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BIRDING ADVENTURES TV NEWS Greetings!
For the BATV crew, the past week has been filled with contrasting emotions. On the one hand, we were awe-struck watching a pair of the critically endangered Ridgway's Hawks feed their two fledglings and elated by the early indications of a successful reintroduction program of these beautiful birds in the Punta Cana region of the Dominican Republic. On the other, we were appalled to follow the track of an ever-increasing oil-slick in the Gulf of Mexico. This oil-spill will prove catastrophic to countless birds and other organisms and is evidence yet again of the recklessness of the hand of man. Besides the immediate and direct impact of birds dying as a result of immobility caused by oiled feathers and ingesting oil, the long-term impact to fish stocks, bird habitats and on bird breeding should not be underestimated. It is our duty to speedily react to these sort of crises and we can only hope that the same hand that caused this devastation is somehow able to mitigate the loss of life. Please log-on here if you would like to find out about assisting the clean-up effort in any possible way. 
The critically endangered Ridgway's Hawk Be sure to catch the re-run of the Glossy Black Cockatoo show in South Australia when it airs this week on Fox Sports Net. Join our Facebook page where you will get sneak previews of shows, updates on our travels and much more!
Congratulations to the winner of our last quizz, Alice Deutsch! And be sure to enter this week's quizz. Stay tuned for another Birding Adventure! 
THE TV SHOW WHERE BIRDS OF A FEATHER ADVENTURE TOGETHER
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KANGAROO ISLAND, SOUTH AUSTRALIA! With significant National Park and Conservation reserves (one third of the entire island) and very few introduced plants and animals, biologists refer to Kangaroo Island as "the closest to what temperate Australia was like at the time of European settlement." The Island's diverse landscapes provide habitat for sealions, fur seals, endemic kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, echidnas, platypus, goannas, 255 bird species (many rare or endangered), possums, bandicoots and even whales. Except for whales, which pass through in winter, these are present all year-round.
With significant National Park and Conservation reserves (one third of the entire island) and very few introduced plants and animals, biologists refer to Kangaroo Island as "the closest to what temperate Australia was like at the time of European settlement." The Island's diverse landscapes provide habitat for sealions, fur seals, endemic kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, echidnas, platypus, goannas, 255 bird species (many rare or endangered), possums, bandicoots and even whales. Except for whales, which pass through in winter, these are present all year-round.
Beautiful Kangaroo Island in South Australia If you want to experience authentic Australia in a limited amount of time, Kangaroo Island is your must-see destination. A Kangaroo Island vacation has it all. Known as Australia's Galapagos, the island retains a rich diversity of wildlife. Travel there by air (30 minutes from Adelaide) or ferry. Kangaroo Island is ideal for walking, wildlife and nature, history, photography, outdoor pursuits, food and wine, fresh air and relaxation. The birdlife is nothing short of spectacular with birding highlights being Little Penguins, Glossy Black Cockatoos, Hooded Dotterel and Rock Parrots. 
Little Penguins are easily seen on Kangaroo Island For more information on Kangaroo Island please log-on here |
GLOSSY BLACK COCKATOOS! The Glossy Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami), also known as the Casuarina Black Cockatoo after one of their preferred food items, is the smallest member of the subfamily Calyptorhynchinae found in Australia. Adult Glossy Black Cockatoos may reach 50 cm (20 in) in length and are sexually dimorphic. Males are completely black in colour, excepting their prominent red tail bands; the females are dark brownish with some yellow spotting on the face. Three subspecies are recognised. Like most species of parrots, the Glossy Black Cockatoo is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora with its placement on the Appendix II list of vulnerable species, which makes the import, export, and trade of listed wild-caught animals illegal.
Glossy Black-cockatoos generally are not listed as threatened on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, however the Kangaroo Island race, C.lathami halmaturinis was added to the list as endangered. This week we tracked down this endemic and highly threatened race on beautiful Kangaroo Island.
Catch the quest for this beautiful bird this week on BATV!  Glossy Black Cockatoos on Kangaroo Island |
BATV WEEKLY QUIZZ
Correctly identify the mystery bird in the photo above and win a comprehensive Nikon lens cleaning kit. Email answers to info@BirdingAdventures.com and title your email "Quizz". Clue: Can easily be confused with another duck! The winner (first correct entry drawn) will be announced in next week's newsletter. Congratulations to our last winner, Alice Deutsch, who correctly identified our last mystery bird as a Broad-billed Hummingbird! Alice won a Nikon lens cleaning kit. |
TV SCHEDULE We will be airing the following new shows and re-runs this week on Fox Sports Net. Our upcoming immediate schedule is as follows: Week of May 6 Glossy Black Cockatoos - South Australia - RE-RUN Week of May 13 Top 10 Golden Birds - "Best of BATV" Week of May 20 Ridgway's Hawk - Dominican Republic Week of May 27 Western Bowerbird - Northern Territory - RE-RUN 
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Happy Birding,
The Birding Adventures Team PS - Check out the awesome deal Nikon is offering. Click on the "Take it to the Edg" banner below. 
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