[Stiftung PanEco]

A final update about the three young falcons:

Stiftung PanEco
They are not longer at our Bird Sanctuary. They are in freedom and none of them came back. That is a good sign, so they are able to live for their own.

Great news Annette, still, poor mama!!

Yup Quest!

Mystery thingie! Was wondering what that white thing was on the ledge!

The upload failed overnight and needed to be restarted.

OMG....NOOOOOO. I hate when that happens!! Bummer, sorry!

Sam waiting for Archer and Beauty

Is that Sam's liquor bottle?

Well Yeah, SAM BUCCA

Now where is that Harlequin?

...and Kendal:

Nice to see Kendal too!! Thanks KAT

Thanks so much Kat! So good to see Quest close-up. Tell Mr Camera man we thank him BIG TIME!!

GATORS??! Whoooooaaaaaa!!!

 

Yup, in her backyard pond. Mom always liked the gators. They would come up on her lawn to sun and sleep for a few hours.

Mom had a stroke back in June so my sister goes over to her house every day to check on her cat and get it ready in case Irene hits. She took these pics yesterday while there.

Gator going after some ducks

Ducks watching Gator

Heron watching Gator.

Sam waiting for Archer and Beauty

[Have a great day! (Are you still with us)?]

Have a great day! (Are you still with us)? 

[But when I looked expectantly towards the Summerville Pier on the other side of the river, I wasn’t disappointed. Through my spotting scope I could see tiny birds scattered here and there among the gulls and terns, scampering about.]

http://blogs.democratandchronicle.com/birds/2011/08/24/shorebirds-and/ Catching up with some old friends By Bob

But when I looked expectantly towards the Summerville Pier on the other side of the river, I wasn’t disappointed. Through my spotting scope I could see tiny birds scattered here and there among the gulls and terns, scampering about.

WATERFORD -- James Hill III suspected a bear had pulled down the suet feeder in his Waterford Township yard.

So he put out a camera with a motion detector and captured not a single bear, but three -- a mother and two cubs.

"I was astonished," Hill said. "I never figured there'd be a family."

The three animals photographed Monday morning on Hill's property on Union Road are among numerous black bears sighted in Erie County this year. Others have been spotted just outside the Erie city limits in Millcreek Township and also in Harborcreek and Greene townships. One was shot in Summit Township, and another was recorded on a security camera outside Fairview High School, both in June.

A Pennsylvania Game Commission official has said the black bears in Erie County are the result of a growing black bear population in the state.

The cubs Hill saw are evidence of the growth. He estimated each weighed maybe 75 pounds, with the mother at a couple hundred.

"I'm happy to have them," Hill said. "They have a safe place to live here."

They weren't the first bears to visit his 150 acres, which he described as his own wildlife sanctuary. Hill, an ornithologist, said there are more than 100 breeding species of birds there, as well as animals like beavers.

He's had bears visit before, most recently in 2010. That's why he suspected one when the metal arm holding his suet feeder, which is about five feet off the ground, was pulled down and bent last week.

So he set up the camera, which managed to take about 60 photographs of the bears Monday shortly after 9 a.m.

Hill said he was sitting at that time with a computer by a window overlooking the feeders but didn't notice the bears right away. When he did, they were only about eight feet away.

The Waterford man, who described himself and his property as "critter-friendly," said the bears were welcome there despite the damage they did.

GoErie.com

A baby falcon has been reunited with its owner after flying 170 miles from Lancaster to Edinburgh.

The 15-week-old female Lanner falcon named Lucy fled last Wednesday August 17 after she was attacked by crows while being exercised by her owner Barry Haughton.

The terrified bird bolted north after a mob of birds dive bombed her, only landing after exhaustion and hungry forced her to the ground in Holyrood Park six days later.

By chance, Scottish SPCA ambulance driver Mairi Stewart was in the area releasing another bird when she spotted Lucy.

Mairi said: "I was amazed to see this beautiful bird of prey just sitting on the grass close by me. She was clearly very hungry by the way she was feeding on a pigeon she'd just caught and I could see she was quite young.

"As I approached I noticed she was wearing jesses so I knew she belonged to someone. I caught her without too much trouble and found her owner's contact details on her jess.

"He didn't believe me when I explained I was in Edinburgh holding his bird."

Mairi took the baby bird to nearby Dalhousie Castle Falconry, Bonnyrigg, where she was cared for by handlers until Mr Haughton was able to come and collect her.

Barry, 70, said: "I was resigned to the fact that I'd never see Lucy again when out of the blue I got the call from the officer.

"When she said she was in Edinburgh I thought it must be a mistake there's no way she could have flown that far but sure enough it's my bird.

"I'm so glad she was found when she was. Any later and her blood sugar would have got so low that she wouldn't be able to fly and could have died.

"This was only the 11th time she'd flown free when out of nowhere a crow appeared and spooked her.

"She veered off and the crow gave chase, quickly followed by a mob of around five crows all dive bombing her.

"She must have been terrified and I was very upset. I have her fitted with a tracker so I followed her in the car for an hour and a half right to the sea estuary of the River Lune and that's where the trail went cold so I knew she must have flown over the water."

Barry, who has been enjoying falconry for 20 years, hopes to continue training Lucy for display flying.

However, he is concerned she may repeat her long-distance adventure.

He said: "Lucy's now experienced hunting for herself but if I keep her at the right weight and interested in the lure she'll associate me with food and hopefully she'll keep coming back."

 

STV Edinburgh

(movie)  Lightning in Rochester, (I think)

The photo album is slowly being uploaded to Kodak Gallery. In the meantime, here are a few videos.

Either Kodak is verrrrry slow or you have as many pics as I have posts!!