THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Who needs Capistrano when we have Lake Ouachita?

If you were planning a pilgrimage to California to see the swallows return to Capistrano, forget it. The swallows did not return this year.

The birds flew past the historic mission of San Juan Capistrano, 16 lanes of traffic and smog-filled horizons of Los Angeles to build homes on the eaves of a golf course clubhouse. There, greens keepers busy themselves by destroying the swallows’ nests. (more…)

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MANILA, Ark. — The massive oil leak off Louisiana’s Gulf Coast has resulted in lower water levels at Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas, hundreds of miles to the north.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials who run the 11,000-acre refuge between Blytheville and Paragould in northeast Arkansas have drawn down the water to offer migratory birds an enticing habitat that the officials hope will encourage the birds to stay longer.

A longer stay at Big Lake, wildlife officials say, could keep the birds from flying further south to the Gulf Coast, where they might be harmed by the oil contamination. (more…)

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE
RESCUE IN THE ROCK

Kiwi, store parrot for Little Rock’s Premium Pet Products, liked to help customers shop, perching himself on a shoulder and chattering away.

But Kiwi’s social behavior may have contributed to his demise July 13 when a patron’s Irish setter attacked and killed the lilac-crowned Amazon parrot who had called the store home nine and a half of his 10 years.

“It’s really quiet in here now,” said Premium Pets Assistant Manager Lauren Ratley. (more…)

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TEXARKANA, Ark. — Two organizations have asked a federal judge to halt construction of a $1.7 billion coal-fired power plant initially designed to supply power to electric customers in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.

Audubon Arkansas and the Sierra Club said Monday construction of the Southwestern Electric Power Co. plant is destroying wetlands. Owners of a hunting club near the plant site sued previously to stop construction — also on environmental grounds.

Audubon and the Sierra Club say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should not have issued water permits to the plant and an emergency court order is needed to prevent immediate danger. (more…)

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CROSBY, Texas — A tip led animal rescue personnel to about 1,000 dogs, rabbits, hamsters and birds in dirty, cramped conditions in northeast Harris County.

Meera Nandlal, with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the home in the Crosby area was raided Thursday night.

Nandlal says the animals, allegedly for sale to pet stores, were found in cages and left in storage sheds. She says many did not have adequate food and water. (more…)

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE

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Watching our little avian neighbors enjoy the backyard birdbath and feeder is one of life’s quiet pleasures. But when night falls, they too need a place to sleep.

Designers and craftsmen have turned their creative talents to the task; some of the results might make you wish you could downsize yourself and grow some wings.

First, some general tips about choosing and installing birdhouses: (more…)

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LITTLE ROCK — Authorities say they’ve raided a cockfighting ring at a Saline County home.

Lt. Mike Frost of the county Sheriff’s Office says officers received a tip about the ring. He says when deputies arrived, they found 25 roosters, the ring and other fighting materials. Officers seized about $3,800.

Frost says two men escaped and authorities are looking for them.

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FORT JACKSON, La. — The bird bath to remove crude oil started with a canola oil rinse. The lighter oil helped break up the crude blackening the brown pelican from beak to tail, bird rescuer Rebecca Dunne explained to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Saturday.

The bird was still black as it went into the first of four deep sinks full of soapy water at pelican body heat of 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Even beak and pouch had to be soaped and rinsed, to keep the bird from swallowing more oil or getting oil back onto its feathers by post-bath preening.

It was a job for three people. At times, one held the beak, another held the body and a third held a wing outstretched for scrubbing or rinsing. All wore bright blue waterproof suits, yellow, shoulder-length waterproof gloves and rubber boots. Their shirts and pants were wet after the 35-minute bath and rinse — sweat, said Dunne, of Newark, Del.-based Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, contracted by BP to lead the operation. (more…)

THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Bird lovers can help nesting birds and prevent circumstances that lead to babies falling from the nest into harm’s way.

Use bird houses that are protected with predator shields.

Keep pets indoors during nesting season, April through August. (more…)

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OCALA, Fla. — Hundreds of dead animals have been found at an Ocala-area home.

An official at the Marion County Animal Center says 348 dead animals, mostly just skeletal remains, were found across the property, as well as in cages, in feed bags and in plastic bags stuffed in the owner’s freezer. Another 375 animals were found alive but malnourished.

