Good thing B and T just ate

http://www.basic.ncsu.edu/eaglecam/

2/7/2011  ::   Rachel's Falcons Begin 2011 Nesting Season
Falcon watchers have reportedly seen breeding activities at the nest ledge. DEP Environmental Education staff are preparing for another season of outreach and education on endangered species reintroduction with Rachel's falcons as the focal point. We're currently seeking approval to contract for the live streaming video (more on this later) and the annual teacher workshop is set for April 12th, here at the Rachel Carson State Office Building.

http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2011/02/sightings/white-red-tail-a-real-survivor/ White Red-tail hawk.

[October 2010 observation:]

!!! Could there be a second pair of peregrines in Windsor??
February 02, 2011 - Windsor - Ambassador Bridge
CPF Postmaster Reports:

After many e-mail over the past few months, and with a huge thank you to Robert for his determination and persistence, it would appear that there could be another pair of territorial peregrines in Windsor Ontario. He has been watching a water tower at Benjamin and Hanna where there has been allot of raptor activity since October of last year. He recently sent us some video that he shot of one of the birds, along with a couple of observation reports.

While we don’t suspect that any offspring has been as yet, if there is a territorial pair holding firm at this site, (and an available nesting ledge of sorts), we may just see a new family in the works.

Robert writes: February 2nd / 2011
Hello again! I captured a little bit of video this morning… put on your headphones because the sound of this particular bird will probably better help you identify it if this is a peregrine.



October 2010 observation:
I don’t know if you’re aware of this but there is a peregrine living underneath the water tower on Benjamin & Hanna.

And if I’m right there might baby falcons up there as well?? I say that because this morning the firefighters were rappel training from the top and the peregrine was getting very very agitated by their presence. It appeared very defensive about its territory.

I know the one has been living there for at least 18 months but it could be longer. I’ll try to capture them on video sometime but they are elusive.

Robert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJIXsUpcUFY#ws The proof

Look at this super little guy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12457010

Precious. Thanks

Sticking a birder out amid potential terrorists may seem ridiculous, but Foreign Policy’s Thomas E. Ricks has a point: There seem to be some similarities between astutely observing birds and keeping eyes peeled for insurgents. A few birding recommendations that, according to Ricks, speak to counterterrorist philosphy follow, as quoted from Sibley’s Birding Basics:

• "Watch the edges of the flock and pay special attention to outlying birds or those that act differently; they may be a different species."
• "Follow the birds. If you find a number of birds in an area, consider why they might be there. Is there a concentration of food? Is it a warm or cool spot?"
• "Looking at a bird with prejudice, having already determined that it is likely to be one species and leading only to confirm that identification, will lead you into error.… Guard against forming an opinion until all of the evidence is in.

How the concept dawned on Ricks in the first place is also compelling: Apparently, after helping a neighbor in a Christmas Bird Count, he was inspired to pick up Sibley’s guide, which led him to those parallels. Ricks came up with one of his own birding recommendations, too: “Be ready for the unexpected,� he writes. “I was surprised that Sibley lists Central Park, smack in middle of the concrete canyons of New York City, as great bird-watching spot. The reason, he writes, is that migrating birds gravitate toward it, as ‘the largest patch of natural habitat in the area’—not unlike, he writes, a desert oasis.� (Speaking of desert oases, one military man stationed in Iraq, Major Randel Rogers, actually is a birder. He was profiled in Audubon here). And I’ll add another similiarity, as I see it: Expert birders and skilled counterinsurgents surely stress the importance of good optical equipment. So it’s not beyond the, er, scope of possibility that they could least exchange a few pointers, if not roles entirely.

Audubon Magazine

How cool are these?

Around Valentine's Day courting birds across the UK will begin inspecting potential nesting sites - and thanks to the Nestworks project there are more possibilities than ever around the streets of Bankside. Informed and inspired by ornithologist Peter Holden MBE, 51% studios has created three types of 'assisted readymades' which have been installed across the Bankside Urban Forest area.

The first Nestworks prototypes were shown in the Union Street Urban Orchard during the 2010 London Festival of Architecture and now many more have been permanently installed across the wider Bank­side area.

The block-style nesting boxes are made from concrete bulked with recycled wood shavings, a material that is proven to fledge more young than any other.

The interior block dimensions are perfectly sized for house sparrows which are in steep decline in the area – and the box is designed to keep rats, squirrels and woodpeckers out.

Other birds catered for are blue tits, great tits, starlings, wrens, robins and blackbirds.

A new website – www.urbanbirds.net – allows bird lovers to find out where the new nesting boxes are located and provides a rundown of the types of birds to be seen in and around Bankside.

The project was commissioned by the Tooley Street-based Architecture Foundation.

These nesting boxes are derived from the standard concrete blocks used in building projects throughout London

Birders on Sunday reported seeing 11 dead cranes, and on Monday, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources tells me that they went out and found 10.

There was no obvious visible sign of what may have killed them, such as gunshot wounds, said Mark Marraccini, spokesman for the Kentucky Division of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Some of the birds were sent off for necropsies, he said.

http://blogs.courier-journal.com/watchdogearth/2011/02/14/sandhill-cranes-deaths-investigated/

From Bob Marcotte

“I said you’re the cutest thing that I’ve ever seen
I really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree
Lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time
Said lovey dovey, I can’t get you out of my mind�
–Lovey Dovey, sung by Otis Redding

Hmmm.
“Lovey dovey.�
Webster’s New World Collegiate Dictionary says this is slang meaning “affectionate, amorous, or very sentimental.�
It doesn’t say how the phrase originated, but I think I got a clue at Irondequoit Bay outlet last week.
I mean, what could be more romantic-looking than this display between two Rock Pigeons?
Pigeons, doves. They’re all in the same family.
I wonder if, way back, somebody saw pigeons doing this, and were just as taken by it as I was, and coined the phrase?

he even has his eyes closed, while she's peeking. 

http://php.democratandchronicle.com/blog/birds/?p=4221 see the rest

I remember this from a while ago.

A priceless capture!

Was that a little mouse running by? I tried to capture it but the little critter was too fast!!

Cool video and nice birds MAK

[Valentine’s Day? Yes, it’s true. We can thank our feathered friends for helping to make Valentine’s Day a celebration of love and affection. A little history explains the surprising connection. Back in medieval England and France, people believed that February 14 was when birds chose their mates. The date made sense because it was right around when the first birds would start their joyful song after a long, cold winter.How, you might ask, did a date that marked the mating of birds turn into the Valentine’s Day we celebrate today? A popular theory holds that February 14 became forever linked with love and romance after the famous medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer used birds to symbolize human lovers in his poems.We’re sure you’ll agree that even those of us who aren’t poets find inspiration in the amazing beauty of birds.]

Valentine’s Day? Yes, it’s true. We can thank our feathered friends for helping to make Valentine’s Day a celebration of love and affection.    
A little history explains the surprising connection. Back in medieval England and France, people believed that February 14 was when birds chose their mates. The date made sense because it was right around when the first birds would start their joyful song after a long, cold winter.

How, you might ask, did a date that marked the mating of birds turn into the Valentine’s Day we celebrate today? A popular theory holds that February 14 became forever linked with love and romance after the famous medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer used birds to symbolize human lovers in his poems.

We’re sure you’ll agree that even those of us who aren’t poets find inspiration in the amazing beauty of birds.    

Look how much snow has melted in a 24 hr period
Global warming

Last year we were having bad snow storms...inches and inches....crazy weather.