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Analysis: ‘Horrific’ bird losses touch every state The Columbus Dispatch
矢野監督（右）と鳥内監督（左）が新春対談。バックの写真はもちろん甲子園！（撮影・水島啓輔）【拡大】
甲子園で勝つ！ 勝たなアカン！！ 阪神・矢野燿大監督（５１）と関学大アメリカンフットボール部の鳥内秀晃監督（６１）が新春特別対談を行った。ともに甲子園を“必勝の地”と位置付けるチームの指揮官。胸に秘めた特別な思いを語り合うとともに、矢野監督は今季限りで勇退する鳥内監督へ、１５年ぶりのリーグ優勝を力強く誓った。
－－あけましておめでとうございます。阪神と大学アメフトは甲子園が共通項。虎にとっては本拠地、関学大にとっては大学日本一を決める舞台
鳥内 僕のおやじも関学大アメフト部のＯＢで、監督をしていまして、小学校のときによく見にいっていたんですよ、外野に。現役時代は４回、甲子園ボウルに出まして、４回とも日大に負けました。負けて着替えて甲子園を出たときに、コーチやろう、米国に行こうと決断しました。甲子園は他のスタジアムと芝が違う。あそこに出たら、絶対に勝たなあきません。
矢野 もちろんホームやから勝たなアカン（※注）。高校野球をやって、まずは甲子園に出たいという憧れがあって、自分たちの本拠地になって。天然芝で、これだけ一体感がある球場は他にありません。伝統と歴史もあって。ここをホームにできるのは、俺らの誇りです。
－－鳥内監督は行きつけの居酒屋のテレビでタイガースの試合をごらんになっています
鳥内 （その居酒屋は）サンテレビしかやってへんからね（笑）。また、解説者が偉そうに言うんですよね。お前はできんのかいって。現場とちゃうねんから。
矢野 ありがとうございます（笑）。気にしていただいて、うれしいです。
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TIERRA VERDE, Fla. — A Pinellas County wildlife rescue group is trying to locate and help a Great Blue Heron spotted in Tierra Verde with a fishing lure caught in its neck and beak.
“It’s terrible," said Mackenzie LaRoe, who spotted the bird Monday. "You just want to give it your all. I couldn’t sleep last night.”
LaRoe recorded video of the injured bird on her phone that afternoon.
“I was just riding my bike through and I saw this great blue heron and it looked like it was in a weird position," she explained. "And I turned my bike around and sure enough, this big fishing lure was stuck in its neck and its beak."
Despite the injury, the heron is still able fly, so LaRoe and volunteers from Birds in Helping Hands Wildlife Rescue weren’t able to catch him.
On Tuesday, the bird was back in the same spot at the water with the fishing lure still stuck on its beak.
Area wildlife experts say this is something they see too often in this area.
“It’s a huge problem," said Shelley Vickery, director of Birds in Helping Hands. "You can’t even imagine how many birds, how many calls we get a day.”
Vickery says they attempt to rescue at least six birds in situations similar to this one every day.
She advises people who see an injured bird to call them at 727-365-4592 or 904-703-2815.
She also urges anglers to be careful casting lines and to pick up after themselves.
“[The heron] can’t open his mouth, so he can drink, but he can’t eat," Vickery said. "So he’s going to be getting weaker and weaker as the days go on."
Until it’s caught, LaRoe said she plans to be out here trying to help.
“I don’t know, I feel like it’s your life purpose. If the universe brings you something to do good, you just need to do that,” said LaRoe.
Volunteers say they plan to be out here again on Wednesday with kayaks to try and get to the bird from the other side.
They say they won’t stop until he is caught.
For more information on Birds in Helping Hands Wildlife Rescue or to donate to their cause, visit birdsinhelpinghands.org.
現在、道後温泉本館の東側を包む「道後温泉本館ラッピングアート」。火の鳥の世界が描き出されている。
道後商店街「道後ハイカラ通り」には「火の鳥道後温泉編」のキャラクターをあしらったのぼりが登場
商店街では「火の鳥」のオリジナルグッズも続々登場し、観光客の目を引いている
23時を回ると、ますます人は増えた。道後温泉本館周辺では、はっぴ姿の商店街や旅館のスタッフにより、みかんや、お菓子のふるまいが始まった。さらに、地元の有志による「おやじダンサーズ」や、松山市の隣、東温市にある地域拠点型劇場「坊っちゃん劇場」によるパフォーマンスが行われ、寒空の下にも関わらず、観客の声援にも熱がこもる。令和元年も残すところ10分。イベントを主催するスタッフも登壇し、大声で新年に向け観衆をあおっていく。ついに10秒前、集まった全員でカウントダウンが開始。午前０時、道後温泉本館の北側にあたる「神の湯棟」の上部の塔屋部分である「振鷺閣」（しんろかく）で、明治27年から道後温泉に時を告げて来た「刻太鼓」（ときだいこ）が打ち鳴らされ、新春を祝う歓声が道後温泉本館周辺に響き渡った。「刻太鼓」は毎日欠かさず午前6時、正午、夕方6時の一日3回、打ち鳴らされている。環境庁「残したい日本の音風景100選」に選ばれていている。
道後温泉本館プロジェクションマッピング「道後温泉×ネイキッド MESSAGE -火の鳥、到来-」
その後、道後温泉本館北面は、ネイキッドによるプロジェクションマッピングの幻想的な世界に彩られた。現在公開中のオリジナルアニメーション「火の鳥"道後温泉編"」プロローグ「大国主と少彦名」、第1話「聖徳太子、来浴」と連動したストーリーで、道後温泉で語り継がれる神話時代と飛鳥時代の伝説をベースに、デジタルアートの幻想的な世界を描き出している。約4分の演出が終わると、「DOGO REBORN A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020」とのメッセージが表示され、あたりは拍手に包まれた。
プロジェクションマッピングの最後には、年末カウントダウン用にグリーティングメッセージが表示された
カウントダウンイベントの最後には、飛鳥乃湯泉でのおしるこのふるまいが行われ、午前1時過ぎまで、大勢の人で道後温泉は熱気に包まれていた。イベントの動員数は3,500人（主催者発表）にのぼり、昨年・平成30年元旦の同様のイベントを上回った。保存修理工事期間に入るまでは、観光客の大幅な落ち込みも心配されていたことをすっかり忘れさせるような賑わいで、道後温泉・道後温泉本館は華やかに令和2年を迎えた。
令和2年元旦を迎え、道後温泉本館周辺は午前1時近くまで、大勢の人で賑わいを見せた
令和2年、2020年も道後REBORNプロジェクトでは様々な情報発信が予定されている。すでに発表されている通り、2月1日には、オリジナルアニメーション「火の鳥"道後温泉編"」の第2話、「子規と漱石」が公開予定となっている。プロローグ、第1話に続き、明治時代の正岡子規と夏目漱石の友情、そして明治27年の道後温泉本館の明治の改築を成し遂げた伊佐庭如矢（いさにわゆきや）道後湯之町初代町長と、棟梁を務めた坂本又八郎の絆を描いた物語となる。
この冬、是非直接道後温泉に足を運んでいただき、活気ある商店街や旅館で温泉旅情を満喫してみてはいかがだろうか。
□道後REBORN公式サイト
オリジナルアニメーション「火の鳥"道後温泉編"」公開中！！
https://dogoreborn.info/
□道後温泉公式サイト
https://dogo.jp
「火の鳥」 © TEZUKA PRODUCTIONS
*手塚治虫の「塚」の地は旧字が正式です。印刷物の場合旧字での表記をお願いいたします。
プロデュース・ニュース配信：株式会社ポニーキャニオン
A dozen avid bird watchers split into groups and drove around the perimeter of Caribou looking for birds ranging from ducks to bald eagles. Bill Sheehan, a past president for Aroostook Birders says this bird count has been in Caribou now for over 30 years.
