Adult at nestbox

Look at you posting all these pics jeanne!! Great catch!! 

What a precious moment between Mother & Daughter!! 

http://www.wimp.com/oldschool/ OMG, such talent!!

Beauty arrives Left after this shot.

I don't think it's a butterfly Annette, looks creepy and see through!

BUG!

So good to see her this am!!

So this is before the slabs were removed??

http://www.youtube.com/embed/kPvciIdDZAE sent to me by Q, MAK's friend. This is great.

Q is also known as Sue!  

Oops, yeah, her too!!  

Balconies like you can climb out your window on to the balcony? Were there doors at one time? I guess it's a good thing because maybe they wouldn't pick that building if they were still attached. Sayin! Good info Carol, thanks!!

Yes Donna.  From what I was told, it led me to believe that people could go out onto the balconies.  There must have been a way to get out onto them.

Actually, they weren't balconies. There were decorative rectangular concrete slabs (70s concrete architecture...go figure!) attached to the protruding blocks you can currently see. About two years ago, one of those slabs on the opposite building (to the right) fell off! I was in the office when it happened and it felt like an earthquake! Luckily nobody was hurt, but there's a daycare in that building and it was all pretty frightening. The concrete slabs were removed quite some time ago and there are currently workers on the other building who are removing the protruding blocks and sanding everything flush with the ledges. Mark Nash was talking about this yesterday, because this same work is supposed to happen on Quest & Kendal's building (the concrete is eroding and has become a safety hazard), but because the building is now a protected habitat...well...should be interesting to see how things go. Hmm.

Oh thank you Kat! If they sand them down, how will next years babies hop the ledges?? It may keep them put!! LOL

They can be funny at times.

Awinged visitor from the south is ruffling the feathers of Weld County’s bird watchers, who are atwitter over what they’re calling a once-in-a-lifetime event.

A yellow-crowned night heron, usually from the southeast, has given birth to chicks with a black-crowned night heron — only the third time that such hybrid chicks have been documented in nature anywhere.

On June 28 at Glenmere Park, Fort Collins resident Donna Feagans saw two hybrid chicks nesting with their yellow-crowned night heron mother while their black-crowned night heron father stood guard over the nest.

“It was really exciting to see something so different; the bird is probably the most unique bird I have ever seen,� said Feagans, a birder of 15 years. “My husband and I were expecting just to see the yellow heron, but we saw little white heads that we thought were eggs. We saw the mother regurgitating for her chicks.�

Nearly a month ago, the yellow-crowned night heron flew into Glenmere Park, accounting for only the fourth sighting in Weld in more than 100 years.

Experts assume the yellow-crowned heron is female because a black-crowned heron was seen giving the bird a stick. The male offering a female a gift is a sign of courtship.

President of the Colorado Birding Society Jerry Petrosky confirmed the hatchings.

“I drove 80 miles one way to see this yellow-crowned heron,� Petrosky said. “Seeing this bird is rare enough and to see these hybrid chicks is a once-in-a-lifetime sighting.�

According to an article by the Western Field Ornithologists, the first reported sighting of the hybrid was in 1951 near Prescott, Ariz., and the second was in Coronado, Calif., in 2007.

He said the young likely are sterile. In the previous two sightings of the hybrid chicks elsewhere, only one has been photographed, he said.

“For the birds to attempt to breed and actually succeed is awesome,� he said. “This is exciting for birders, and I expect they will spend a lot of money to see this bird and put money into the community.�

One of those birders, Gary Lefko of Nunn, said the yellow-crowned female was still on the nest as of Sunday, and he is suspecting she is protecting the chicks. Lefko spotted the black-crown night heron nesting at Glenmere Park on Wednesday.

Black-crowned
Yellow-crowned (the pics work if you click on them) They do for me, if not sorry.

The Tribune

BirdLife Partners from 38 European countries have gathered information about the illegal killing and trapping of birds that occur in their countries. The revealing results were presented at the European Conference on Illegal Killing of Birds in Larnaka, Cyprus (1).