The live animals included 151 dogs and 156 birds as well as cattle, tortoises, cats, hamsters, sheep, horses, rabbits and lizards. (more…)

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NEW YORK (AP) — An animal welfare group wants New York City prosecutors to investigate boxing great Mike Tyson’s upcoming reality television show about pigeon racing.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals alleges the Brooklyn-based show is cruel to animals. It says races likely will involve illegal gambling.

The show will follow Tyson as he competes in pigeon races. The former world heavyweight champ has raised pigeons all his life but is a racing rookie. (more…)

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Police have been assigned to investigate the case of the spray-painted chickens.

A Carnegie Mellon University police detective has been assigned to help investigate the discovery on campus of nine malnourished farm chickens, some apparently spray-painted, the school says.

The Thursday statement came as an upstate New York wildlife sanctuary offered to take the birds in, said Beth McMaster, a wildlife rehabilitator on whose Butler County farm the birds have been receiving care since they were discovered over the weekend. (more…)

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ROBINSON, Texas — As the area’s only licensed wildlife rehabilitator, Jane Thomas cares each year for 600 to 800 battered, bloodied and needy animals that otherwise wouldn’t have a prayer.

Hawks that slam into 18-wheelers. Deer tangled in shredders. Pelicans shot by children given a gun for Christmas.

For the past 32 years, the 54-year-old Thomas has spent her days wrapping broken limbs, cleaning foul-smelling cages and chopping up meat and vegetables to feed a variety of animals — from bobcats and deer to baby rabbits and roadrunners. (more…)

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LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Authorities say nearly 2,000 hens and roosters have been confiscated from a two-block area in Los Angeles as part of an ongoing cockfighting investigation.

Los Angeles police Officer Cleon Joseph says officers and animal services workers spent ten hours Wednesday removing the birds from the rural area of residential trailers and ranch-style homes in the Sylmar area.

Items used for cockfighting were also seized. (more…)

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ST. CLAIR, Mo. — Nearly 125 animals living in filthy conditions have been rescued from an eastern Missouri property.

The Humane Society of Missouri said Thursday it and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department rescued 102 domestic rabbits, three dogs, five cats, a guinea pig, three baby goats, four hens, two roosters, two pigeons, and two ducks.

It said the rabbits were housed in feces-filled, wire-bottom cages without shelter. The dogs and fowl had no shelter or water. (more…)

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SEATTLE — Alone, in the middle of Sylvia Lake, swims a prince without his princess.

For 25 years, Prince, a mute swan, has called Sylvia Lake home, and up until December 2007 he shared his days and nights with Princess. The two did everything together in this Gig Harbor community, including entertaining the locals, scaring away obnoxious Canada geese and hobnobbing with their duck friends.

Gordon Golob, who lives on the lake, remembers how Princess used to knock on his back door every morning to let him know she was ready for breakfast, while Prince would hang back and wait for his share. (more…)

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CORBIN, Ky. — An animal rights group that frequently targets fast-food chain KFC says it wants to erect a statue crafted from chicken droppings to protest a proposed bronze statue of restaurant founder Colonel Harland Sanders.

The request from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, was e-mailed to Corbin Main Street Manager Sharae Myers on Monday. (more…)

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NEENAH, Wis. — A year ago, Jake the rooster confounded Neenah officials. Now a household of exotic birds has city officials scratching for answers.

At issue is the Roseberry Bird Rescue, a nonprofit organization that cares for as many as 125 abandoned, abused or neglected birds until they can be rehabilitated and adopted.

The business has operated for 15 years from the home of MaryKay Rosenow and Randy Berryman, but it has been in violation of city zoning codes from the start. (more…)

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ALBANY, Ore. — On the afternoon before the Oregon Ducks beat the Oregon State Beavers in the annual Civil War football game, a male mallard was found in Albany, spray-painted Beavers’ orange with its legs duct-taped together.

The duck survived, but its feathers no longer shed water. If set free, it couldn’t swim.

“Insane,” said Jeff Picton, executive director of the nonprofit Chintimini Wildlife Center, where the bird must spend the winter. (more…)