It even made one very close pass by the boat, within twenty yards, but I managed to butcher the photographic opportunity so you will have to make do with these two shots, the best I got of any of the six Tufted Puffins we totalled. I love puffins. Before my trip to Washington the only species of puffin I had ever seen in the wild was the puffin of the Atlantic Ocean, the appropriately named Atlantic Puffin. MORE

I’ll copy the whole thing here in case I butcher it: What we need do is study the wing formulae of the two birds. My dad says he can call a Fish Crow from an American Crow on sight. I’m not entirely inclined to disbelieve him, but I’ve always had trouble differentiating the two common, often equally so, Corvids of the Southeast. MORE

Hal Herzog’s “ Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat ” (Harper 2011), though fascinating, is ultimately depressing for vegans and animal rights activists. Over at Animal Rights and AntiOppression , we’ve been discussing tactics and sharing our thoughts and experiences about what works and doesn’t work when it comes to advocacy. MORE

Dutch law requires animals to be stunned before slaughter, but has long allowed an exemption for Muslims and orthodox Jews, who can legally butcher animals according to their centuries-old dietary rules. It could have a snowball effect for other countries in Europe, although probably it certainly won't be seen as politically correct. Excerpted from the Irish Times. THE DUTCH parliament has voted overwhelmingly to ban the ritual slaughter of livestock. MORE

A different research says, from 2002 to 2011 the known populations of forest elephants declined by 62%. I say they were butchered, face-off. Late last month, while searching for bears , woodpeckers and spirits of Greece, I deliberately avoided checking any news, especially from my home country. Every now and then, I need to cut the world off and clear my mind. MORE

Horses could soon be butchered in the U.S. that butcher horses for human consumption now, but if one were to open, it would conduct inspections to make sure federal laws were being followed. Bad news for horses in the US. Of course, right now, they're just being shipped to Canada and Mexico anyway, where health and welfare standards are much, much lower. Read the complete article at pantagraph.com. MORE

In 2011, my wife and I sailed into a beautiful little anchorage here in the Sea of Cortez, on Isla Espritu Santos. Childhood memories flooded back in, and I began my search for the poor victims of this bird, so lovingly nicknamed “The Butcher Bird” Nothing was found, not a grasshopper, lizard, nothing. As a boy growing up, I scoured every bird book I could get my hands on. In each of them, I was always fascinated with the shrikes. MORE

Since the order went into effect, Claire Butcher continued to feed the ducks in the park and was allegedly observed bringing entire shopping carts filled with food. Feeding birds is generally regarded as a harmless past-time, a wholesome way for people to share nature and enjoy wildlife with the family. However, more and more news stories are popping up this year of communities cracking down on bird feeding. MORE