Ark's Ark » The Environment http://www.arksark.org/blog Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming, Current Affairs, and Random Stuff! Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:10:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 In Which I Get Some Feathery New Neighbourshttp://www.arksark.org/blog/5278/in-which-i-get-some-feathery-new-neighbours/ http://www.arksark.org/blog/5278/in-which-i-get-some-feathery-new-neighbours/#comments Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:59:16 +0000 Arkenor http://www.arksark.org/blog/?p=5278 I’m really excited. I’ve been living here three years, and for the first time, it looks like I have some birds nesting in the nesting box at the bottom of my garden. I only have one decent tree, and it is the same one I had the flock of Bohemian Waxwings in in January.

I think it’s a pair of blue tits. They spent a few days in March clearing out what was probably a bit of a mess in [...]

In Which I Get Some Feathery New Neighbours is a post from: Ark's Ark

]]> http://www.arksark.org/blog/5278/in-which-i-get-some-feathery-new-neighbours/feed/ 2 Some Brief Thoughts on the Mysterious and Inconvenient Mass Death of Birds in Arkansas and Swedenhttp://www.arksark.org/blog/4682/mysterious-and-inconvenient-mass-death-of-birds-in-arkansas-and-sweden/ http://www.arksark.org/blog/4682/mysterious-and-inconvenient-mass-death-of-birds-in-arkansas-and-sweden/#comments Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:28:41 +0000 Arkenor http://www.arksark.org/blog/?p=4682 You can’t fail to have heard about the recent rain of dead and dying blackbirds in Arkansas over the new year. Up to 5000 American Blackbirds were found dead or dying in the streets and gardens of Bebe, Arkanas. Less well covered is that this seems to have coincided with a mass Drum fish-die-off in the same state.

Arkansas game officials hope testing scheduled to begin Monday will solve the mystery of why up to 5,000 blackbirds fell from the [...]

Some Brief Thoughts on the Mysterious and Inconvenient Mass Death of Birds in Arkansas and Sweden is a post from: Ark's Ark

]]> http://www.arksark.org/blog/4682/mysterious-and-inconvenient-mass-death-of-birds-in-arkansas-and-sweden/feed/ 1 A Strange Flockhttp://www.arksark.org/blog/4382/a-strange-flock/ http://www.arksark.org/blog/4382/a-strange-flock/#comments Sat, 11 Dec 2010 09:20:05 +0000 Arkenor http://www.arksark.org/blog/?p=4382 I had some interesting visitors in my back garden for a little while this morning.

I have no idea what these birds are. They were around the size of a starling. Notably, many of them seemed to have a head-crest.

You can click the picture for a rather larger version. As usual, my cheap camera utterly failed to get a decent picture.

Update: After a little research, it looks as if they were Bohemian Waxwings, not commonly found in [...]

A Strange Flock is a post from: Ark's Ark

]]> http://www.arksark.org/blog/4382/a-strange-flock/feed/ 1 More garden adventures!http://www.arksark.org/blog/3426/more-garden-adventures/ http://www.arksark.org/blog/3426/more-garden-adventures/#comments Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:36:14 +0000 Arkenor http://www.arksark.org/blog/?p=3426 My garden would horrify most real gardeners. Most of what I do to it involves ripping out the ever-encroaching bindweed coming under the fence from neighbours who consider them “ornamental”, and trying to make it as pleasant a place for nature as possible. Here are a few things I found in my garden adventures today. My little camera, as usual, struggles with getting close enough, but they’re just about usable:

Seven Spotted Ladybird

Galls on a Sycamore leaf

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More garden adventures! is a post from: Ark's Ark

]]> http://www.arksark.org/blog/3426/more-garden-adventures/feed/ 0 Spider Babys.http://www.arksark.org/blog/3339/spider-babys/ http://www.arksark.org/blog/3339/spider-babys/#comments Sat, 22 May 2010 13:10:38 +0000 Arkenor http://www.arksark.org/blog/?p=3339 Araneus diadematus, the European garden spider, has been busy in my garden. I spotted this group of bouncing babies having fun on my wheeliebin and thought I’d share!

The focus isn’t perfect, but I think it’s the best my little camera is going to manage as close as I had to get. These spiderlings are little more than a millimetre across each. Click the picture to get a larger version.

