20-Apr-23, 08:11:27 AM
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / 'Oldest' osprey returns to nest' Scotland
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on: 27-Mar-10, 08:32:50 AM
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The UK's oldest known breeding female osprey has returned to Scotland for the 20th consecutive year.
The female bird has amazed staff at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's (SWT) Loch of the Lowes wildlife reserve.
It was spotted landing on its usual nesting site, known as an eyrie, on Tuesday, having completed a 3,000 mile migration from West Africa.
At an estimated 25 years old, it has reached three times the average lifespan of an osprey.
Emma Rawling, SWT's Perthshire ranger, said: "We are truly amazed at the tenacity and endurance of this particular female osprey.
We will be watching the nest with baited breath to see if our female can hatch any chicks again this year
Emma Rawling, SWT
"Defying her age, she has made it back to us again and from initial sightings she looks like she is in remarkably good condition."
It is expected that the female osprey's breeding partner, a male osprey identified with a green leg ring, will arrive within a week.
This resident male will then chase away any other males before breeding.
'Bated breath'
The female osprey is known to have laid 55 eggs, 46 of which hatched into chicks that left the nest.
Ms Rawling added: "We will be watching the nest with bated breath to see if our female can hatch any chicks again this year."
Throughout the breeding season the eyrie will be visible via a nest camera on screens in the visitor centre and on the trust's website.
A team of about 70 volunteers watch the nest 24 hours a day to safeguard any eggs from thieves and poachers.
About 200 pairs of osprey breed in Scotland.
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22913
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Internet users can follow peregrine progress (Ohio)
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on: 26-Mar-10, 10:56:47 PM
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COLUMBUS — The 2010 peregrine falcon nesting season is underway in Ohio, with peregrine pairs at 25 sites and eggs being incubated at least three sites in the state — Canton, Dayton and Lakewood.
Internet users can follow the progress of these and other peregrine nests at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife’s peregrine falcon Web page at wildohio.com. By April, most of Ohio’s peregrine falcons will have chosen or re-bonded with a mate and selected a nesting site.
As the nesting season progresses, key events such as egg laying, hatching and fledging will be noted on the Web page for each nest. Additional nests are expected at sites in Cleveland, (Seneca),Toledo and several other communities within the next month. Because of nesting success in Ohio and across the nation, the peregrine falcon was removed from the federal endangered species list in 1999; it is listed as threatened in Ohio, downgraded from endangered in 2008. Along with several other Midwestern states, Ohio began introducing the birds in 1989. Several pairs were released in cities between 1989 and 1992. Last year in Ohio, 19 nesting pairs of peregrine falcons are estimated to have successfully hatched and fledged 64 young. An estimate was made because actual counts were unavailable due to site access for some nests.
Federal funds for the peregrine falcon project and other wildlife diversity efforts of the Division of Wildlife are provided through the State Wildlife Grant Program, which targets species with greatest conservation need. The division’s peregrine falcon management program is funded by the sale of cardinal license plates, the division’s new Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp and contributions to the state Wildlife Diversity & Endangered Species Check-off Fund.
Taxpayers may donate directly or designate all or part of their state income tax refunds to the effort by checking the box on line 25C of the 2009 Ohio Income Tax Form or line 18C on the Ohio 1040 EZ form. Donations can also be made online at wildohio.com. Click on Falcon Watch 2010 and then the column on the right side of the page.
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22914
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Inside the Perfect Predator a
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on: 26-Mar-10, 10:53:43 PM
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Remember Top Trumps? That card game where you compared numerical data – about cars, aeroplanes, dinosaurs etc – in order to win other players' cards? The Lamborghini Countach was the card you wanted in my Top Trumps pack, for its unbeatable speed. Actually Top Trumps are still very much around, as I discovered last Christmas when one of my nephews produced a pack. Steam trains. I'd forgotten how fantastically boring and unimaginative it is. We read out our figures – speed, weight, length, date of manufacture (there was some disagreement about whether earlier or later should win) – and exchanged cards. I won: I had the Mallard, the Lamborghini of steam trains.
Inside the Perfect Predator (BBC1) was basically Top Trumps, turned into wildlife TV; or, rather, wildlife TV turned into Top Trumps. There were just four cards: the peregrine falcon, the Nile crocodile, the great white shark, and the cheetah. And we looked at various data for each creature – strike rate success, force of blow, eyesight, speed etc – to see which one is the Top Trump of the animal kingdom.
Well, the cheetah's going to be the fastest, obviously, everyone knows that. Oh, it's the peregrine falcon, which can dive at 200mph apparently. Yeah, but that's just falling, under gravity. Peregrine Worsthorne, former editor of the Sunday Telegraph, could probably achieve similar speeds by leaping from a great height, if he plummeted headfirst and tucked in his extremities to be more aerodynamic. Clearly, Perry W would be less successful at pulling out of the dive than Perry F, and this would be a once-only experiment.
The bird scores well on the eye test, too; it has two sets of sensors at the base of its retina that give it incredible powers of triangulation. But it only has a 20% strike rate – that's a lot of diving for not very much dinner. The great white, meanwhile, has a 50% strike rate (bad news for South African cape seals and Australian surfers), and scores well dentally, as does the Nile crocodile. The croc is also the stand-out winner when it comes to number of aortas – two, compared with everything else's one. A cheetah can out-accelerate a Porsche (0-60 in under three seconds – see, it really is Top Trumps), and can spot a moving gazelle a mile away. But is that really so impressive? I reckon I could spot a moving gazelle a mile away, although obviously I couldn't catch it, unless I was in my Porsche . . .
