Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put off a decision about whether ivory-billed woodpeckers are extinct, announcing Wednesday that it's adding six months to review information, including a month of public comment.
"We are aware that there have been surveys or evidence collected recently," Amy Trahan, the agency's expert on the birds, said Wednesday. "This extra time allows them to submit their evidence to consider."
The bird, which also has been called the Lord God bird for the astounded exclamations by people who saw one, has or had a 30-inch (76-centimetre) wingspan, a high, nasal call and a distinctive double knock as it pecks for beetles.
It was among 23 animals the agency said in September 2021 it was planning to declare gone from the earth, removing them from the endangered list.
The agency is still reviewing evidence from two public comment periods about the woodpecker, Trahan said.
In the public comment period the agency is looking for photos or videos so clear that they "can be repeatedly interpreted the same way by independent observers."
Trahan would not comment about what has been submitted or who has made surveys or collected more evidence.
Ornithologist John Fitzpatrick, a former director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, said, "Nobody has gotten that cover-of-Time-magazine foldout that everybody wishes they could. But there is still legitimate believable evidence that these birds still exist in remote locations of Louisiana and Arkansas."
Fitzpatrick, who was lead author of a 2005 study that said the woodpecker had been found in eastern Arkansas, said a non-peer-reviewed paper by respected experts posted on a "preprint" site has some very interesting videos. One shows a group of three large woodpeckers pecking at branches high in a tree.
"The only woodpecker that foraged together in small groups was the ivorybill," he said.
The Wildlife and Fisheries Service announcement in September opened a 60-day period for public comment, and another comment period was opened with a virtual public meeting about the woodpecker in January.
Only one of nine speakers at that meeting supported the proposal to declare the bird extinct. Fitzpatrick was among experts who said the proposal was premature.
"For a species this iconic, this well-known, I think the right approach for them to take is caution," he said Wednesday. "And I think that's what they're doing."
The other 22 animals are still proposed for removal from the endangered list because of extinction. The agency has a year from the September announcement to take final action and has not yet done so.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.