Can we safely assume that Cinni & Sunny are doing well and on to bigger adventures? 

POINTE-DU-CHÊNE - Claude Daigle was looking to fish for mackerel Thursday evening at the Pointe-du-Chêne wharf. Instead, he accidentally caught a shorebird with his five-hook rig.

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1433503 Story and pics

Canada

[We'll be filming New York City pigeons...from very far away...in 3-D. Nature!]

We'll be filming New York City pigeons...from very far away...in 3-D. Nature!

Digital recording binoculars aren't really new--there are some cheapie versions available--but Sony's new DEV-3 and DEV-5 binoculars lift that humble tech into some really impressive new places. Instead of taking a regular set of binoculars and cramming a cheap video recording device into them, Sony took its high-end HD camcorders and molded them into the shape of binoculars. That means they can both record in 720p (high-def) and in 3-D--these might be the perfect tools for birdwatchers and other nature-types (as opposed to snipers).

What's interesting here is that these binoculars are essentially not one but two of Sony's G-Lens optics systems, the same ones found in the company's HandyCam camcorders and CyberShot cameras. That makes shooting in 3-D incredibly easy, since the two separate lenses make it naturally stereoscopic--and naturally in full HD. They can, of course, shoot both 2-D and 3-D, as well as take 7MP still photos.

The binoculars both boast 10x optical zooms (in 2-D; in 3-D, they can both manage 5.4x), but the DEV-5, the more advanced of the two (bigger number equals better binoculars!), also offers a 20x digital zoom. Sony claims that thanks to image stabilization and autofocus, the DEV-5's digital zoom avoids some of the problems inherent to digital zoom (like a loss in clarity), and allows shooting in lower light than a bulky and heavy 20x optical zoom would. Still, these seem like some pretty sophisticated sensors: in 2-D, Sony claims that you can focus on an object as close to the binoculars as a mere centimeter away.

The DEV-5 also includes a built-in GPS receiver that can geo-tag your photos and video clips, so you can see exactly where you were when you try to pass off a pileated woodpecker as the probably-extinct Ivory-billed woodpecker, and both binoculars are designed for stealth (no visible shiny buttons, an elastomer coating for grip), so your quarry doesn't see you perched in a tree or whatever. Battery life is about three and a half hours for 2-D recording, though there will be an extended battery that can bump that to over six hours. It relies on external memory cards (SD or Memory Stick), and has an HDMI-out port so you can show off your videos on an HDTV.

Both the DEV-3 and DEV-5 will be available this November, the former at $1,400 and the latter at $2,000.

Good idea. Save your pennies!

Beauty landed at nest 4:42am. Cam went dark off to FCT

[Oh my goodness. That would drive me crazy.]

Oh my goodness.  That would drive me crazy.  Seems to be driving the other Cockatiel crazy too.   

Justice used to wolf whistle, but hasn't done it in awhile.  Lucky kaks.  Hahaha! Just kidding.   

EXACTLY!! Bad mistake I made!

Excellent videos MAK. Oh they were calling too!! Sweet. Love where they both took off at the same time in the 2nd video!! Good job!!!!!!!!!! 

Wow, I thought for sure you'd snag that tranny!! Even with GPS tracking, it's a mystery. Good try though girls. As long as you had fun, that's all that matters. Look what you saw while investigating!!! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecwE3tWMj50#ws Who made the mess?

The RSPCA is calling for information about an attack on a crow at Portland, in western Victoria on Sunday.

The bird was brought to the RSPCA shelter with its beak stapled shut and 29 staples in its body.

It had to be put down.

The shelter manager, Leanne Velthuyzen says it is the worst case of animal cruelty she has seen.

She hopes the perpetrator can be found.

"With something like this, you know it's going to be really difficult to find out who did it," she said.

"But if people know about these things, then you know they're aware of it, then hopefully it may stop the next person.

"Even if they take it straight to the vet, if they see something like this it needs to be looked at."

(This is absurd, that poor crow). 

[Perhaps one of the weirdest back stories for an animal at the Magnetic Hill Zoo belongs to Elvira the black vulture.]

Perhaps one of the weirdest back stories for an animal at the Magnetic Hill Zoo belongs to Elvira the black vulture.

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/entertainment/article/1433125   What a pretty girl!!

This is from a post BigFrank made on Ohio board last year:


.Cheyenne is Canadian Peregrine Foundation's newest feathered educator. She came from a breeder in Alberta Canada to us last summer. She is now about 4 months old. Our staff imprinted her,raising her for the first several weeks among people. They take in everything at that age,so staff,exposed her to as much as possible,cars,crowds,wheeelchairs,children etc. Cheyenne has already done one outdoor show and at least one corporate visit of one of our sponsors. We have an education program that has visited over 16000 classrooms so far,at no cost to the schools(sponsors pay for the visits). The education program is linked directly to the cirriculum for grades 4-6. .

Oh wow, so she was raised just for that purpose. Interesting, thanks jeanne!!

So was there anything wrong with Cheyenne? She was just chosen to be an educational falcon?

For some reason, there's more info now than ever on the Peregrines in NJ!! That peregrine has a split wing!! Hmm

She is just making sure she closed the gate and locked the door.

 

Beauty has just landed. Next to main cam

And she's gone!