Storm hasn't hit Mercury yet but I'm sure it's on the way! 

I wish that Blizzard would head this way! Yeah, I'm in the mood. 

http://www.thewebbroadcastingcorporation.com/swt/swt.php Mom and kids at nest now making some strange noises. They are so cute.

Osprey Diary 23rd July
July 23rd, 2010 by E Rawling, Perthshire Ranger SWT

  Another beautiful morning at Lowes with more sunshine and the happy sight of lady and her two youngsters on the nest, feeding happily.

Those of you who have been worrying about the smaller chick getting enough food, will be glad to hear it had a breakfast fish all to itself this morning at the crack of dawn! Nature’s survival of the fittest’ rule can be harsh, but in this case the wee one is getting enough to get by at the moment. However, it is certain that the bigger chick will be at an advantage, with extra fat reserves to call upon if times are hard. This may be particularly pertinent come migration time in a few weeks- although there is a great deal of luck involved in surviving your first trip to Africa for a young osprey, having a good bodyweight to start with will certainly help .Many of you will have also noticed the amount of intruder activity around the nest over the last week or so. This is not surprising really, given the timing of other young ospreys in nearby nests also fledging, and their parents also frantically trying to keep up with the demands of teenage mouths! The ospreys alarm calls you are hearing are not too serious (unlike earlier in the season when there was a serious risk to chicks etc) but more of a symbolic protest at the neighbours getting too close.Emma Rawling Perthshire Ranger

[Last year it was Fred and Ethel that went missing, now these 2 Black swans.]

Last year it was Fred and Ethel that went missing, now these 2 Black swans.

GREENWICH -- A backcountry family is becoming a walking advertisement for pet tracking technology.

One month to the day after two "pet" swans vanished from a pond on their property at 212 Taconic Road, Ken Martin and Betsy Sorrel called police Tuesday night to report a second pair missing.

Indigenous to Australia and costing $1,100 a pair, the black swans were shipped just last Thursday from a California breeder to the couple, which is still reeling from the disappearance of a pair of white mute swans from the same pond in June.

A third swan went missing from the couple's pond, which has an aeration system to keep it from freezing in the winter, a few weeks earlier.

"Honestly, I just want someone to understand that they need to stop doing this," Martin said. "It's a little disheartening."

A breakthrough in the investigation appeared to have come late Wednesday afternoon, when Martin said his wife was told by police that all five swans had been located on Rockwood Lake, a reservoir that is a quarter-mile from the couple's estate.

"One of their thoughts is that someone may feel that our pond is not the proper place for the swans," said Martin, who had not yet arranged for their return.

The reservoir is owned by Aquarion Water Co., which previously offered to help the couple retrieve their prize swans if they turned up in Rockwood Lake.

Police confirmed that they were looking into the disappearance.

"We were there (Tuesday) night," Sgt. Eric Scorca said of the couple's estate.

No further information was available from police, who were first notified of the disappearance of two white mute swans on June 20.

The couple chose black swans over white ones because they would be easier to recognize if they went missing -- each one has a red beak with a white stripe.

"They're not something you're going to find in the wild here," Martin said.

As an insurance policy on their new swans, which Martin described as docile, the owners resorted to further steps to identify them.

"We banded them," Martin said. "We provided the numbers on the bands to the Greenwich police."

All five swans, the first three of which the couple said cost $1,800 apiece, came from the breeder with their wings clipped to keep them from flying away.

The couple has been pleading for the safe return of the swans, which they say cannot survive in the wild during the wintertime when lakes and reservoirs freeze over.

"Look, these are pets," Martin said. "Not only do we get the enjoyment of having them, but I think it adds to the overall neighborhood."

The owners of the swans last reported seeing them in the pond Monday night when they went to bed.

"They're tame enough that they would come up to anybody who would feed them," Martin said. "They look for new grass shoots along edge of water. That's where they feed."

Reluctant to put up a stone wall or fence on the property, Martin said he has explored additional security measures as a last resort.

"I think it's sort of reprehensible that we have to take those steps," he said. "Does it make sense to spend $10,000 securing my property to keep people out?"

(CNN) -- Biologists suspect that unusually cold waters off the coast of Brazil were responsible for the deaths of more than 550 penguins that washed up on shore in the past 10 days.

Since July 11, about 556 dead penguins have appeared on beaches, Thiago do Nascimento, a biologist at the Peruibe Aquarium, told CNN.

At the beach of Praia Grande alone, on the Sao Paulo coast, more than 170 penguins have washed up on shore since Friday, according to the local government.

It is not unusual for penguins to show up on the Brazilian coast during their migration, but most of the time, they are alive, said another biologist, Isabelle Nunes.

Necropsies performed on many of the penguins show that they had no food in their stomachs and probably starved to death, Nascimento said, adding that cold weather probably contributed to their deaths.
Nunes said it is possible that the cold waters, brought on by a regional cold front, made the fish that the penguins eat seek other waters.

More tests are being conducted, Nunes said.

Farther north, on the famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro, penguin appearances and rescues have become common in recent years.

It's normal for Magellan penguins to leave their colonies in the Antarctic in an annual migration in search of fish, following the plankton-rich, frigid water currents traveling north along the coast of South America. What has changed is that they are increasingly unable to return home because they get sick, weak or disoriented for reasons that have yet to be determined.

Climate change, overfishing and pollution of the water all could contribute to the penguins becoming lost.