For more information or to join the local club, visit https://ift.tt/35goDhw
The Fort Collins Audubon Society is asking residents to fill their bird feeders in advance of Jan. 1 for the annual Loveland Christmas Bird Count.
During the bird count, volunteers from the local Audubon Society will cover a 15-mile radius to report on all the birds they see that day. Last year, more than 100 species of birds were spotted.
Birds tend to go to bird feeders in the morning, so if the feeders are filled in advance, it will make the birds easier to spot, said bird count volunteer Cheri Orwig.
A man was arrested on Sunday, December 29, for hijacking a crane and graffitiing the words “Bird God” in large type on the Grand Army Plaza arch in Brooklyn, New York.
According to the New York Police Department, Denis Shelagin, a 36-year-old man from Washington state, stole a cherry picker at 12:30pm on Sunday and raised himself upwards to tag the plaza’s historic Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch. But the graffiti writer was unable to lower the crane by himself and needed to be helped down before he was arrested, NYPD officials told the New York Post.
The cops hurried to cover the graffiti with a large blue tarp. Shelagin was later charged with making graffiti, criminal mischief, and grand larceny.
The Police remain uncertain about the meaning of Shelagin’s tag. Officers noted that the incident occurred a few hours before a Menorah-lighting ceremony planned at the site, but no direct connection was found between the graffiti and the Jewish Hanukkah holiday or any other events. It’s unclear what “Bird God” was meant to signify, whether it is related to the Happy Wars multi-player game, or something else.
UPDATE, December 31, 2019, 1:45 EST:
Denis Shelagin, the man accused of spraying the cryptic graffiti “Bird God” on Grand Army Plaza’s arch in Brooklyn, said in court that he was instructed to do so in a 1960 letter from his great-great-grandfather. Shelagin also claimed that he was trying to raise awareness about pigeon killings, the New York Post reported.
In a court appearance on Monday, Shelagin said that he was worried that he would suffer harm if he didn’t fulfill his great-great-grandfather’s command.
Shelagin is facing charges of graffiti making, criminal mischief, and grand larceny. He was released without bail at his arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Monday. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 20.
A king eider duck that recently died has been identified as a survivor of an Alaskan oil spill that occurred 24 years ago.
The duck, identified by a leg band, was caught in the M/V Citrus Oil Spill that began in mid-February 1996 in Alaska’s Pribilof Islands around Saint Paul Island in the Bering Sea, about 300 miles from the mainland and some 750 miles from Anchorage.
Almost 200 birds, mostly king eider ducks, were rescued near Saint Paul and transported by a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 airplane to International Bird Rescue’s Anchorage emergency response center. Hundreds more died before being rescued.
The birds were stabilized, cleaned and rehabilitated, then given a 4-hour flight back to Saint Paul Island, where they were released during an event celebrated by the community and its schoolchildren.
International Bird Rescue is based in Fairfield and has a second facility in Southern California. The non-profit group rescues and rehabilitates water birds, and travels around the world to assist in oil spill emergencies.
The long-lived duck provides new evidence that the care given by the rescue group and volunteers can give injured birds a new lease on life. This particular king eider died near English Bay on Saint Paul Island. The metal band number was reported to the U.S. Geological Survey Bird Banding Lab and officials there shared the information with Bird Rescue.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Bird Banding Lab, which administers the scientific banding of wild birds in the United States, said the previously oldest known king eider was a female that was at least 22 years, 1 month old, in Canada — and had not been involved in any oil spills.
Bird Rescue has long said that oiled birds can survive and live normal lives when rehabilitated after oiling, given appropriate resources and skilled staff. This is especially true when wildlife experts follow the protocols that have been refined over Bird Rescue’s nearly 50-year history.
“Bird Rescue has developed and remains at the forefront of the State of the Science for oiled wildlife treatment and rehabilitation,” said Catherine Berg, NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator for Alaska, who was one of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska oil spill response coordinators at the time of the spill.
“Seeing this kind of evidence of rehabilitated bird survival is truly a tribute to their dedication to the advancement of the science and to improving the care of injured birds,” she said.
The commitment by Bird Rescue and Alaska to the concept of a centralized response center to care for affected wildlife, rather than attempting the care and cleaning of animals in a remote, inaccessible location, also has shown how birds benefit. All the birds from this spill were transported from the remote island for care in a Bird Rescue centralized facility in Anchorage.This is the fourth king eider from the 1996 spill reported through the Bird Banding Lab in recent years.
Photo courtesy Charles Martinez
This week’s Bird of the Week, compliments of the Weminuche Audubon Society and Audubon Rockies, is the bushtit.
