Our new Peregrine falcon that we adopted on October 17th, got startled by something while she was in the house with me, off her leash. She flew into one of the windows, broke the glass, and kept on going. I got close to her sitting on the fence outside (apparently uninjured), but then she decided to fly over our house, and kept going. I can't spot her anywhere in our trees. This is on North La Cumbre Road, one block down from Foothill.

She wears leather anklets and leather jesses, so she is easily identifyable. She can fly, but not well enough to survive in the wild. Please keep a lookout if you are in the area, and pass this message along to anyone you know that lives nearby.

She will probably wear out pretty quickly, so I don't expect her to be far from here in the near future. As a matter of fact, I can hear crows some ways away (my guess is near Cathedral Oaks and 154. I'll be heading out that way right now. She's only been gone for 15 minutes right now.

Gabriele 805-898-0347



http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=45331

Latest: I just got back in. My son John and I were able to locate her on a chimney off Foothill Road before La Colina School. She then flew to back towards La Cumbre, where we re-
located her on a telephone pole right at Harrold & La Cumbre Rd. She stayed there for nearly an hour, but I could not get her to fly back to the glove (traffic, etc.). Right as it got dark she flew back towards La Colina Campus. That is where she is most likely overnighting.

David Eldridge and I are going there to look for her at 7:30 AM. I'm pretty sure she will stay nearby for some time, as her flight is limited to a few hundred yards at a time, after which her formerly injured wing droops, and she needs time to recover.

Please keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer. She is trained to come to the glove for food, and chances are good that we can get her back when she gets hungry enough as long as we can keep track of her location.

In the meantime, please, if you live in the San Roque are, keep your eyes open, and call me on my cell (as I'll be out looking for her) is you see her: 805-636-3688. Home phone is 898-0347. Thanks much.

Gabriele

THE GILDED TURKEY!

Never mind the article... have a look at this sucker.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/food/2010/11/stefan-gates-golden-turkey.shtml

I think I will go for the bologna, thanks...

Slainte!

(Anyone else want to take part in the "Big Ick Challenge"? Please do! The winner will receive a free lunch at the Highland Diner when I am home in Spring... Who could resist?! The judges' decision will be final - tho the judges have yet to be selected. Nor have the rules been established - they may change as the contest proceeds. The winner should not become complacent, as he/she may discover that the prize has gone to someone else while they are trying to claim it. Gloating will disqualify.)

I don't know about Big Ick...I'm thinking more Big WTF!

Ei

I looked at that this morning with my already feeling sick stomach and felt sicker! That's just down-right GROSS! Thanks Miss Bobbie!

She's back

B on Mercury

[Whoa, what an amazing story jeanne and a great mom she is. See, there's also a lot of good in this world.]

Whoa, what an amazing story jeanne and a great mom she is. See, there's also a lot of good in this world.   

Birds of prey struggle with white Norfolk winter


Some birds of prey in Norfolk are struggling to survive due to the lengthy wintry conditions.

The RSPB received an increase in calls during December from member of the public who found dead birds.

It's thought the birds are unable to find the food they need due to the blanket of frozen snow.

"Hawks and owls find it particularly difficult this time of year," said Nigel Middleton from the Hawk and Owl Trust at Sculthorpe Moor in Norfolk.

It's not just the layer of snow that causes problems, the bad weather means that smaller birds, which would be a food source to owls and hawks, stay together and are much more aware of predators.

"A lot of raptors, buzzards, kestrels and tawny owls are feeding on carrion [dead animals], but even they have been covered up," said Nigel.

The problem is likely to be most serious for barn owls born this year that are less experienced at dealing with difficult conditions.

It is thought that these first year birds will account for a high percentage of the mortality.

As well as a number of dead birds being brought to various RSPB centres across the UK, Norfolk's Hawk and Owl Trust has also been inundated.

"We're not a rescue organisation but in our centre last week we had seven tawny owls brought to us - they were all underweight."

Farmers and members of the public are encouraged to remain vigilant and report any sick or injured-looking owls to a wildlife rescue centre immediately.

It’s reaching more than a hundred in numbers and represents a slaughter the likes of which officials have never seen.

Doug Jones and two other wildlife officers have been patrolling the beaches and waterways along Topsail Island with scopes and binoculars hoping for some new lead, information or to flat out catch those responsible for shooting, cutting and decapitating more than 150 brown pelicans.

“I cannot tell you how frustrating this is to our officers and our agency,� said Jones, a wildlife officer with North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. “We’re out … every day trying to observe illegal activity.�

The NCWRC is assuming the killings are happening within state waters and within three miles from shore, Jones said. The birds have been washing up along the beaches from North Topsail Beach south to Topsail Beach. Federal officials, including marine fisheries officers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and federal agents with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been notified     of the situation, Jones said.

