Great pic

This has the potential to be one of the best pics of the year.  Love it!

+1.  The composition is perfect.  Depth of field could be a little deeper but overall a great image.

Funny, as this one caught my eye...it is a pretty perfect picture...of course I saved it. Would make a great print.

How long will it take for Archer to get the message?

Great pic

I blog about the Rochester falcons occasionally at http://sporkworld.tumblr.com/ and a piece I did two days ago about egg-laying has been re-blogged, along with the links back to rfalconcam at http://cromarama.tumblr.com/ -- which is a blog from Europe.

Thought you might be interested in one way the Rochester falcons are getting around -- and hope this was the right forum to let you know.

Martha

 

My hips would never get through the door!     You'd see my feet hanging and my backside sticking out   

Bottoms up! or out!

Wham13, our local tv station, had a short clip about Beauty and Archer today.  Nice interview with Jim P.  But, they showed times square building and had it captioned as Kodak.  Oy!

http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/Falcon-Spotting/xXd86CaH6E29nDG8IdfxTw.cspx

  Nice..thank Jim

Scout has now three eggs.

Wow, she's shootin them out quick. Beauty and Scout laid their first egg the same day and now she's 1  up...hmmm

Done!

Done ditto!

   Good looking nest!  Thanks Donna.   

I know right and fully insulated....what more could a Barn Owl ask for!  I'd take it. 

Oh, and you're not going to believe it, I got this on video!  WooHoo!  Will share as soon as I can.

Carol P.

Can't wait! Thanks

They're spacious homes with panoramic river views located in a rural setting on several acres of land. For a young couple looking to start a family, it's a pretty sweet deal. The four-metre drop from the front entry to the ground may be a deal killer for most people but for a barn owl, it only adds to the charm of the place.

The structures, in this case, are miniature barns located high on steel poles to encourage nesting by barn owls. They are, by design, the penthouse suites of the barn owl world.

"The way the boxes are designed helps with the high survival rate," said Andrew Burger, natural areas technician for the Surrey Parks department's urban forestry and environmental programs.

"The boxes are big and there's lots of predator protection. They're elevated off the ground on steel poles so nothing can climb up top them. The boxes are insulated which makes them an ideal year-round habitat. The reason barn owls aren't found north of here is because they can't handle the cold winters. They're not built like other owls with big fluffy feathers. So these boxes give them lots of protection both from predators and from the elements."

Southwestern B.C. and parts of southern Ontario are the only areas of Canada where the climate is suitable for barn owls to survive.

Barn owls are rare in Canada and are considered a "blue listed species" indicating special concern -- the birds numbers are strong but their population is vulnerable to human activity. Even with the special barn owl boxes, the birds are still disturbed by marauding dogs and inconsiderate humans who see the entry holes as prime targets for throwing rocks.

"Their numbers are actually declining in this area just because so much land is being converted from agricultural to development," Burger said. "We're removing old farm buildings and not replacing them with new ones. New buildings in the city are sealed tight so birds can't get in -- those kinds of things are affecting the owl's ability to find places to live.

"Then when you look at the land that's no longer used for agriculture, that takes away their food source. With no place for voles and mice and things like that to live, there's nothing for the owls to eat."

In 2001, the first barn owl box was created to offset the removal of a dilapidated barn at Mound Farm Park (168th and Highway 10). Shortly after, similar structures were raised on Colebrook Road near 136th and at Elgin Heritage Park off Crescent Road.

Barn owls in B.C. can lay two clutches of eggs and raise two broods each year. In 2008, a survey of egg clutches in the barn owl boxes showed each station produced six fledglings over the course of the year. With the average clutch holding three to six eggs, the fledgling count indicates an amazing survival rate of around 50 per cent.

"It's encouraging to see that," Burger said.

"Those were actual, living fledglings. It's not like we just saw eggs in a nest because who knows what happens to them. These are birds that have hatched and grown and can fly."

In January Burger performed the biannual cleanout of the barn owl boxes (December and January are the months least likely for breeding). At each of the three boxes, he was relieved to see one pair of barn owls -- presumably a breeding pair -- flushed from the structure.

"I was pretty stoked to see that," he said.

"That was the first time I had done that so I didn't know what to expect. It was pretty cool to see that the birds are there and are using them.

A HUGE alligator chomps on a snowy egret bird after it landed inches away.

The bird had chased away a riverside rival seconds before as it searched for the perfect fishing spot.

It was then snapped up by the waiting 10ft alligator.

Library worker Mike Rosenbaum, who captured the carnage in Boynton Beach, Florida, said: "It was enjoying its newly-won spot. It's a case of 'Be careful what you wish for'."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2925346/Alligator-snaps-up-egret-bird.html I won't post the pics but they are here. Poor Egret.

A pair of baby barn owls accidentally left for dead are on the mend in the South Bay.

The birds, only a couple weeks old, were found on the ground Tuesday in San Jose after a trimming tree company cut down the palm tree where they lived, WildRescue's Rebecca Dmytryk said. The parents flew away.