The weight of four paper clips in your hand is about equal to that of a bushtit. Even some hummingbirds outweigh this tiny songbird. Commonly found in flocks of 10 to 40 birds, on cold winter nights they huddle closely together to share body heat.
Bushtits are pale, gray birds with short bills, long tails, and black legs and feet. They may show a brown cheek patch. Males have dark eyes and females light ones, but otherwise they look alike. They are birds of the western parts of North America, ranging from southern Canada to Guatemala, living in many types of wooded and brushy habitats.
These active, social birds live in flocks year-round, making twittering contact calls to keep the group together as they fly single file from shrub to shrub or tree to tree in search of food. Using their small size to advantage, they glean twigs and leaves for insects and spiders, often hanging upside down to reach the undersides unavailable to larger birds.
Their social behavior even extends into breeding season. Both members of a breeding pair typically work for a month or longer to construct a foot-long stretchy sack nest of spider webs and plant matter. The parents often have helpers, frequently unattached males, to raise their nestlings. All pile into the nest to sleep at night until the young fledge.
For information on local bird-watching events, visit https://ift.tt/2P2EStR and https://ift.tt/2PrEEv8.
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Nichole "Nikki" Alderman was driving Gentleman Trumbo Road about 1 1/2 miles east of Ottawa when she encountered a bald eagle standing on the side of the highway Monday afternoon.
"It was sitting there for a good four minutes," Alderman said.
Concerned the eagle was injured, she drove back to the raptor and got out of her car.
"The eagle went up to fly, but it flew in a circle pattern, then came back down," she said, making her grow more concerned.
The eagle eventually flew into a tree, but she still was concerned it was injured. She said she contacted county and state authorities of the possible injury. She also captured three photos.
Conservation Officer Joe Kaufman went to the location Monday afternoon where the eagle was spotted. He said he didn't find it.
"It may have just been getting lunch," Kaufman said. "Eagles feed on the ground, and they'll stay on the ground for awhile when they're feeding. They'll also stay close to what they're eating to protect it."
Kaufman said it is not uncommon for an eagle to be hit by a car, however, when they are feeding, especially if they go for road kill.
What do bald eagles eat?
Fish is the primary food of bald eagles, but they will eat a variety of other animals and birds, according to the National Eagle Center. Their prey items include waterfowl and small mammals like squirrels, prairie dogs, raccoons and rabbits. Bald eagles are opportunistic predators, meaning that in addition to hunting for live prey, they will steal from other animals (primarily from other eagles or smaller fish-eating birds) or scavenge.
日産自動車前会長のカルロス・ゴーン被告（６５）が会社法違反（特別背任）などで起訴された事件で、保釈中のゴーン被告が日本から中東レバノンに出国したことが３１日、わかった。レバノン大統領府の報道官は、ゴーン被告が２９日深夜から３０日未明の間にレバノンに到着したことを認め、被告は首都ベイルートの空港でフランスの本人名義のパスポートとレバノンのＩＤを提示して入国したと説明した。
ゴーン被告は３１日、米国の広報担当者を通じ、「有罪が前提で差別が
東京地裁は２０１９年３月と４月に保釈を認めた際の条件として、ゴーン被告の海外への渡航を禁じ、パスポートは弁護人が管理するとしたが、この条件は変更されていない。
出入国在留管理庁の関係者によると、ゴーン被告名の出国記録はなく、ゴーン被告が保釈条件を守らず、違法な手段で日本を離れたとみられる。レバノン政府が出国に関与した疑いもあり、法務・検察当局が出国の経緯を調べる。
ゴーン被告の弁護団の弘中惇一郎弁護士は３１日、報道陣の取材に応じ、「出国は寝耳に水で報道で知った」と語った。
国土交通省によると、２９日夜に関西空港からトルコのイスタンブールに向けて離陸したプライベートジェット（ＰＪ）があるという。仏経済紙レゼコーは情報機関の話として、ゴーン被告は「偽のパスポートで日本をたった」などと報じた。
レバノンの軍事情報筋は３１日、読売新聞の取材に対し、「ゴーン被告は木箱に隠れて飛行機でトルコに向かい、ＰＪでレバノンに入国した」と語った。ゴーン被告はブラジル、レバノン、フランスの国籍を持つ。
ゴーン被告は１９年３月の保釈時に１０億円、翌４月の再保釈時に５億円の計１５億円を保釈保証金として納付した。東京地検は３１日、東京地裁に保釈の取り消しを請求。同地裁が取り消せば、保証金は没収され、ゴーン被告は再び勾留対象となる。日本はレバノンと逃亡した容疑者や被告の身柄を引き渡す条約を結んでおらず、日本の当局が外交ルートを通じてレバノンの現地当局に身柄の引き渡しを要請する必要がある。
◆ゴーン被告を巡る事件＝東京地検特捜部が２０１８年１１月１９日、役員報酬を有価証券報告書に過少に記載した金融商品取引法違反容疑でゴーン被告を逮捕。ゴーン被告はその後、中東サウジアラビアとオマーンを巡る特別背任事件などでも逮捕・起訴された。現在は初公判前に争点や証拠を絞り込む「公判前整理手続き」が東京地裁で行われており、２０年４月にも初公判が開かれるとみられていた。ゴーン被告はいずれの事件でも無罪を主張していた。
レバノンの主要テレビMTV（電子版）はゴーン元会長が楽器の箱に隠れ、日本の地方空港から出国したと報じた=共同
レバノンの主要テレビMTV（電子版）は31日、日産自動車のカルロス・ゴーン元会長が楽器の箱に隠れ、日本の地方空港から出国したと報じた。民間警備会社のようなグループの支援を受けたとしている。情報源は明らかにしていない。ゴーン氏がレバノン入国後に同国のアウン大統領と面会し、レバノン政府から身の安全の保障を受けたとも明らかにした。