Araneus diadematus - Baby European Garden Spiders

I hope [...]

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]]> http://www.arksark.org/blog/3339/spider-babys/feed/ 0 The British Big Freeze of 2010http://www.arksark.org/blog/1679/the-british-big-freeze-of-2010/ http://www.arksark.org/blog/1679/the-british-big-freeze-of-2010/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:29:02 +0000 Arkenor http://www.arksark.org/blog/?p=1679 Via Twitter from Ysharros. It really IS cold. This is a NASA satellite image from today.

The British Big Freeze 2010

Truly epic.

The British Big Freeze of 2010 is a post from: Ark's Ark

Related posts: Fairytale, The Winner of Eurovision 2009! Star Trek Online ST.0.20100217c.4 patch notes, 18th February 2010

The British Big Freeze of 2010 is a post from: Ark's Ark

]]> http://www.arksark.org/blog/1679/the-british-big-freeze-of-2010/feed/ 0 This just in: George W. Bush is still a jerk.http://www.arksark.org/blog/234/this-just-in-george-w-bush-is-still-a-jerk/ http://www.arksark.org/blog/234/this-just-in-george-w-bush-is-still-a-jerk/#comments Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:17:38 +0000 Arkenor http://www.arksark.org/blog/?p=234 From the Telegraph:

The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: “Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter.”

He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.

Mr Bush, whose second and final term as President ends at the end of the year, then left the meeting at the Windsor Hotel [...]

This just in: George W. Bush is still a jerk. is a post from: Ark's Ark

]]> http://www.arksark.org/blog/234/this-just-in-george-w-bush-is-still-a-jerk/feed/ 0 Al Gore’s New Slideshowhttp://www.arksark.org/blog/196/al-gore-s-new-slideshow/ http://www.arksark.org/blog/196/al-gore-s-new-slideshow/#comments Mon, 05 May 2008 04:31:03 +0000 Arkenor http://www.arksark.org/blog/?p=196 Recently, at TED, the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference, Al Gore spoke about the challenges facing our world:

I guess it’s too late for him to break into the Democratic nomination now. The remaining Democratic runners have been rather quiet on the most important issue of our time. Hilary Clinton and Republican John McCain even want to suspend petrol tax (18 cents a gallon) for the summer. While that might be a temporary help to low-income drivers, the vast amount [...]

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]]> http://www.arksark.org/blog/196/al-gore-s-new-slideshow/feed/ 0 Draft Al Gore for President of the World: His Nobel lecture.http://www.arksark.org/blog/169/draft-al-gore-for-president-of-the-world-his-nobel-lecture/ http://www.arksark.org/blog/169/draft-al-gore-for-president-of-the-world-his-nobel-lecture/#comments Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:43:07 +0000 Arkenor http://www.arksark.org/blog/2007/12/11/draft-al-gore-for-president-of-the-world-his-nobel-lecture/ Al Gore’s Nobel lecture, in full I hope.

More than ever, we need leaders who take climate change seriously. I’m not talking Kyoto serious, I’m talking “Oh crap oh crap, billions will die if we don’t do something now” serious. It is something of a blessing and a curse for me that I studied some environmental science at UEA, as it leaves me less able than most to blithely ignore the coming storm, and go about my business.

[...]

Draft Al Gore for President of the World: His Nobel lecture. is a post from: Ark's Ark

]]> http://www.arksark.org/blog/169/draft-al-gore-for-president-of-the-world-his-nobel-lecture/feed/ 0 Black Rhinos murdered by morons.http://www.arksark.org/blog/140/black-rhinos-murdered-by-morons/ http://www.arksark.org/blog/140/black-rhinos-murdered-by-morons/#comments Sat, 24 Nov 2007 01:37:35 +0000 Arkenor http://www.arksark.org/blog/2007/11/24/black-rhinos-murdered-by-morons/ This fills me with cold fury. From the BBC:

Efforts to save the black rhino from extinction have been dealt a blow by the killing of three adults who were part of a breeding programme in Zimbabwe.

For the past 20 years the family has been rearing the animals and returning them to the wild, but last week, in the dead of night, armed men in camouflage gear burst onto the site and shot dead all three adult females. [...]

Black Rhinos murdered by morons. is a post from: Ark's Ark

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