It seems that Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) are now moving from the countryside into our towns and cities here in the UK. Numerous reports of nesting pairs are cropping up all over the country, and to try and help the plight of these birds, 2 pairs are undergoing closer scrutiny than they would normally. Apparently towns and cities are great for peregrines as they offer the high-spots in which they like to nest and perch, offering great views of the surrounding areas (so that they can spot any potential predators as well as prey).

Wired News (not sure why) are reporting of the birth of another shark pup to a virgin mum. DNA tests on the baby shark showed that there was no male DNA present at all, thus showing that the reproduction was completely asexual. This follows the case in the middle of 2007 where an Atlantic Blacktip Shark (named Tidbit) died at an aquarium in Virginia Beach. During a necropsy of the shark, a shark pup was found to be being carried. This led to speculation that the shark had either been impregnated by a male of another species (for which there are no documented cases), or had reproduced asexually.

In more great birds of prey news, a batch of white tailed sea eagles have been released into the wild in Scotland (BBC report here). This is part of a project aiming to re-introduce the bird back to eastern Scotland. All the birds have been tagged and can therefore be tracked so that members of the project team can watch their progress and monitor where they end up.

Fantastic news from the RSPB (here) about the re-introduction of red kites to Northern Ireland. Previously missing from Northern Ireland for the past 200 years, their re-introduction is an important step in ensuring the survival of the species. And if you’re in the area of the Clarkhill Valley then you might want to pop along to Bannastown Road, Castlewellan between Friday 22nd August and Monday 25th August (11am - 4pm each day), or every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday thereafter, to view these birds in this spectacular setting.

Great news indeed, and another success story for the continuing work of the RSPB with birds of prey.

An article over at The Register (here) caught my eye a couple of days ago. It relates to some investigations carried out on logbooks from ships in the 1730s, and mentions the fact that there is “consistent language” and “European shore-based records” that indicate that global warming was taking place then.

So Autoblog, and sister site AutoblogGreen, are reporting 2 new ways for the production of oil that don’t involve dead creatures from millions of years ago. The first (reported on Autoblog here) involves the use of livestock feed, and some genetically altered bacteria, primarily a genetically altered strain of E. coli.

The bacteria have been added to a 1,000 litre vat of the animal feed, and can turn out 40 gallons of crude oil (almost good enough to pour straight into your car) in a week. Very impressive. As long as they don’t escape. Or mutate. Or both of course!

Once again it seems that one of the most iconic birds of prey to live in the UK is under increased threat. In a report titled The Golden Eagle Framework, Scottish Natural Heritage notes that the continued persecution of the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) in Scotland is effectively threatening their continued existence in the UK. Only 440 pairs are known to be breeding in the UK, all in Scotland. An even sadder statistic is the fact that the UK population is just 1 male bird. And whilst the persecution continues in Scotland, the population cannot be effectively re-introduced to England.

Well there are some things that you really can’t explain. And definitely some things you never anticipate. Being woken up by an earth tremor is one of these things. And that’s what just happened. It lasted for around 5 seconds and startled me awake at about 00:58 (about 15 minutes ago). I didn’t know what to think at all, and it’s a really strange sensation. My first look out of the window revealed a very strange sight indeed, birds flying round at 1am. Hopefully there’s no damage in the area, and that there has been no injury to people. I’ll post more tomorrow, but Sky News are now reporting that there are reports across from Norfolk to Birmingham so it seems it’s been quite widespread….

I was absolutely fascinated by this story which appeared on The Register recently. If you haven’t read then go and read it. Nothing unusual in there you might think. Except that one of the quotes caught my attention… “This year’s ozone hole was less centred on the South Pole as in other years, which allowed it to mix with warmer air, reducing the growth of the hole because ozone is depleted at temperatures less than -78 degrees Celsius,”. Now I didn’t appreciate this fact. I assumed that ozone disappeared under all conditions. However, from the quote in the story it appears that ozone disappears faster when conditions are cold. Mix the cold air under the hole with slightly warmer air and the disappearance of ozone happens at a slower rate.

Welcome to At World’s End. This is a new blog which will concentrate on covering interesting tidbits from around the internet which are science and nature related, as well as my own thoughts and opinions on all things science and nature. Sometimes controversial, sometimes stating the obvious, always entertaining and informative. Thanks for coming to the World’s End, it’s going to be a great journey…