Avian News from Around the Nation

Bald eagle (Photo: US Fish & Wildlife Service)

Here’s our monthly sampling of avian intelligence from around the nation:

Rhode Island: Pleas for seeds
A Rhode Island animal control officer no longer has to worry about garnering enough food for more than 30 parakeets confiscated last week from a local pet store.

After pleading with the people of Rhode Island, Scott Goodwin of the Department of Environmental Management, received enough donated birdseed to last a year, despite the birds’ voracious appetites, reported The Providence Journal.

The Department of Environmental Management said it removed the birds from Creatures, Creatures, Creatures in North Smithfield because they didn’t have the appropriate state-required breeder-identification bands. According to the Journal, none of the parakeets appeared ill or mistreated when DEM took them into custody.

Wisconsin: Have (and save) a heart
A non-profit raptor education organization has asked hunters this season to save and donate deer hearts to help treat sick and injured birds, the Wausau Daily Herald reported Sunday. Because of their high muscle and protein content, hearts work well for birds, Raptor Education Group Inc. (REGI) Executive Director Marge Gibson told the paper.

Four area meat markets will collect the hearts—which will feed 65 birds, including 15 bald eagles—for REGI from November 21 through November 29.

Maryland: Birds lost in fire
A blaze in a Rockville, MD, home yesterday morning took the lives of almost two-dozen parrots, parakeets, and finches, the Gazette reported. A single finch survived.

Firefighters saved the five residents who lived there—all of whom were trying to get back in to rescue the birds. The Rockville Fire Department believes the fire started with the circuit breaker in the home's basement, and may have caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.