailing rabbits, rats, mice, hedgehogs, chinchillas, turtles, fish, birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, and a ball python, according to the Vinton Police Department. "Several dead animals were found scattered throughout the residence in various states of decomposition or stored in a freezer," the department added in a news release.

Police said four children were living in the home. The parents "are currently cooperating with the Iowa Department of Human Services regarding the welfare of the children," police said.

The animals were removed by volunteers from the Cedar Valley Humane Society in Cedar Rapids, the Friends of the Shelter, and the Wild Thunder Animal Rescue. Police said a veterinarian assessed the condition of the residence and the animals and "determined that many of them were malnourished, dehydrated and were living in overcrowded conditions that were heavily contaminated with excessive amounts of fecal matter."

Police were initially sent to the home following a call about vicious animals and a nuisance. The investigation is ongoing and authorities said no decision has been made as to whether to file criminal charges or assess civil penalties.

Filming wildlife in one's backyard

Roy lives in central Oklahoma, in a forested area rich in biodiversity, in contrast to the flatter plains of Western Oklahoma.
                                               

Oklahoma -- including the land Roy has preserved and enhanced as prime bird habitat -- is located in the Central Flyway, a bird migration route followed by many species of warblers, vireos, buntings, grosbeaks and other species that winter in Central and South America and nest in North America. Many of these birds travel through his land, where they are rejuvenated as they migrate.

Roy's love of nature was nurtured by his veterinarian grandfather and his father, who was a naturalist and avid birder. By the age of five he was raising baby mourning doves and spending many hours each week with his father learning to observe, appreciate and understand nature. He says lesson one was "Sit down, shut up, quit moving and just watch."

Think about how much better off we would be if we all took that advice. Not only would we learn to appreciate other organisms, but we might even realize they have just as much right to survive, raise their families, and live in peace as we do.

We might even come to recognize how much we have in common with them.

By the time he was 10 years old he was doing field work with Dr. George M. Sutton, world-renowned artist, writer, explorer and professor of ornithology at the University of Oklahoma.

Roy's photography career began almost by accident. For his birthday one year, his wife helped him dig a pond on their heavily-forested land. Birds began showing up at the pond almost immediately, including some he couldn't identify. He got a video camera so he could have a record of the new ones and learned to recognize them. Since then he has identified more than 150 species on his land.

Over the years his career has evolved, and now includes successful television programs such as "The Birds of Roy's Pond," which depicts a wide range of birds, including spotted towhees, American goldfinches, pine siskins, summer tanagers, great-crested flycatchers, brown thrashers, gray catbirds, cardinals, Carolina chickadees, tufted titmice, and a number of warblers -- as well as a thriving business of photographing his birds on bird feeders for companies who manufacture and sell feeders.

Although he has filmed all over the U.S., he prefers to highlight the rich diversity of birds and other wildlife in Oklahoma. Neher says, "Although I live and breathe wildlife conservation, my programs don't beat people over the head with the gloomy forecast for the future of wildlife. Instead, I prefer to entertain my viewers with beautiful images and the joy of observing these wonderful creatures."

DNA kit set to boost fight against wildlife crime

The Department of Environmental Affairs has launched a DNA barcoding kit to help officials to combat wildlife crime.
                                         

The kit was produced in partnership with the International Barcode of Life Project (iBOL) and University of Johannesburg (UJ).

Known as LAB-IN-A-BOX, the kit makes rapid species identification possible for border officials within a few hours.

The LAB-IN-A-BOX launch took place at the opening of the seventh iBOL conference, which ends on Friday. This is the first time that this event is held on the African continent with the venue of choice being the Kruger National Park, which is home to the big five.

Much like barcodes on consumer items such as food cans at a supermarket, the DNA barcoding kit gives information such as the type of species, access to information on their biology, ecology and socio-economic significance.

Training on how to use the kit will be provided by the African Centre for DNA Barcoding (ACDB) at UJ.

Usually, a sample gets taken and sent to a laboratory to find out what animal or plant species is involved. This can take days. However, LAB-IN-A-BOX is set to change this by making it possible to rapidly analyse DNA from an animal or plant at the port of entry, with reliable results.

The department said this make a whole new range of enforcement responses become possible.

According to LAB-IN-A-BOX creator, Sujeevan Ratnasingham, in developing countries where inspectors at ports of entry may have limited knowledge and expertise, the need for rapid DNA identification is even more pressing.

"Many threatened animals and plants are trafficked out of developing countries, which do not have adequate resources to combat these crimes. LAB-IN-A-BOX aims to improve the situation by addressing two challenges - rapid detection and successful prosecution. It does this by reducing the cost of adopting DNA analysis infrastructure and by simplifying usage of DNA analysis tools.”

The kit will allow for the tracking of animals and is certain to improve capacity to care for endangered species.

Study Finds Dogs Are Kept Awake At Night Worrying, Too

Have trouble dozing off at night after a stress-filled day? You're not alone.
                                             

Our furry canine pals are also more likely to have a disturbed night's sleep after a day of anxiety, new research has shown.

Hungarian researchers monitored the sleep patterns of pet dogs after "positive" experiences -- like being patted by their owner and playing games -- and "negative" experiences, such as being separated from their owner and approached threateningly by a stranger.

Unsurprisingly, the dogs' personalities affected the way they responded, with more playful pooches less likely to be stressed out by being approached by a stranger than their shyer counterparts.

But overall, the doggos who'd been exposed to stressful experiences didn't sleep as well, spent more time in REM sleep (the active sleep stage characterised by increased heart rate) and woke up more quickly.

The findings were published on Wednesday in The Royal Society scientific journal.

Interestingly, the anxious dogs actually fell asleep faster than their chilled-out counterparts, despite not sleeping as well. The researchers attributed this to something called stress-induced quiescence -- a protective sleep in response to stress.

"(This is) a phenomenon that can be induced by several stressors, and that can also be observed as part of the human immune response during sickness," they wrote.

So don't forget to say goodnight to your four-legged pal tonight -- it just might help them sleep tight.