Free Republic

Oregon officials have scheduled a press conference for 3:30 p.m. and are expected to announce that football coach Mike Bellotti will become the new athletic director and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly will take Bellotti's place as head coach. The timetable is not yet known

A woman was caught allegedly trying to steal a duck from a local pond, and the reason she gave police was very unusual. Ducks seem to be disappearing at the Land Park Pond in Sacramento. Police aren't exactly sure why, but in one case, they tracked down the alleged thief and she gave them an unusual excuse. "It's certainly not the type of call an officer gets everyday," said Sgt. Matt Young, Sacramento Police Department. Police said someone saw a woman and her children playing at the pond. Soon after, the witness said, the woman took off with the duck....

The Red Hen in the Barnyard Once upon a time, on a farm in Virginia, there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered quite a few grains of wheat. She called all of her neighbors together and said, 'If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?' 'Not I,' said the cow. 'Not I,' said the duck. 'Not I,' said the pig. 'Not I,' said the goose. 'Then I will do it by myself,' said the little red hen, and so she did. The wheat grew...

Feeding Ducks & Geese: The Parks Division strongly discourages the feeding of area waterfowl. Because food supplied by people is easy for the birds to obtain, ducks and geese lose their natural migrating instincts. This leads to overpopulation, making creatures more susceptible to disease and predators. Please allow them to find their own sources of food.

WING, N.D. - Mike Goos likens the prairie potholes of North Dakota to suburbia. Ducks born in the prairie potholes mature while on "spring break" in the south, returning north to find a home and raise their young, he said. "You're a pair that likes 3 inches of water, we've got a place for you. You're a pair that likes 4 feet of water, we've got a place for you," Mr. Goos, a Fish and Wildlife Service wetlands manager, said on a June 23 wetlands tour. But as with humans, suburban life for ducks isn't free of troubles. As the...

When the Snowy Egrets get all dressed up, and the Red Breasted Mergansers pass through on the way North, it's Springtime! http://www.pbase.com/tsiya/root http://photobucket.com/albums/v244/tsiya/ http://cabbagehammock.blogspot.com/

SYDNEY (AFP) - Animal lovers in Australia have cried foul over a Sydney golf club's plan to cull native wood ducks living on its course, it was reported Tuesday. The plan by Sydney's Warringah Golf Club to kill the ducks because they are ripping up its greens led to vandalism and threats against the course, local media reported. The club opted to hire a marksman to shoot its duck population after other deterrents, such as cat-like objects and rubber snakes, failed to work. But protesters dug up some of the greens in the dead of night over the weekend and...

CN_Today 12/16/2006 3:14:00 PM USDA: Moldy Grain, Not Bird Flu, Caused Idaho Duck Deaths WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Moldy grain, not bird flu, caused a large mallard duck die-off in Idaho, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokeswoman said Friday. Tests conducted at the National Wildlife Health Center, which is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, found no avian influenza, said USDA spokeswoman Angela Harless. Instead, it’s been determined that the birds were sickened by eating mold on corn, she said. Mold produces a toxin that can sicken wildlife when ingested. As many as 2,500 mallard ducks died along a southeastern Idaho creek...

Over 1,000 mallard ducks die in Idaho By JESSE HARLAN ALDERMAN, Associated Press Writer Wed Dec 13, 7:37 PM ET BOISE, Idaho - More than 1,000 mallard ducks have died along a single creek in southern Idaho, and officials on Wednesday tested tissue samples to find out why. ADVERTISEMENT The symptoms — lesions in the lungs and hemorrhaging in the heart wall — likely point to a bacterial infection, not avian flu, said Dave Parrish, regional supervisor for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. State wildlife biologists and U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigators were not ruling out any...

BOISE, Idaho-More than 1,000 mallard ducks have died along a single creek in southern Idaho, and officials on Wednesday tested tissue samples to find out why.The symptoms-lesions in the lungs and hemorrhaging in the hart wall-likely point to a bacterial infection, not avian flu, said David Parrish, regional supervisor for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

U.S. finds low-risk H5N1 bird flu strain in ducks Fri Sep 1, 2006 5:43pm ET By Charles Abbott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mallard ducks in Maryland have tested positive for bird flu, apparently a common, less pathogenic strain that poses no risk to humans, the U.S. Agriculture and Interior departments said on Friday. The H5N1 avian influenza virus was found in fecal samples from "resident wild" mallards in Queen Anne's County in Maryland, on the U.S. central Atlantic coast. "Testing has ruled out the possibility of this being the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain that has spread through birds in Asia, Europe...