MTVによると、グループはクリスマスディナーの音楽隊を装ってゴーン氏の自宅に入り、ゴーン氏を楽器の輸送用の箱に隠して連れ出した。「映画のよう」な脱出劇で「日本の当局者はゴーン氏が楽器箱の一つに隠れていたことに気づかなかった」とした。レバノン紙アフバルアルヨウムも「警備会社を使い、箱に隠れて密出国した」と報じた。
MTVはゴーン氏が地方空港から出国し、トルコ経由でレバノンに入国したが、その際はフランスのパスポートを所持していたと伝えた。「空港のセキュリティーをどのように通過したのか、また新たなパスポートをどのように入手したのかは疑問のままだ」とした。
初割実施中！無料期間中の解約OK！
日経電子版が最長2月末まで無料！
反政府運動が続く香港で、大みそかの３１日も抗議デモが行われた。年末恒例となっているビクトリア湾の年越し花火大会は中止され、警察は警備態勢を大幅に強化している。元日も大規模なデモ行進が呼びかけられており、抗議デモは１月以降も継続する見通し。
【写真】通行人が行き交う中、香港政府への抗議デモに参加した子供や大人たち＝２０１９年１２月３１日、香港の中環、益満雄一郎撮影
香港島中心部の中環（セントラル）では３１日、数十人の市民が集結し、香港政府に対し、普通選挙の導入などの五大要求を受け入れるよう訴えた。祖母（７８）と参加した小学６年生の少女（１１）は「香港の若者は今後も自分の信念を堅持して、政府に対抗し続ける」と話した。
香港メディアによると、花火大会は例年、数十万人規模の人出で混雑するため、警察が安全確保を理由に実施に反対し、中止が決定した。また警察は６千人超の警察官を動員して元日のデモ行進などの警戒にあたるとしており、物々しい年明けとなりそうだ。（香港＝益満雄一郎）
朝日新聞社
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TAKENGON - Satuan Lalu Lintas (Satlantas) Polres Aceh Tengah, bekerja sama dengan Dinas Perhubungan (Dishub) setempat, Senin (30/12/2019) sore, menggelar pemeriksaan kelaikan (ramp check) angkutan umum bus antar kota antar provinsi (AKAP) di Terminal Terpadu, Paya Ilang, Kota Takengon.
Ramp check dilakukan untuk memastikan angkutan umum laik jalan, sehingga bisa menghindari terjadinya kecelakaan lalu lintas. “Kegiatan ini merupakan rangkaian dari pengamanan natal dan tahun baru (Nataru),” kata Kapolres Aceh Tengah, AKBP Hairajadi melalui Kasat Lantas Iptu Rina Bintar Handayani kepada Serambi, Senin (30/12/2019).
Selain itu, lanjut Rina, beberapa waktu lalu terjadi kecelakaan bus di Palembang yang merenggut nyawa para penumpang. Atas kejadian itu, diinstrusikan agar dilakukan ramp check angkutan umum untuk melihat kelaikannya. “Apalagi daerah kita akses jalannya dipenuhi dengan tanjakan dan turunan, sehingga harus dipastikan angkutan umum memang kondisinya baik,” ujarnya.
Menurut Rina, untuk item-item yang menjadi sasaran pengecekan kriterianya sudah ditetapkan oleh pihak Dinas Perhubungan. Di antaranya, terkait dengan sistem pengereman, penerangan, serta beberapa poin penting lainnya yang terkait dengan keselamatan berkendara. “Bila nanti ditemukan ada yang tidak memenuhi syarat, tentu tim penguji akan menindak, sesuai dengan ketentuan yang berlaku,” ungkap Rina.
Selain dilakukan ramp check, juga akan dilaksanakan tes urine serta uji kesehatan terhadap sejumlah sopir angkutan umum. Pengecekan ini juga untuk memastikan para sopir bebas dari pengaruh narkoba serta memang kondisi kesehatannya baik ketika mengendarai angkutan umum. “Jika nanti ada kita temukan sopir yang kondisi kesehatannya kurang baik, kita harapkan bisa diganti dengan sopir lain,” jelas Kasat Lantas Polres Aceh Tengah ini. (my)
Baca lanjutan nya buka link di samping https://aceh.tribunnews.com/2019/12/31/satlantas-periksa-kelaikan-angkutan-umum
台湾の立法院（国会に相当）は２０１９年夏、「国家安全法」「国家機密保護法」「刑法」など５つの法律を改正し、海外の敵対勢力への協力行為に対する罰則などを強化した。中国の対台湾工作に対抗することが目的だった。あれから半年しかたっていないにもかかわらず、与党・民進党がさらにバージョンアップした「反浸透法案」を提出した背景には、中国による台湾での選挙への露骨な介入に対する焦りがあった。
民進党関係者は急いで法案を作成した理由を「中国から資本を注入された赤いメディアが政府批判のフェイク（偽）ニュースを垂れ流し、中国共産党の息が掛かった海外の華僑団体からの資金が特定の候補者に流れる。何もしなければ、台湾の民主主義は壊される」と説明した。
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アメリカンフットボールの日本選手権「ライスボウル」は3日に東京ドームで行われ、18年ぶり2度目の日本一を狙う学生王者の関学大が、4年連続5度目の優勝を目指す社会人王者の富士通に挑む。
今季限りで勇退する鳥内秀晃監督（61）の最終戦で、有終の美を飾れるか注目が集まる。勝負のポイントはジャパンXボウルMVPで富士通のRBサマジー・グラント（24）のランを止められるか。攻撃はライン戦でOLが持ちこたえ、QB奥野耕世（3年）がパスを通せるか。学生代表は09年の立命大以降優勝がない。相手に食らいつくことができれば、勝機も見えてくる。
【台北＝田中靖人】台湾の立法院（国会に相当）は３１日の本会議で、中国を念頭に域外からの選挙運動などへの介入を禁止する「反浸透法案」を採決し、法案を提出した与党・民主進歩党の賛成多数で可決した。１０日以内に蔡英文（さい・えいぶん）総統の署名を経て成立する。野党・中国国民党は、来月１１日の総統選直前の立法は「１００％選挙目的だ」と反発している。
同法案は、中国を想定した「域外敵対勢力」の指示や資金援助を受け、政治献金やロビー活動、選挙運動を行った者を処罰する。既存の法律で禁止されながら罰則がなかったなどの不備を補い、台湾人の「仲介者」も処罰の対象とした。
民進党は１１月末、中国の工作員を自称する男性が、２０１８年の台湾の地方選で国民党に資金援助をしたなどとするオーストラリアでの報道を受け、議員立法で法案を提出した。
立法院は総統選と同日に立法委員（国会議員）選があるため１２月１８～３０日に休会していたが、民進党は委員会審査を経ずに改選前の成立を図った。蔡英文総統も、同法案に反対することは、「北京を安心させても国際社会は理解不能だ」として可決を促した。
これに対し、国民党は同法案が想定する「域外敵対勢力」の定義が曖昧なため、中国で企業活動を行う台湾人やその家族、留学生が中国人と接触しただけで処罰対象になる可能性があるとし、「戒厳令時代に逆戻りする」と主張。同党の総統候補、韓国瑜（かん・こくゆ）高雄市長は２９日、「台湾人民を脅して票を得ようとしている」と批判した。
“Buffleheads! I love buffleheads,” says Sheryl Nadeau. “They are a wonderful duck species, and very easy to identify with that big patch on their heads.”