Illegal killing and trapping of birds is not restricted to the Mediterranean countries, contrary to what many people believed. Disgraceful as it is, one of the main conclusions of this report is that illegal killing of birds is a widespread practice that very few countries have managed to stop. In many cases birds are killed for economic reasons: because they are perceived by land users as a competitor for resources, or as a source of income through illegal trade. In other cases birds are persecuted as trophies, due to ignorance of the law or just for ‘fun’. Over 80 strictly protected bird species were reported as victims of deliberate wildlife crime.

“Birds are shot, trapped, caught with nets, glued to lime-sticks or even soaked with lethal poisons to lure and kill other birds… The creativity of those who break the law to kill a bird is appalling!� says Boris Barov, European Conservation Manager at BirdLife Europe, who presented the report, “Deliberate killing of birds which are protected, at the wrong places or during the closed season is unacceptable to conservationists and to responsible hunters alike. We expect the authorities and citizens to apply ‘zero tolerance’ to the offenders�.

The fact that Cyprus hosts this Conference is an extremely important opportunity for the authorities on the island to demonstrate their willingness to tackle the serious but yet unresolved problem of illegal trapping and shooting of migratory birds that spoils the reputation of the entire Mediterranean region.

More than 30 years since the adoption of European legislation aimed at eradicating persecution of wild birds the situation is far from resolved. The report takes stock of a shocking variety of illegal means and motivations behind these offences. Poisoning is among the most worrying as it is indiscriminate, thus equally dangerous for wildlife and for people.

“The use of poison is on the increase in many countries with the explicit purpose to kill predators and ‘protect’ economic interests.  It is strictly against the law to use poisons for this purpose. It is not only dangerous to humans but also jeopardizes the most successful conservation effortsâ€�, Boris Barov added.

During the Conference in Larnaka, BirdLife made specific recommendations for governments and civil society. Solutions often require cultural sensitivity and understanding of the human dimensions but the full implementation of the law is the indispensable first step of this process. In addition, governments need to set up effective institutions as well as to guarantee the adequate funds to enable the police, customs and courts to apply the law.  Governments and NGOs should team up to improve information collection about wildlife crime to develop a common grasp of the issue. Finally, European Union countries and their neighbours should work together to prevent wildlife crime to be exported. Instead, joint efforts should focus on its eradication.

BirdLife expressed its willingness to work with all the relevant stakeholders to find the best solutions, and calls on the European hunting community (FACE) to seriously commit to resolve the problem of illegal killing.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Authorities are asking the public for help in catching those responsible for the deaths of four West Virginia bald eagles that were shot.

One eagle was found wounded in January near Parsons in Tucker County and was euthanized after a rehabilitation attempt failed. Media reports say another eagle was found dead in January near Fisher in Hardy County, while the third eagle was found dead in March near Hopeville in Grant County.

A fourth eagle was found wounded in April near Marlinton in Pocahontas County and later died.

"A high-powered rifle bullet grazed the back of its head and tore out the muscles needed for it to eat," said Wendy Perrone, director of Three Rivers Avian Center at Brooks. "As far as treatment went, we kind of threw the kitchen sink at it, but the eagle was so far gone, we couldn't turn things around."

A fifth bald eagle was found shot to death last November in the Bluestone Wildlife Management Area near Hinton. Three Rivers Avian Center is offering a reward for information leading to an arrest in that case.

"I think that shows the extent of public outrage over the shooting of eagles," Perrone said.

Although bald eagles are no longer an endangered species, they are protected by state and federal law.

Anyone with information about the shootings can contact state Division of Natural Resources Lt. Tom Stuckey at 304-822-3551, or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Bryce Findley at 304-636-6586, ext. 14.

Convictions could result in as much as a year in jail and a fine of $100,000 under federal law and up to $5,000 in fines and a year in jail under state law.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/kPvciIdDZAE sent to me by Q, MAK's friend. This is great.