Wednesday, April 25, 2012

In the news: Birds in trouble


Patients get to wing it

Antigo - The osprey cradled in Marge Gibson's arms wasn't dumb, but he was very lucky.
He didn't know his perch at a landfill in Marathon County was a methane gas burner. When flames shot up from the burner earlier this month, the osprey was badly burned and most of his feathers were singed, leaving his white wings looking like broken, discarded umbrellas.
Then came the luck.
Close to death, he was taken to the Raptor Education Group Inc. center on the outskirts of Antigo. There, he was tube fed, given fluids and kept in a darkened box to recuperate. He'll be a patient for at least a year until he molts, growing back the feathers burned away, and then released into the wild.
"Poor little guy. He migrated to Central or South America and had just come back to Wisconsin when this happened," said Gibson, holding the osprey's feet as he lay on an examining table.


..................

and, not unrelated, this: 


Oconomowoc School Board
confirms teacher layoffs ('non-renewal')

Our reading of this news in the Waukesha Freeman
suggests a very brave girl testifying on behalf
of her fellow students who do not want to see
their beloved teachers terminated.

We note she is being listened to when the camera clicked
not with high intensity by school board members.
Still, she appears to stand her ground
and reportedly spoke her piece well
without compromising emotion.





(Waukesha Freeman photo)




.....................


"Blackbird singing in the dead of night................"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDxfjUEBT9I
Posted by at