Nadeau, her delighted enthusiasm for birds evident as she talks, is a longtime docent at Shollenberger Park, and the coordinator of the 2020 Christmas Bird Count for Kids. She is listing a few of the bird species kids will see during this year’s bird count.
That’s when buffleheads are first mentioned.
“Buffleheads are a very cute duck, and we have quite a few of them right now, though we won’t see so many in the spring, because they like to north,” Nadeau says. “But Petaluma is one of the area they use as their winter retreat because we’re warm enough to make them happy, and they have enough food here.”
Ducks, with “buffles” on their heads and otherwise, are just one of many feathered friends waiting to be spotted and spied during the annual bird-counting event, Saturday, Jan. 4, from 9 a.m. to noon beginning at Shollenberger Park. The event is sponsored by the Petalumam Wetlands Alliance, a local nonprofit in existence for 15 years. From the beginning, PWA has focused its efforts on public education around the Wetlands. The Christmas Bird Count, now in its 11th year, is modeled on similar events held around the country. Those include Marin Audubon’s annual count in Point Reyes. But unlike most other bird count activities, the Petaluma event is constructed for the participation of children, and is less about achieving actual scientific bird population statistics than it is designed to introduce kids to the wonder of the natural world.
“This is not a real scientific bird count, by any means,” says Nadeau. “It’s all about getting the kids outdoors, because everyone seems to be going toward indoor activities, and computers and videogames. So we’re trying to educate kids in how much fun they can have in their own backyards. The Wetlands are, in a sense, all of our backyard, so it just makes sense to try and share that with kids, to offer them a fun opportunity to learn and experience this very special resource we have.”
Participating kids, age 6 to 12, will be paired up with experienced birders and one assistant birder, who will take about six junior birders, and their parents, to assigned areas around Shollenberger Park and the Ellis Creek Water Treatment Facility. Binoculars will be available for those who do not have their own.
“The walks will last about an hour-and-a-half to two hours, during which they will learn how to identify birds, talk about what they see and how many of those birds they can find,” says Nadeau. “We will have counting sheets with the names of the birds on them, so they can use those to learn what kinds of birds are out there.”
Afterwards, all groups will return to a gathering area at Shollenberger, where all participants will share a pizza lunch at the edge of the wetlands. The pizzas are courtesy of local Elks Lodge #901.
“That’s when we’ll rehash what everyone has seen,” she says, “talking about how many bird varieties we’ve counted, and anything else exciting or interesting they experienced.”
According to Nadeau, some of the kids have, over the years, become fairly experience birders themselves, returning Christmas after Christmas.
We're just four weeks away from the Waste Management Phoenix Open and construction crews are working on the famous Bird's Nest.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Waste Management Phoenix Open is just weeks away, and construction is already underway for one of the biggest attractions, the Bird's Nest.
The popular spot is just about ready with crews setting up a bit earlier this year than normal.
"It's an 8,000 person capacity. It's a full concert venue. Every night, the gates open at 3:30 p.m.," said John Felix, the Bird's Nest manager.
The 50,000 square foot tent is well known for its big parties on the patio and hit concerts. This year's lineup is expected to be the best yet.
With artists like Miranda Lambert, special guest Cody Johnson, G-Eazy, Dierks Bentley and Kygo, crews expect a larger turnout this year than ever before.
"Right until the night before with lighting checks and sound checks and everything else. It's a very full concert rig in addition to the bars, all the foods and decor items," Felix said.
With the attendance of the People's Open increasing every year, crews say it's never too early to set up and getting ready for the Open is a year-round process.
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A man was arrested on Sunday after he took advantage of an unmanned cherry picker and tagged the Grand Army Plaza arch with the words, "Bird God."
Police say the incident happened around noon yesterday, when Denis Shelagin, 36, took charge of the cherry picker, which was there because it was being used during the week for the Hanukkah menorah lighting ceremony. NYPD officers surrounded Shelagin and tried to get him to come down, but he was able to finish his tag before he was taken into custody. (He also reportedly couldn't figure out how to lower the cherry picker.)
Shelagin, who is from Washington, has been charged with making graffiti, criminal mischief and possession of graffiti instruments. Workers later tried to cover the graffiti with a giant blue tarp before Mayor de Blasio arrived for the lighting ceremony for the final night of Hanukkah.
"I'd give the hand style five out of ten stars," said Gothamist's resident graffiti expert Jake Dobkin. "He went to some effort on the serif lettering, and did manage to center the piece pretty well, which couldn't have been easy on a stolen cherry picker. But the fill isn't good and the individual letters aren't consistent." It's unclear whether "Bird God" was a specific reference or Shelagin's personal tag.
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch, which was completed in 1892, is dedicated "To the Defenders of the Union, 1861–1865." As one local who was particularly mad about the tag wrote, "What an asshole. Street art is cool but defacing historic monuments that are important to a community is a pretty massive fuck you to your neighborhood. And if he’s not even from Brooklyn that’s even worse."
So, long, Bird God: The graffiti was power washed from the monument this morning.
Two major research projects released this fall show steep declines in bird populations and a grim outlook as temperatures continue to warm. A USA TODAY Network analysis of the data shows the loss of birds touches every U.S. state in North America.
As Wes Biggs tells it, a Baltimore oriole flew onto his family’s front porch and landed on his bassinet when he was only 6 months old. Captivated, he became a lifelong bird-watcher.
