Five men, four of whom were officers in the US Navy when they were caught after shooting and killing White Ibis, Double-crested Cormorants, Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Tree Swallows, Cattle Egrets, and Snowy Egrets in Florida in February of 2009, have pled guilty to related charges.  They had each faced up to six months in prison and a $150,000 fine but instead will each have to do 150 hours of community service with a wildlife organization, make a $5,000 donation to a wildlife charity, and take hunter education classes.  I think they should have been stripped naked, tied down, covered with glue and birdseed, and left out for a day in a place frequented by cardinals, but I guess that’s why I’m not a judge…

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.