The Niteroi Zoo, near Rio de Janeiro, first began receiving penguins for rescue in 1999. Since then, they have received an increasing number of the birds, peaking with 1,000 penguins in 2008.

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2010/03/26/romo.brazil.lost.penguins.cnn video

I have really enjoyed all of your reports and pictures from the weekend. Thank
you all!

I just finished reading a book for my Book Club and think it might interest some
of you. It is: When Elephants Weep, The Emotional Lives of Animals, by Jeffrey
Moussaieff Masson and Susan McCarthy. Check it out! There is a lot of pretty
fascinating stuff in it.

Jan in CT

What building is this....Xerox? Looks like a nest box above the door...(I know it's not)

Base of Mercury Statue in front of the 2nd Ave. Garage in front of Chase

That's actually the South Ave Garage behind the base of the Mercury statue.  Many Watchers, including Brian H. watch from there.

Thanks Carol and Ei. So that's the famous rail you all talk about.

The RED Deer juvies.

8:58pm MAK: A and B stooping off HSBC...no luck.

Red Deer Advocate

Published: July 22, 2010 6:51 AM
Updated: July 22, 2010 9:08 AM

Webcam viewers are finding a nesting perch noticeably quiet after three peregrine falcon chicks fled the coop on Tuesday.

The chicks, named Scout, Telli and Nadira in an Advocate-sponsored contest earlier this summer, left the nest on top of the Telus tower mid-afternoon in Red Deer’s Highland Green neighbourhood.

Judy Boyd, spokeswoman for the Red Deer River Naturalists, said the three young ones and their parents should be hanging in and around the nesting box until they fly off to South America this fall.

“The parents will still be feeding them and teaching them to hunt here,� Boyd said. “I’m not sure if they’ll travel together (down south).�

The naturalists group is looking for a secure webcam location where people can see the birds flying around in Red Deer. If there is anyone who has a good view of the nest box, they can call the naturalists at 403-347-8200.

Since April 24, thousands of people from around the world have been logging onto various websites, including the reddeeradvocate.com, to watch the peregrine falcons. The Advocate website has received 59,488 page views, making it one of its most popular online features.

“We had people from every continent, but the Antarctic, watching,� said Boyd. “The talk is (on chat rooms), ‘What are we going to do now?’ �

Perry, the female, and Windsong, the male, began incubating five eggs, but two went missing, likely because the parents knew they weren’t viable. The three eggs hatched in mid-June.

“Nadira was born a day later and was always the runt but is doing quite well,� said Boyd. “I think he’s a male, just because he’s smaller.�

Once they get their adult plumage, it should be easier to tell whether they are male or female, Boyd said.

Viewers were aflutter when the parents brought in mice or birds they had just killed. As the chicks, officially known as eyas, got older, they no long had to be mouth fed and so the parents would leave the kill inside the nest.

“There would just be this mad mob and they would attack the food and the parents would let them eat for a while, until they became disinterested,� Boyd said. “Then the parents would come back in and feed them the rest.�

The Red Deer River Naturalists invested in the webcam while Telus provided the manpower for installation and will pay for the power source. Alberta Fish and Wildlife invested in a new and improved nest box — one keeps owls and ravens out.

Boyd said they will consult with Telus about future plans prior to the falcons’ return next year.

The three peregrine falcon chicks in their nest box on the Telus tower.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/news/local/Live_video_from_Red_Deer_Peregrine_Falcon_nest_box_92100299.html Live cam

2 in nest box right now.

What building is this....Xerox? Looks like a nest box above the door...(I know it's not)

Happy birthday, bonne fête Shaky. Same day of my friend Denise. She is 65. And you ? ? ? ?

I'd bet money that Shaky is forever twenty-one 
Carol
WV

What a great age to be again! 

7:32: Joyce, Brian, Jeanne, Linda and MAK @ Frontier parking lot behind Xerox. Beauty on S. side of Xerox building.

A and C on FCT.

Well, Azalea was at the catfish pond area during my visit on July 15, however, she never sat in either of the trees that I posted photos of with all the other eagles. While I was there she was sitting in trees along the south edge of the cleared fields. During the period of this satellite map she visited the woods along Gourd Neck Rd to the east of the catfish ponds and spent three nights there. She spent three other nights in the communal roost and that is where she was at 1:00am this morning July 20. She made short day trips on July 16, 18 and 19 to another smaller catfish pond near Roper, VA and north of Route 64.


Posted by: rlukei | July 19, 2010
Camellia Flies Further North

Camellia (from this season) continues his journey by flying further north and east into territory explored last year by his big sister, Azalea. Camellia left the Wise Point area about 10:00am July 16 flying over King and Queen County and just after noon reached the Rappahannock River and turned southeast. Just north of Urbanna in Middlesex County at just after 1:00pm Camellia crossed the Rappahannock into Lancaster County and by 3:00pm was at the shore of Chesapeake Bay where he turned north and flew to Mill Creek in Northumberland County. He remained here a few miles east of Mount Olive, VA for the next two nights. At about 11:00am yesterday July 18 he flew north just past Reedville and at noon did a U-turn and flew south past the mouth of the Great Wicomico River to about Kilmarnock and turned west back into Lancaster County. Camellia found a pond just west of Weems, VA  that is north of Wharton Grove Rd and that is where he was last night and as of this map at 7:00am this morning July 19. Does Weems, VA sound familiar? Azalea was in this same area although not the same spot on October 28, 2009.

Seems all are doing well.