Over the 71 years since then, like thousands of other longtime birders across the continent, Biggs has seen and helped document dramatic change.
Bald eagles surged back from the brink of extinction. Many duck species rebounded. But a host of other species — including sparrows, meadowlark and quail — declined at an alarming rate.
“You’re just not seeing thousands and thousands of birds anymore, and certainly not as often as you used to,” said Biggs of Sebring, Florida, owner of Florida Nature Tours.
Two major research projects released this fall brought into perspective what individual bird-watchers like Biggs have noticed, while raising concerns about the future and the need for additional conservation measures. Additionally, a USA TODAY Network analysis of the studies and their data showed the loss of birds touches every U.S. state in North America.
The first of the studies, dubbed the “Billion Birds” report and published in the journal “Science” in September, concluded 2.9 billion birds have vanished across North America since 1970, a decline of roughly 30 percent. It added to a growing body of work over the past couple of years documenting those losses.
The results surprised even the study’s lead author, Ken Rosenberg, a Cornell University scientist who also holds a position with the American Bird Conservancy.
Rosenberg used to tell bird-watchers the birds they were no longer seeing had probably moved on “somewhere else.” But the study proved otherwise, he said, showing in many cases bird populations had just plummeted.
While that doesn’t mean a bird “apocalypse” is underway, if conservation measures aren’t taken, Rosenberg said, the situation could “slide toward a bigger crisis, toward ecological unraveling of ecosystems.”
Another major report weeks later delivered a second punch. Using models and much of the same data, the report by the National Audubon Society provided a grim forecast of the potential impacts of warming temperatures on 600 bird species in North America.
“If we don’t take action, nearly two-thirds of North America’s birds face extinction as a result of climate change,” said Julie Wraithmell, president of Audubon Florida. If action is taken, she added, “we can change the fate of three-quarters of those birds.”
Casting blame
The massive losses in bird populations could have far-reaching implications for ecosystems and economies, said Marianne Korosy, Audubon Florida’s director of bird conservation.
Birds are both prey and predator, serve as nature’s pest control, share roles with bees in plant pollination and help to maintain genetic diversity by spreading seeds around, Korosy said. Also, the federal government estimates bird-watchers contribute $41 billion dollars a year to the nation’s economy.
The study by Rosenberg and his co-authors at wildlife agencies and research centers in the U.S. and Canada didn’t specifically analyze the causes behind the declining bird populations. He said that can be hard to pin down given the array of threats birds face and the vast distances they travel during migration. But previous studies indicate habitat loss is the primary threat.
As a group, grassland birds such as meadowlarks and quail suffered the biggest overall declines, the Billion Birds report showed. In the Midwest, the single biggest factor is habitat loss, said Neal Niemuth, an integrated conservation scientist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Bismarck, North Dakota. He points, for example, to the conversion of cattle grazing lands, which protect the birds’ natural habitat, to much more intensively farmed corn fields.
Other factors include feral cats, climate change and pesticides that kill insects birds need to live and raise their young.
“You can’t just pin it on one thing,” said Biggs, but human population growth has its own impacts. While bird populations have dwindled, the nation’s population has doubled over Biggs’ lifetime and Florida’s population is seven times greater.
“I hate having a doomsday attitude,” said Biggs. “But looking at the whole situation, it’s pretty horrific.”
Bird populations have fallen in each of the 49 U.S. states in North America, according to the USA TODAY Network analysis of state data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey.
A joint project with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Canadian Wildlife Service, the Breeding Bird Survey dates back to the 1960s and was the primary source of data for the Billion Birds report. Geological Survey scientists consider the long-term data available in the survey scientifically credible for 334 species, around a third of all the species with documented sightings in the U.S. and Canada.
In 39 states, more than half of those species have shown declines.
A list of the five bird populations in each state with the worst declines totals 92 different species. Eastern meadowlark, bobwhite and house sparrow were among those with the greatest population declines in 17 states.
In Florida, the five species with the greatest declines are the house sparrow, least tern, eastern meadowlark, common nighthawk and loggerhead shrike, according to the data provided by the USGS.
Even official state birds suffered population losses in 25 of the 45 states where data was available. The state bird in Florida, the northern mockingbird, experienced a downward trend in population between 1966 and 2017, according to the USGS analysis.
Audubon examined how birds would fare under three climate change scenarios: one in which temperatures warmed by slightly less than 3 degrees Fahrenheit; another in which they warmed by nearly 4 degrees; and a third where they rose by more than 5 degrees in the coming decades.
Using climate modeling, Audubon studied how the risks birds face — including habitat conversion, extreme weather and sea level rise — could change and how that would affect birds in each state. Under the higher, unmitigated increase in warming over the next 65 years, the study concluded that 97 percent of species could be affected by two or more climate-related threats.
Under the scenario of slightly less than 3 degrees warming within the next 35 years, at least 51 of the 600 species Audubon examined faced a high risk of either being wiped out or seeing a worsening trend.
In Florida, an average temperature increase of 2.7 degrees by 2055 could wipe out or cause a worsening trend in nine bird species in part or all of their range. The list includes the black-throated green warbler, brown-headed nuthatch, fish crow, gray kingbird, least tern, snail kite, whooping crane, worm-eating warbler and yellow-throated warbler.
The studies shocked Father Tom Pincelli, a Catholic priest in Brownsville, Texas, and a bird-watcher for 47 years. The Billion Birds report “kind of took my breath away,” Pincelli said. “The number was larger than I thought.”
‘Eyes of the world’
Bird-watchers can be a quirky bunch, toting high-end binoculars and telescopes and randomly dropping conversations when distracted by a bird. But the compulsive listing of birds they see has helped amass mountains of data scientists now use to document changing bird populations.
“It’s really amazing we have such a wealth of data,” said Brooke Bateman, an Audubon senior scientist and lead author of the climate report.
Much of the information used in both studies came from data collected by bird-watchers, including the Breeding Bird Survey and Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count. The 120th annual Christmas count began Dec. 14 and runs through Jan. 5. Nearly 80,000 people participated in last year’s count.
