Beauty just coughed up a pellet

Mr T cranking one up too!

At some point, could you scan the well area....This is where I think the noise was coming from...can't be sure but it definitely in the cam area. After I heard the first crash, it was crazy after.

I hear growling...pigeonlike not sure

Wha'? I better listen to my pigeons more closely.

Yeah, well I have no better was to describe it. Like a bird in distress.....it was a deep gutteral sound. SCARED me! I saw nothing on cam, just heard a lot of flapping, fighting, screaming. Even my daughter and husband both said what the heck is that??

Lots of e-chupping

Just a few minutes ago, I heard a crash at nest. Something was there, maybe in the well. Sounded like fighting. Not sure what it was but could not see on cam. Sounds like pigeon being attacked. May have been in the well but it was LOUD!! Then a few minutes later B and T showed up.

I hear growling...pigeonlike not sure

The local hoppin' and a-boppin' spotted from treetop to birdbaths are winding down as American robins prepare to rock on out of town.

For the past few weeks, the beloved creatures have been sighted countywide in great numbers. Mentions of large flocks of robins are plentiful online, from Facebook to Journey North, a website where wildlife migration and seasonal change can be tracked. One Merritt Island woman recently wrote on Journey North: "Large waves of robins in about a 2-mile radius for two consecutive days."
But those for whom the bird is the word say nothing unusual is going on -- rather, nature is taking its course as feathered friends start heading home.

American robins spend time here every winter as they escape the cold of the North, said Dorn Whitmore, supervisory park ranger at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Sometimes, they push even farther south in response to bad weather -- as in, say, the cold Space Coast winter of 2010.

But as the days get longer and weather warms up, all that changes, Whitmore said.

"You'll see lots of robins this time of year, staging for their migration back to the northeast part of the United States," he said. "When they come to Florida, they amass in large groups, and that's what everybody's seeing now."

Doug Stuckey of Titusville has been a field observer of birds on the Space Coast for 43 years. He said this winter, he's seen "more robins on a regular basis, in bigger numbers," than he has seen in at least 15 or 20 years. "It was so miserable up north this winter, I think more of them came farther south," he said. Sunday, he saw "an unbelievable number of robins" in his yard, but that number was down about 95 percent by Monday.

Ken Collins is an officer of the Space Coast Audubon Society and an avid birder. This area is a major migration flyway, he said, and for those creatures that headed farther south, a stopover place along the way in both directions.

Merritt Island is a favorite place for robins, with "lots of different berries and nuts they can eat, and places to get worms," said Collins, a longtime educator and "lifetime birder." They know where they've been and where they're headed, too.

"Birds are much more intelligent than people give them credit for," said Collins, who lives in the unincorporated area south of Melbourne Beach.

And the area's full of great spots for birders, from the refuge to the Viera wetlands by the government building, which Collins calls a "hidden secret."

Florida Today

Hi Annette,it's my favorite too.

And the Oehoe has already lay-ed one egg,you can see in the small videos the egg laying and the prey bringing by the male.

Greetings Carla

Yup, she was sitting last week when the cams came on...real good site. Sometimes too much drama there with the pigeons. They bug all!

Anxiously waiting for her return also. Thanks Bobbie!!!

Oh no! Black band, I don't think so. Where could she be, unless she just didn't come back yet. Stressful!

What will Moreno's consequences be?  How else can outrage be registered against this heinous act?

How about having "I kill helpless animals" carved into his forehead?

 

That too...

How about "I kill helpless animals" and "I am a stupid dirtbag" carved

What will Moreno's consequences be?  How else can outrage be registered against this heinous act?

How about having "I kill helpless animals" carved into his forehead?

Yeah baby, you got it! Carved, perfect.

To begin with this week I am pleased to welcome two new volunteers, Paul and Mandi, to our team. They were shown around last week and met a good few other members of the mad crew and we don’t seem to have put them off yet.

If there are any more slightly daft but friendly with it people out there we would love to have you join us. We always have tea and coffee and chocolate biscuits in stock so come and join us.

When I showed Paul and Mandi round I got my first look at the peregrine which flew into the side wall of the Farm to Freeze building on the Ramparts industrial estate. It was probably streaking after a pigeon for its dinner when it crashed into the wall.

When the bird arrived the vet examined it and found it was totally blind, but this has been noted before in such head injuries. The bird had to be hand fed with small pieces of meat for several days. The sight in one eye has returned and it is able to fly and land successfully in the recovery room.

Food was a problem and when the committee assembled for a meeting last week there was a request from Kay. Written in bold letters on a large sheet of paper - ROAD KILL- WE NEED PIGEONS FOR THE PEREGRINE.

I have explained in my jottings before how we always carry a polythene bag in the car in case we find a dead rabbit etc on the roadside which is food for buzzards and other birds of prey. I think it was David who came across a dead pigeon and it was put in the cage with the peregrine.

For 24 hours the pigeon was not touched, but when David and Kay arrived the following day the recovery room had feathers all over the floor. The peregrine had prepared its meal, and then made an excellent meal of it. What was left looked like a Boxing Day turkey, nothing left but a few bones. This is really good news as once any sort of wild bird or animal feeds for itself it is on the mend. We just have to wait and hope that the sight begins to improve in the other eye now. I will catch you up on its progress next time.

At present we still have three young swans (last year’s cygnets) in the big pen. They are ready for release but the rain we have had recently has meant that the river is in flood and as these are young birds we would rather wait for kinder conditions for their return to the big wide world.

There are two adult swans in the small pen, one was attacked by a dog and the other was found very weak after being bullied off its lake by a pair of swans who made no pretence about their objective of having the place to themselves. Both birds look well now so hopefully they are on the mend.

I was surprised when the hedgehogs were checked, a couple of them are a very good weight now. The biggest comes in at a kilo. The photograph this week shows how tiny they are when they first come in to us. They are all the messiest eaters ever known. They are never happy with their food until they have walked in it and spread it about their cage and bedding. They much prefer to eat from the far side of the bowl leaning over the dish and getting the food all over their tummies. They just seem to like playing with their food. They are all doing very well however and will all be fit to go when the weather is warmer. Doesn’t that sound hopeful. When the weather gets warmer. It’s March now, spring is here.

I am hoping that when this column is read we shall be on holiday in Tomintoul in the Highlands. We have been anxiously watching the weather forecast for up north after last week when there was a good fall of snow which blocked up some of the roads near to our destination. We wanted a nice peaceful break but I don’t fancy being snowed in for a week.

PAT GOFF

Should you find an animal in need of our services, or if you need advice please phone HQ on (01289) 302882. We are happy to help. You can also e-mail via our website www.swan-trust.org. We are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/swantrust.

The berwick Advertiser

Found on their FB page:  

Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge:

The eagles have landed. We just received a report that the bald eagles have started incubating in the nest in Cayuga Pool. A bird was seen sitting there which is a good sign. Also the birds in the nests on neighboring State lands (Oak Orchard and Tonawanda Wildlife Managment Areas) are sitting. Still waiting on the birds in Mohawk Pool.

Nice...thanks!

Has anyone heard news of Ranger since his release in January? Figured he would go right to the nest site.