http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9aDUxHf8Eo#ws  Sweet!

Little Penguin

One of the youngest residents of the Cincinnati Zoo is also, perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the cutest. A little penguin -- the name of an actual species, not just a phrase to describe its diminutive stature -- hatched there on Jan. 11 and was photographed during a checkup and weigh-in last week.

The chick weighs about a quarter of a pound now, and even when fully grown it will only weigh about 2 pounds or so. It's being raised by keepers, who feed it at two-hour intervals starting at 6 a.m. each day, aviculturist Cody Sowers wrote on the zoo's blog. When it's older, it'll join the adult little penguins in an enclosure at the zoo's section for children.

Little penguins, also called blue penguins or fairy penguins, are native to the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand. To date, 22 little penguins have been hatched at the Cincinnati Zoo. See video of the newest chick after the jump!

As you look at these pictures, what do you see? Probably exactly what I do – a gorgeous little bird full of color and cute personality, doing nothing more than bathing in the sprinkler and enjoying his little hummingbird life. I was amazed actually at how long this little bird allowed me to photograph him. He stayed in place at least 5-10 minutes and was seemingly okay with me watching him bathe. As I look at these pictures, I wonder what this tiny creature was really thinking. What was going through his tiny little brain as he enjoyed the rays of sun shining through his personal rain shower?

The reality is he is likely thinking about how he can completely dismantle the next cute little hummer that makes his way into the area. You don’t see them in these pictures but there were three feeders within just a few feet of where he was bathing and this hummer believed that they are all his property and can’t be shared. You see, in the hummingbird world sharing is not permitted. Cuteness is nothing more than a disguise of complete selfishness. If and when another hummer approaches the area, this bird will readily and and viciously dive bomb him hoping to inflict enough damage that he will never try again. When you do witness harmony, it is likely more a result of temporary exhaustion. It will only be a matter of moments before the acts of attempted murder resume. And they will continue! Day after day and fight after fight the ruthlessness will never cease.  Roughnecks!! Wow

From the same blog as Green Jay

[Not in my neck of the woods!]

Or a Chachalaca??  Cha Cha Laca :


Plain Chachalaca... these birds are everywhere and can be compared to chickens. Very wild, but very common.

Not in my neck of the woods!

Now I did!

From Birding, a growing obsession

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df8jhng3xgQ&feature=player_embedded# Wow don't they get caught on stuff with those tails? Very cool though.

Peregrine Visits Queens
February 04, 2011 - International, National and Local News
Frank Butson Reports:

Recently a posting was made to The Weather Channel ( www.theweathernetwork.com ) with the photo included taken by Richard Huang on Feb 2,2011 in Kingston, Ontario Canada. The Peregrine Falcon was  perched on Botterell Hall, at Queen’s University, during a recent snow storm.

Here's some more info on the two posted on the Bear study website:

Today, the Ted and Lucky Den Cam showed them playing in slow motion and later showed Ted calmly stealing Lucky’s bedding material while Lucky watched with no sign of concern.  He has seen that happen before, and he can steal it back when Ted is sleeping.  We love how these two buddies get along.  We are very glad we said yes when we got a call from a rehabilitation facility saying they were about to euthanize a cub but wondered if we could use another bear in the forested facility at the Bear Center.   The next day, we met the cub halfway and were off on a joyous journey of watching Ted and Lucky become friends and playmates.  Gentle Ted, one of the largest black bears on record, wanted to get close to little Lucky, but Lucky was scared.  It took from July to October for Lucky to give Ted a chance.  Since then, their raucous play has made audiences ooh, aah, and laugh.  Lucky has an especially playful personality—even with people.  Given half a chance in the enclosure, he likes to take people down and gnaw gently on them.  When he was a cub, he bit too hard during play.  Now, he can control his bite. 

It doesn't get any better than that! 

My grandfather worked for the Pennsylvania RR in Arcade in the 50's and he and my grandmother had lifetime passes to go on the train whenever they wanted to.  My biggest thrill was getting all dressed up on a Saturday to ride the train from Arcade to Buffalo to spend the day shopping with my grandma, going to lunch with her and then riding the train back.  Those were such wonderful memories.

Lovely Kris!

We actually saw Hobo's on the trains hitching rides. The trains went so slow back then, it was so easy to hop on. I could watch trains for hours.

Beauty on Mercury earlier.

Oh, so sad. Poor eagle.

Great story and a GREAT cam. Thanks Kris!!

[That was great. I grew up about 5 miles from LAX, however at that time it was a dirt strip called Mines Field. It had wooden oil derricks which caught fireoccasionally. We used to get on our bicycles and ride over there to watch the fire.Life was exciting in those days. Lola]

That was great.  I grew up about 5 miles from LAX, however at that time it
was a dirt strip called Mines Field.  It had wooden oil derricks which caught fire
occasionally.   We used to get on our bicycles and ride over there to watch the fire.
Life was exciting in those days.
     
     Lola

Ahh the good ole days and yes the least amount of excitement was the most exciting. When we were young, our excitement was hearing the freight trains whistle in the distance, running as fast as we could, 1/4 mile, just to see it and count the 50 plus cars that steamer pulled. They were the best of times. 

On February 4, The Wildlife Center of Virginia, a leading teaching and research hospital for native wildlife, transferred a non-releasable adult Bald Eagle to the care of the American Eagle Foundation [AEF], a Tennessee-based not-for-profit that operates the largest Bald Eagle breeding facility in the world.

  The small adult eagle – likely a male – was seen on the ground in a field near Yorktown in mid-May 2010 and picked up by York County Animal Control.  The eagle was admitted on May 18 and assigned patient # 10-654.  [Animals admitted to the Center are given sequential patient numbers – in the order in which they are admitted.  Patient #10-0654 was the 654th patient admitted to the Center during 2010.]

       Upon admission, Center veterinarians found that the eagle was in good body condition, was standing alert, and no fractures.  The eagle was missing seven primary feathers on its right wing.

       Another round of radiographs in early June found no fractures.  However, the feathers in the eagle’s right wing continued to grow out abnormally.  Center vets were unable to pinpoint the exact cause, although they suspect either an unidentified infection or earlier exposure to West Nile Virus.

       In October 2010, Center veterinarians declare the eagle as non-releasable and started the process of finding an appropriate permanent home for the bird.

       AEF is headquartered at the Dollywood Entertainment Park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  The AEF has released dozens of captive-hatched eaglets.

       It is estimated that the Bald Eagle population of North America numbered about half a million before European settlement.  With the loss of habitat, shooting, and the effects of DDT and other pesticides, the U.S. eagle population plummeted.

       In 1977, there were fewer than 50 bald eagle nests in Virginia.  Today, the bald eagle population in Virginia is on the rebound.  There are now more than 600 active bald eagle nests in the Commonwealth.

       Every year, more than 2,000 animals – ranging from Bald Eagles to chipmunks – are brought to the Wildlife Center for care.  The Wildlife Center is an internationally acclaimed teaching and research hospital for wildlife and conservation medicine.  Since its founding in 1982, the nonprofit Center has cared for more than 56,000 wild animals, representing 200 species of native birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.  The Center’s public education programs share insights gained through the care of injured and orphaned wildlife, in hopes of reducing human damage to wildlife.  The Center trains veterinary and conservation professionals from all over the world and is actively involved in comprehensive wildlife health studies and the surveillance of emerging diseases.   

       The American Eagle Foundation develops, conducts, and supports a wide range of eagle restoration, protection and enhancement programs, including an extensive public awareness and environmental education effort.