“There’s this incredible collaboration between the scientists and the bird-watchers, and it really doesn’t exist with other animals and other sciences,” Rosenberg said. “Birders are the eyes of the world.”
Bill Volkert, a naturalist and wildlife educator, has birded the same areas around Horicon Marsh in eastern Wisconsin for more than 35 years. He sees wild turkeys and Canada geese more often than he used to, but the song of the whip-poor-will “is gone.”
“A lot of times, we just look at birds in our backyards and as long as birds are showing up, it’s really hard to extrapolate what’s happening to the (overall) population,” he said.
In North America and elsewhere, climate change will be a “threat multiplier,” said Audubon’s Bateman. Some birds already have shifted their ranges northward, she said, while warmer temperatures are forecast to trigger other impacts such as longer droughts and more intense hurricanes.
Birders have documented many changes after the string of hurricane landfalls in recent years. In Ormond Beach, Florida, for example, Meret Wilson, who operates a bird-banding project, said things still haven’t returned to what they were before two major hurricanes — Matthew in 2016 and Irma in 2017 — heavily damaged trees in the region.
‘Before it’s too late’
Going forward, both bird studies underscore the need to help birds be more resilient, said Nick Wiley, chief operations officer for Ducks Unlimited and former executive director of Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He said he was excited about the emphasis the Billion Birds report put on conservation needs and successes.
Conservation measures do work, said Rosenberg. For example, raptors such as bald eagles benefited from the 1972 ban on the use of the insecticide DDT in the U.S. And, he said, a more than 50 percent increase in the population of 41 species of waterfowl was a result of “a conscientious effort to save habitat.”
Ducks Unlimited grew out of hunters’ recognition of low population levels of waterfowl in the early part of the 20th century, Rosenberg said. To protect those birds, nonprofits and state and federal governments worked to acquire and protect wetland habitats. A federal duck stamp purchased by duck hunters has helped funnel millions into wetland preservation.
Similar efforts are needed to continue protecting ducks and to preserve grassland birds, said Wiley. But, he added, it’s expensive and takes groups working together.
Federal government programs to help landowners keep their land in grass or return it to grass have been “a huge, huge boon to grassland birds,” Niemuth said. But the available money isn’t enough to match landowner interest.
Volkert, the retired wildlife educator, sees the need for conservation as a bipartisan issue.
“For millions of people who love birds and love nature, it’s time for our group to raise our voices for birds,” he said. “The alarm we want to sound is for people to pay attention to the loss of these common birds now before it’s too late, while we can do something.”
Satlantas Polres Aceh Tengah Gelar Ramp Check Angkutan Umum, Ini Sasarannya
Laporan Mahyadi | Aceh Tengah
SERAMBINEWS.COM, TAKENGON – Satuan Lalu Lintas (Satlantas) Polres Aceh Tengah, bekerjasama dengan Dinas Perhubungan (Dishub) setempat, Senin (30/12/2019) sore, menggelar ramp check kelaikan angkutan umum bus antar kota antar provinsi (AKAP) di Terminal Terpadu, Paya Ilang, Kota Takengon.
Dilakukannya ramp check tersebut, untuk memastikan angkutan umum laik untuk jalan sehingga bisa menghindari terjadinya kecelakaan lalu lintas.
“Kegiatan ini, merupakan rangkaian dari pengamanan natal dan tahun baru (Nataru),” kata Kapolres Aceh Tengah, AKBP Hairajadi melalui Kasat Lantas Iptu Rina Bintar Handayani kepada Serambinews.com, Senin (30/12/2019).
Selain itu, lanjut Rina, beberapa waktu lalu, terjadi kecelakaan bus di Palembang yang merenggut nyawa para penumpang. Atas kejadian itu, diinstrusikan agar dilakukan ramp check angkutan umum untuk melihat kelaikannya.
“Apalagi, daerah kita akses jalannya dipenuhi dengan tanjakan dan turunan, sehingga harus dipastikan angkutan umum memang kondisinya baik,” ujarnya.
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Menurut Rina, untuk item-item yang menjadi sasaran pengecekan kriterianya sudah ditetapkan oleh pihak Dinas Perhubungan. Diantaranya, terkait dengan sistem pengereman, penerangan serta beberapa poin penting lainnya yang terkait dengan keselamatan berkendara.
“Bila nanti ditemukan ada yang tidak memenuhi syarat, tentu tim penguji akan menindak, sesuai dengan ketentuan berlaku,” ungkap Rina.
Selain dilakukan ramp check, juga akan dilaksanakan tes urine serta uji kesehatan terhadap sejumlah sopir angkutan umum. Pengecekan ini, juga untuk memastikan para sopir bebas dari pengaruh narkoba serta memang kondisi kesehatanya baik ketika mengendarai angkutan umum.
“Jika nanti ada kita temukan sopir yang kondisi kesehatanya kurang baik, kita harapkan bisa diganti dengan sopir lain,” jelas Kasat Lantas Polres Aceh Tengah ini.
Ramp check angkutan umum serta pemeriksaan kesehatan yang dilaksanakan Satlas Polres Aceh Tengah, juga melibatkan pihak Dishub setempat, Kepala Terminal Terpadu Paya Ilang, serta pengelola angkutan umum. Untuk tes urine serta pemeriksaan kesehatan, melibatkan sejumlah personel dari BNK setempat.(*)
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Baca lanjutan nya buka link di samping https://aceh.tribunnews.com/2019/12/30/satlantas-polres-aceh-tengah-gelar-ramp-check-angkutan-umum-ini-sasarannya
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has launched a new tool to identify prime ruffed grouse recovery areas for groups working to restore habitat for Pennsylvania’s state bird, which has experienced a population crash across the state.
The Grouse Priority Area Siting Tool (G-PAST) pinpoints areas where young forests can be created that also are buffered from mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus, which has been implicated as playing a significant role in the dramatic population losses of ruffed grouse.
“It’s not enough to simply create grouse habitat. For best success, habitat must be created in areas buffered from disease-carrying mosquitoes and close to existing grouse populations so birds can quickly colonize new sites,” said Lisa Williams, the commission grouse biologist who identified West Nile’s role in Pennsylvania’s grouse-population collapse.
G-PAST identifies areas with landscape features that stave off mosquitoes. When combined with information on local grouse populations, it identifies priority sites where disease risk is low, and probability of grouse benefit is high.
