Federal judge finds oil firm guilty in bird deaths A federal magistrate judge has found a Kansas oil man and an oil firm guilty of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for not properly screening equipment to protect birds. U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Humpreys found that Apollo Energies Inc. and Dale Walker, doing business as Red Cedar Oil, did not comply with a federal law that requires them to secure oil field equipment to keep birds from getting trapped in exhaust stacks and openings. The case stems from two search warrants the agency executed at sites in Barber County. Apollo Energies and Walker were found guilty of one misdemeanor count for the deaths of two Northern flickers and an Eastern bluebird. In addition, Walker was found guilty of a second count for the death of a common grackle at another site. "The spooky part of it is that this can happen everywhere," defense attorney Stephen Robison said Monday. "It really could happen as a bird flies into your front window, it could happen in your chimney, it could happen in the roof vent of any building in Wichita, Kan., it could happen in grain bins all over the state, and we are at the mercy of the Fish and Wildlife Service," he said. "That is the upsetting part."....Thank you Mr. Cheney.