“I personally have not seen it to this extent before,� Jones said. “If we catch who is doing this they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.�

NCWRC officials have also not seen this degree of brutality previously in the state, said Geoff Cantrell, a public information officer with the agency.

He said with the ongoing investigation, officials could not speak to the   characteristics or behavior of the violator(s).

Jones said none of the injuries on the birds he has examined appear to be accidental.

“These are not accidental deaths with nets. All   the injuries appear to be deliberate,â€� said Jones.

Deb Woody, a volunteer at Possumwood Acres Wildlife Sanctuary, found several dead pelicans on the beach Sunday evening. Pelicans have been washing up on the island since early November.

“At 9 p.m. I was pulling them up four to six at a time,� she said. “I found two that were decapitated and the rest appear to be wounded in the chest with what appears to be a bullet wound, but we haven’t confirmed that yet. I dread that people are going to come here for the holidays with all these dead birds.�

Local police and the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office are helping with the investigation.

“I encourage anyone who has seen or sees anything to please contact their local police department,� Woody said.

Several have been found alive, but with injuries so severe they had to be euthanized, said Toni O’Neal, the director of Possumwood   Acres, a nonprofit wildlife sanctuary in Hubert specializing in the rehabilitation and treatment of small mammals, songbirds, waterfowl reptiles and others.

Sara Schweitzer, a biologist with NCWRC, picked up group of dead pelicans Monday to send to the University of Georgia for diagnostic work.

The university’s program, Southeastern Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Disease Study, is a research group that takes cases from Southeastern states, she said. The diagnostic and pathology results will confirm how the birds died. Stomach contents will also be checked.   Schweitzer was unable to give a date of when the results would be in.

“This will tell us if the birds have been feeding regularly and will tell if they’re feeding on fish that are more bottom fish which would indicate they are feeding more from the fisherman’s catch rather than themselves,� she said.

Pelicans had a successful breeding season this year meaning there may be more younger birds out on the water. That with cold weather could attract more birds to fishing operations as a source of food, she said.

NCWRC and other agencies, including NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Audubon, and WRC are taking the matter seriously, Schweitzer said.

“This length of time and number of birds is pretty unprecedented and has gotten us all pretty alarmed,� she said

Anyone who finds a pelican should report it to local officers or NCWRC.

There is a $6,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.

Contact Possumwood Acres at 910-326-6432.

ENCTODAY.COM

Yes, very good!  Congrats to Mary

12/21/2010 03:48 PM ET 

The study conducted by the BioDiversity Research Institute in Gorham could have implications for the siting of offshore wind power facilities.

Gorham's BioDiversity Research Institute in Gorham has documented what it calls a significant migratory pathway for owls and falcons along the Maine coast, in research that could have implications for the siting of wind power facilities.

In a study conducted this past fall, BRI wildlife biologists tracked the movement of northern saw-whet owls and several falcon species from research stations set up along the entire Maine coast and on Monhegan Island.

"Now we know for certain that saw-whet owls migrate at night between Maine's coastal islands," says BRI Wildlife Research Biologist, Kate Williams, in a statement. "This is one of those amazing scientific moments of discovering something quite new."

The researchers attached satellite transmitters to two peregrine falcons on Monhegan Island in order to follow the movements of the birds for more than a year. Since early October, they say, the two falcons have travelled mroe than 6,400 combined miles and are now in Cuba and Columbia. The birds' migration can be followed on the institute's Web site, www.briloon.org/MBAN.

"This is work that is critically important to understanding bird movements in the Gulf of Maine region," says University of Maine Professor Dr. Rebecca Holberton, who heads the Gulf of Maine's Northeast Regional Migration Monitoring Network. "And it helps identify which species might be affected by coastal and nearshore windpower development."

The Maine Public Broadcasting Network

[Way to go Braveheart...love that lil Jemison.]

Way to go Braveheart...love that lil Jemison. 

The Beautyful one is on Mercury now

Ah ladies, I certainly can relate to all this.  But since mine has passed, I'd give anything to have this problem again.  Be thankful for what you have.

Oh indeed, I am more than thankful! Maddening as he is, he is also, as my posting said, "My Hero"!

I hope you can remember the silly moments... I do.

Exactly Bobbie

Which link has the cam?

http://www.worcester.gov.uk/peregrine/ Cam link but it's not on yet.

But here's Bobbin from today, what a view she has. Breathtaking.



From 7:45am UK time

Ah ladies, I certainly can relate to all this.  But since mine has passed, I'd give anything to have this problem again.  Be thankful for what you have.

I'm so sorry.    I'm sure you miss him dearly. My hubs and I still shop every Saturday together and it's always the same. If neither of us wanted to go....we wouldn't. It's just the way it is with us. OH and forget the Mall.....disaster.