A passerby spotted the owlets on the side of the road and called rescuers. There were three babies but one died before the rescue effort got in full swing.

Experts at the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley took the birds under their wings for the next few days. They had to rehydrate and feed the babies and get them ready for their final step -- heading back to a place where their parents could take over. They built a box for the owlets and mounted it on a post in the same yard and waited for the parents to come back.
On Friday, they did. The family reunion went well and after a few adjustments to the new nest on Saturday, the family looks to be on their way back to normal. Barn owls are resilient, Dmytryk says, and will be able to make up for the time apart easily. The man who owns the property was happy to help. He said he had no idea owls were living in his palm tree.

Barn owls are protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Disturbing them is a federal crime and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife  Service could become involved in an investigation.

The landscaping company hired to do the trimming was surprised to hear they could be in trouble. They had a permit from the city, they told us by phone Saturday night, and said they were doing what they were supposed to do. A representative from the company said the trimmer saw an adult owl fly out when they were knocking the tree down then saw two others fly away so they kept cutting. He said he didn't see any babies, and if he had, he would have taken them for help.

But Dmytryk said the babies are far from ready for flying. "They're like little grapefruits with fuzz on them." While she doubts the tree trimmer's story, she says it serves as a valuable lesson for that company and helps get the word out about the importance of the laws.

Even though their name implies they should be farm birds, barn owls are common in urban settings. They're very versatile and perform an important function that is useful for any property owner: exterminator. They eat rodents, and while they are growing, can eat up to 12 mice a night, Dmytryk said.

Pesticides pose threat because animals and birds that eat the carcasses are also poisoned. One of her goals is to spread the word about the dangers of pesticides and importance of barn owls as Mother Nature's natural exterminators.

Rescuers at the San Jose Animal Shelter are responding to more calls about baby owls knocked out of their nests because of this weekend's heavy winds. They will team up with the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley to ensure more happy endings.

This time of year, wildlife rescuers are inundated with calls about baby birds on the ground that at the stage where they are just learning to fly. Many are inadvertently orphaned by people thinking they are helping, says Dmytryk. She says people should not pick up the babies because the parents  are still caring for them and it's one of the most critical stages in a bird's life. Instead, she says, they should call their nearest wildlife rescue center or 866-WILD-911 to find the closest one.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local-beat/San_Jose_Yard_Secret_Home_for_Owl_Family_Bay_Area.html  video

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- An acrobatic display of passion proved too much for a pair of eagles engaged in a mating dance over Alaska's Prince William Sound.

The female bird is recovering from an injured wing and other injuries sustained when the couple slammed beak-first into a hard snowbank in what her rescuers believe was an aerial courting ritual gone awry. The male eagle died in the impact, which left the birds buried upside down at least two feet in the snow in the town of Valdez.

It's mating season for eagles, who perform an elaborate ritual where they clasp talons and spiral toward the ground. This pair probably got caught up in the throes of the moment, said Bob Benda, a bird rescuer and biology professor at Prince William Sound Community College who was among those responding to the Easter Sunday crash.

"They just lose track of what they're doing and don't know how close they are to the ground," he said. "It's raging hormones or something."

But most eagles fling themselves back to reality instead of diving through a crunchy layer of snow. In this case, the male landed next to the female. If the talons had been locked, they were now separated, possibly thrust apart by the velocity of the landing.

Benda said he thought both eagles had died but then noticed the female was breathing. He helped arrange the eagle's transfer to the Anchorage-based Bird Treatment and Learning Center, where she is slowly emerging from shock.

"She is less dazed and confused every day," said Cindy Palmatier, the center's rehabilitation director. "She had this inward stare the first couple days."

Judging by the bird's initial condition, Benda is amazed it's still among the living. The eagle had no broken bones, but she was severely traumatized, almost in a zombie state.

The day being Easter, Benda took the bird home and figured he would keep her warm and comfortable in a crate in his heated garage until the end came. The next morning, she was still breathing and moving a wing, and by that night, she was being flown to Anchorage.

"I didn't see how she could survive, but now I'm so happy she did," Benda said.

At the rehabilitation center Friday, the eagle's head swiveled back and forth as she checked out some visitors. A few days earlier, she would have paid no attention to them, said Palmatier, who believes her patient suffered head trauma.

The bird also showed no interest in food, but now is eating salmon and caribou meat. And she's been taken off pain medications.

But her left wing visibly droops and Palmatier said if there is significant ligament damage, there's a chance the eagle might not be able to fly again. But it's too early to tell and there's at least a month at the center still to come.

Ultimately, Palmatier hopes the eagle can be released back to the wild in Valdez. She's not too worried about any psychological effects from the loss of the bird's partner.

"I like to say they may mate for life, but they mourn for a moment," Palmatier said. "They get over it pretty quick."

Beauty was next to main cam most of the night. 12:55
6:02 she left for a few minutes
6:10 came back
Settled in at 6:11
Now awaits breakfast break.