The strong earthquake and accompanying tsunami in northern Japan a couple weeks ago, with the resulting problems for nuclear power plants, has been a tragedy indeed.
About 10,000 people died, and more than that are missing. Over 300,000 survivors have suffered, with many losing much or all of what they had.
Our hearts go out to the Japanese people (I have communicated with some). I wish there were more that could be done here to help, and hopefully, as time goes by, there can be.

Since my first visit to Japan in 1984, I have learned much about the country, its people, and its nature.
I have been with 35 Focus On Nature Tours in Japan, maybe more than anyone else on such birding & nature tours. That is why the tragedy has affected me so deeply.

The earthquake that struck was in the ocean along the route of our pelagic trips that we have done during our tour between Honshu and Hokkaido.

Not, of course, as significant as the loss of human life, it is still notable that some bird life was affected by the tsunami, in Hawaii.
Several thousand LAYSAN ALBATROSSES died, both chicks and adults, when the tsunami struck in the middle of the night on Midway Island. Very sad.
Somehow, however, among those that lived was the 60 year-old albatross named "Wisdom", said to be the oldest of the birds, and her chick. On Sand Island.
And, the SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS and chick on Eastern Island, survived (the first known U.S. nesting, and the only nesting, as I know, outside Japan).

Not at all related to the also-terrible earthquake that struck Haiti a couple years ago, there is some interesting more-recent news from that country.
An effort was made late last year to find, worldwide, 100 species of FROGS that have not been seen or heard in years.
During that endeavor, 6 species of frogs were rediscovered in Haiti, all in the genus ELEUTHERODACTYLUS, including: 
the MOZART FROG (it sounds like a Mozart musical piece)
the HISPANIOLAN VENTRILOQUIAL FROG
the HISPANIOLAN CROWNED FROG
the MACAYA BURROWING FROG
the MACAYA BREAST-SPOT FROG
and the LA HOTTE GLANDED FROG.
All of these have not been found, prior to this past winter, since at least the 1990s.

Actually, the frog in Haiti that was being searched for, the LA SELLE GRASS FROG, was not found. Nor has it been since 1985.
Worldwide, of the 100 species searched for, unfortunately only 4 were found.

These species have been added, as a matter of interest, to the list of Caribbean amphibians and reptiles elsewhere in this website:

AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF THE CARIBBEAN 

We don't have any FONT tours scheduled to where such frogs are in Haiti (but it's good to know they're there).
We do, however, have some birding & nature tours scheduled for the Caribbean for next winter, including one in the Dominican Republic on Hispaniola. Info is in our website:

UPCOMING FONT TOURS IN THE CARIBBEAN
 

There has been work recently enhance the butterfly lists in the FONT website. 
Still more is to be done, but there's now info relating to the butterflies of Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, the Caribbean, Central America, and in South America in the area of Iguazu Falls - along the Brazil-Argentina border, a prime place for butterflies.
Hundreds of species are listed, and in the website we have photos, now, of 78 species.
We're looking for more, and would be most appreciative.

(Since this text was written, the number of photos in the FONT website of butterflies and moths has increased to 248 species.)