Probation and community service for A.C. culprit. MAYS LANDING, N.J. - An Atlantic City man has been sentenced to three years of probation and community service at an animal shelter for beating a duck. Donald Chapman pleaded guilty to animal cruelty a few months ago, saying he kicked the mallard and beat it with a broom March 15 in the parking lot of the Fox Chase development he worked at in Galloway Township. State Superior Court Judge James Isman sentenced Chapman on Friday, warning him against harming any more animals and ordering him to pay $276 for the duck's care....

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 13, 2006) – The Department of the Army advanced on its goal to prevent encroachment by establishing a new partnership between the Army Compatible Use Buffer Program and Ducks Unlimited July 7. The partnership allows Ducks Unlimited – an organization committed to the conservation, restoration and management of wetlands and associated habitats for North American waterfowl – to work with the Army to identify opportunities for wetland creation and management near installations participating in the ACUB program, said Chad Henry, director of training for the Training Lands Office. “It gives the troops more area to...

Jan. 10 EUGENE, Ore. — Here's a tip: If you're cashing paychecks from the University of Oregon, treat Phil Knight with unabashed love; even genuflect at his Nikes if the occasion calls for it. Just don't tick him off or, heaven forbid, fall shy of grandiose designs for his beloved alma mater — lest you might end up following Martin Smith down Interstate 5. >>>>>> Knight, who historically has been reluctant to discuss his philanthropy, declined to be interviewed for this story. But over the last decade, the father of modern sports marketing, the guy whose push-the-envelope company sold us...

Court Ducks 'In God We Trust' Case (CBS) WASHINGTON Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a dispute over the constitutionality of putting "In God We Trust" on government buildings. Earlier this year justices were splintered on the appropriateness of Ten Commandments displays in and near government buildings. The court did not comment in rejecting an appeal over an "In God We Trust" inscription on the Davidson County Government Center in Lexington, N.C. The inscription, in 18-inch block letters, was paid for with donations from individuals and churches in 2002. It is more prominent than the name of the building, according to...

DNC Chair Howard Dean ducks out of a head-to-head withRNC Chair Ken Mehlman on "Meet The Press"...(click here to see it reeeeeeeally large)

Thanks to his Lab, hunter avoids death By Bill Wundram BRENT Teel was going down for the fourth time in deep water. His waders, filled with water, kept sucking him deeper into the cold Mississippi River. Wader straps were tangling around his neck. Water was up to his nose. “I knew I was going to die. I was choking, but could yell for my dog, Junior. He had been circling me in the water. That black Lab knew that I was in big trouble. He swam to me. I grabbed onto his collar and he pulled me at least 20...

Interfax.com - 10:54 No confirmation of bird flu in Tula - official

An unknown disease has caused the deaths of thousands of wild Teal ducks in north-western Iran, but a government official said today the cause was not the bird flu strain that has killed birds in Romania and neighbouring Turkey. Behrouz Yasemi, an official with Iran's State Veterinary Organisation, blamed a "mysterious disease" for the deaths of 3,692 wild ducks. "We were looking for bird flu [but] medical tests have definitely ruled out flu," Yasemi said. "Experts are now in the process of diagnosing this mysterious disease. We may be able to diagnose it in the next few days." The...

Assailant beaten, may not make it Former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad received a bullet injury in his left arm on Thursday when a gunman opened fire on the dais from which he had just finished addressing an election rally at Nokha, about 25 km from Sasaram. The assailant fired several shots from a country-made handgun at around 2 p.m. before he was overpowered by BJP workers. Eyewitnesses said the man was carrying a second pistol which he could not fire. He was identified as Munna Rai, alias Halchal Rai, of Karahasi village under Nokha police station of Sasaram. Rohtas...