“We know high-quality grouse habitat is the best way to offset losses from West Nile virus,” said Matthew Schnupp, director of the commission’s Bureau of Wildlife Management. “But if we create better grouse habitat in places with high disease risk, we may be setting grouse up to fail.
“This tool combines cutting-edge geographic-information-system (GIS) analysis with our wildlife research and habitat-management information to identify where we can best help grouse. It’s an approach that puts us in the best position possible to help our state bird.”
G-PAST can be used by habitat partners to focus habitat restoration, develop grant proposals, initiate collaborations at priority sites, enlist high-priority private landowners, and guide their own local clubs and chapters on where to undertake habitat projects.
“G-PAST is a great example of how leveraging geospatial technology in decision-making can advance objectives and goals throughout the agency and among our partners,” said Bob Blystone, the GIS technician who created the tool.
“Agency foresters and land managers have been rapidly increasing efforts to restore the whole community of species that rely on young forests,” noted Pete Sussenbach, director of the commission’s Bureau of Wildlife Habitat Management.
“Creating healthy forests through management provides unique opportunities to meet many different wildlife-management objectives. The agency strives to improve forest health and resilience, and wildlife health and abundance, all at once. G-PAST is the key. It provides a level of guidance unknown in grouse conservation before now.”
Williams said, “Our research on West Nile virus since 2015 has always had one focused goal: Find a way to mitigate West Nile virus impacts so we can recover populations,” Williams explained. “There are many issues facing grouse, but G-PAST is making solid progress on mitigating the two primary drivers of decline: habitat loss and disease exposure.”
G-PAST will enable anyone from a landowner with 20 acres to a land manager overseeing 20,000 acres to find the best areas to invest in grouse habitat work.
Dan Brauning, chief of the commission’s Wildlife Diversity Division, noted that G-PAST will have applications beyond grouse, in the commission’s management efforts for other declining species, like the Canada warbler.
Anyone can check out the tool at the Grouse Priority Area Siting Tool website.
West Nile virus was first detected in the U.S. in 1999 in New York and quickly spread across the country. It coursed through Pennsylvania from 2001-03. Birds are the reservoir hosts of WNV and the virus has been documented in more than 250 species of birds.
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中国広東省深■市の南山区人民法院（裁判所）は30日、ゲノム編集技術を使って3人の子供を誕生させたとして、違法医療行為の罪で、南方科技大の元副教授、賀建奎被告に懲役3年、罰金300万元（約4700万円）の判決を言い渡した。
中国国営中央テレビ電子版が報じた。この問題を巡り広東省が今年1月に明らかにした調査結果は、賀被告がゲノム編集技術を使い双子を誕生させ、別の女性1人も妊娠中としていた。この女性も1人を出産したとみられ、判決は賀被告による「ゲノム編集ベビー」は計3人と認定した。
※■は土ヘンに川
By KATHERINE ROTH
The Associated Press
It's been 120 years since New York ornithologist Frank Chapman launched his Christmas Bird Count as a bold new alternative to what had been a longtime Christmas tradition of hunting birds. Today, the annual count continues, stronger and more important than ever.
"He realized that we were over-harvesting birds and something had to be done," says Geoff LeBaron, who has led The National Audubon Society's massive community science effort for more than 30 years.
"People get very passionate about the Christmas Bird Count,'' he says. "It's fun and it's a tradition, but it's also crucially important to the creatures we love.''
Recent studies have found declining bird populations and threats of extinction from climate change, habitat loss and other causes. The Christmas count has become one of the most important bird databases because of its scale and longevity.
The first Christmas Bird Count was done by just 27 people at 25 locations across North America, mostly in the Northeast. Last year's count involved more than 79,000 observers in 2,615 areas in the hemisphere, most in the United States and Canada, with an increasing number in Latin America and the Caribbean, LeBaron says.
Bird count parties, as the gatherings of volunteers are called, are held in every state in the United States and every province in Canada, as well as in many parts of Mexico and Colombia.
"It's such a great tradition and is making a huge contribution to science. I bring my daughter along with me every year, starting from when she was 3, and we participated in the Madison, Wisconsin, count," says Brooke Bateman, senior climate scientist at Audubon. "The longevity of the count is amazing, and I doubt anyone could have imagined in 1900 that it would still be going on now."
This year's bird count kicked off on Dec. 14 and continues through Jan. 5, 2020. Anyone can participate by going on the ChristmasBirdCount.org website. Participants do not need to be members of Audubon.
The site shows all the active Christmas Bird Count groups so you can find ones near you that are still accepting more participants.
If your home is within a bird count circle, you can even do a count in your backyard - just make sure you let the count leader in your area know in advance.
Despite the project's name, few of the annual bird count parties take place on Christmas itself - although one in Chicago does - so it's possible to participate in more than one bird count party.
"There's a guy in Iowa who tries to do 23 counts each year, but most people don't do that," says LeBaron.
The methodology of the count has been standardized since the 1950s and is run by a huge community of knowledgeable bird-count party organizers and data compilers.
Each bird count party tries to document all the birds seen or heard within a given 15-mile-diameter circle in one calendar day - from midnight to midnight - at any point during the three-week period.
"That's a pretty large area, so we encourage people to gather together as many people as they can to cover the area. We want to be careful not to double-count anything, so each person in a bird count party should be assigned to their own sector," LeBaron explains.
"The party leaders and compilers know the birds well, so it's a great opportunity for learning and mentoring," he says.
As people get to know the birds - and the birders - in their area, they tend to become pretty attached, says LeBaron, who began participating in the count while a graduate student in Rhode Island. He returns there for the count every year.
"I have Christmas Bird Count friends I really only see at the bird count each year," he says.
Although trends documented by the Christmas Bird Count aren't clear from one year to the next because of differences in weather, if you look at the data from one decade to the next, you can see trends.
"The great majority of the species have moved northward significantly and somewhat inland as early winter temperatures are moderating," LeBaron says. "The climate is always changing, but it's the rate of change that's so much greater now. Life forms are not used to adapting that quickly."
"The work that participants in the bird count are doing is so important,'' he says. "Even if you go out and you don't see any birds at all, that's valuable information."