Oh, this show's not really as boring as Top Trumps. John Simm off Life On Mars does an amusing narration: a cross between an action movie preview and Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link. "All four predators are poised for the attack, their insides a powder keg just waiting to explode. But who will make the kill? And who will go hungry?" There's some cool computer graphic stuff of the insides of these creatures as they do their thing: the cheetah's leg muscles, those two aortas pumping away inside the crocodile. And I know we've all seen it a million times, but the shark exploding out of the water with a seal in its teeth, and the croc doing pretty much the same to a wildebeest, is still thrilling. I'm sure it's very wrong to be excited by it, but it's better than the stats. Wildlife snuff-porn Top Trumps natural history, then.
And the peregrine is the surprise winner, on account of its success at living in buildings in an urban environment. The falcon, that is, not the Worsthorne, who, being a Tory of the old school, is less likely to be successful at adapting to the modern world.
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22915
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Other Nature Related Information / General Nature Discussion / Sunday Buzzard Sunday!
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on: 26-Mar-10, 10:42:15 PM
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For the past 40 years, Hinckley resident Chuck Vickers has spent one Sunday each month at Buzzard’s Roost in the Cleveland Metroparks Hinckley Reservation.
“You get a good breakfast and get to see all the people,” he said of the annual Buzzard Sunday! event. “And there is a contentment and peacefulness about being here — you can forget things for a while.”
Vickers was at this year’s Buzzard Sunday! with his wife, Sylvia, and 14-year-old granddaughter, Candice Kordich.
“I just like the experience,” said Candice. “Being here early, having breakfast, looking around and shopping.”
Vickers chuckled that while he has six more grandchildren, Candice was the only one who wanted to sleep over at his house in order to get to Buzzard Sunday! on time.
“The others didn’t want to get up early,” he laughed. “Living in Hinckley, you see buzzards all the time. In fact, I get a little nervous when I’m working out in the yard and I see one circling — like maybe he knows something I don’t.”
As he recorded the latest sighting of five turkey vultures circling lazily above the treeline at 9:51 a.m., Cleveland Metroparks Chief of Outdoor Education and “Official Buzzard Spotter” Dr. Bob Hinkle said this year’s birds certainly knew how to put on a show.
“It’s been a fabulous Buzzard Sunday,” Hinkle said, adding that the number of all migrating birds this season seems to be up.
“Things have maybe been warmer to the south and they are moving in more quickly,” he said.
Relatively warm and sunny March weather might have also had something to do with the healthy Buzzard Sunday! turnout of humans this year. Along with naturalist-led hikes, storytelling and musical entertainment, bus tours of the reservation, refreshments and buzzard-related merchandise, visitors were also treated to a live birds of prey program, hosted by Medina Raptor Center volunteer Annette Piechowski.
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22917
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Other Nature Related Information / Falcon Web Cams / Re: Canada Falcons: All but Rhea Mae & Tiago, (they have their own thread)
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on: 26-Mar-10, 10:28:35 PM
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!!! Female still on site
March 26, 2010 - Toronto - Mount Sinai Hospital
CPF Volunteer Reports:
This report comes from a local resident. An adult female peregrine has been seen on the south side louvered ledges of Mt.Sinai hospital on several occasions, including this morning. Last week it was reported that an adult peregrine was sitting on one of the east facing ledges of the hospital.
No report at this time of a second peregrine in the same area.
!!! No Sign of Eggs Yet!
March 26, 2010 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:
While early last week it looked like our resident pair were about to take the next step in their courtship..things abruptly came to a halt suddenly mid week. Suddenly here was barely any sign of either falcon and if they were sighted, it was only the female usually on her own waiting for her mate. It was eerily quiet and having had reports in the area of another male and multiple falcon sightings we were a bit concerned.
On Wednesday of this week Frank and I ascended to a nearby building in order to try and get a look in the nest box as given the prior behaviour we thought surely there might be one egg. It was a beautiful day and although we couldnt’ see directly into the nestbox due to the high edges - it was obvious there weren’t any eggs as no one arrived for at least an hour. We would have expected someone to be in the vicinity in case of an intruder but we were met with silence. After awhile Jack did show up and he did call for his mate and then proceeded to stare at us staring at him and then decided we weren’t that interesting so off he went. From photos and coordinating with the TR site we were able to determine it was indeed Jack we were staring at that day so that was a relief.
The female showed up once we had descended to the ground so at least we knew both were still in the area. It’s quite possible that the recent northward migration brought new falcons into the area and perhaps they were occupied with giving them directions elsewhere for a few days.
The past two days both male and female have been onsite and today courtship seems to have resumed as if the past several days never happened. I witnessed some mating, flying together, the male brought food in for the female and both were in the nestbox several times chupping up a storm. And Jack even found time to visit his ‘other’ wife.
It is impossible to determine when or if we will see eggs given he is the male at both sites, sometimes tiercels can do this successfully and other times not so we will continue to monitor both locations and hope for the best.
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I hope there's no problems with the pecking order. 
I was waiting for the comments! 1969?? Yeah, that be one fermented egg. 
