It's a big year for the big birds and their big eggs.

Ten pairs of endangered California condors breeding at the Oregon Zoo's Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation have produced six fertile eggs.

Last year, the captive breeding operation turned out eight eggs and six chicks survived.

"We're looking forward to our best year ever," said Shawn St. Michael, curator of birds. Condors can lay eggs, gray-green and about the size of a fist, as late as June.

In the wild, North America's largest land birds lay no more than one egg per season. But keepers speed the process with captive birds using a method known as double-clutching, which has helped the species grow from a scant 22 condors in 1982 to 347 when last counted in February.

The eggs incubate 54 to 58 days; the first chick could hatch the first week of April.

The zoo joined the effort to restore condors six years ago, after constructing barns, nest boxes and flight pens in a remote Clackamas County meadow, which is off-limits to the public in order to keep the birds as wild as possible; 19 chicks conceived there survive and 10 fly free in California and Arizona.

Chris Parish, director of The Peregrine Fund's condor reintroduction program, which has freed a handful of Oregon-bred condors near the Grand Canyon, will speak about the effort at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 13, in the zoo's banquet center as part of the Wildlife Conservation Series. Cost: $10

http://www.dosbirds.org/image/tid/10 

A very nice detailed watch Jim...thanks. I'm glad you didn't think that 3rd falcon was Mariah. 

MUCH!!    Beautiful, will it stay?

Probably not. We're still looking for the sweet spot, but it might return later.

I had a feeling not.     BTW Shaky, when are you going to finish your book? 

Ok so McGee just popped in for a quickie and left. Momma screamed and when he left, she followed, probably to give him a piece of her mind. The nerve.   

Annnnd he's at it again!! 

SHAKY!!!  We need some tweaking on the main cam, please!  Got a feeling the game is afoot!

Better?

MUCH!!    Beautiful, will it stay?

  @ Central Terminal

  First egg at UB! 

I don't know if there are any eggs yet at any of the other Buffalo nestsites, but I hope they are all staying warm because the temps tonight and tomorrow will be in the 20s!   

Great pics. I heard snow is in the forecast!! 

Ok so McGee just popped in for a quickie and left. Momma screamed and when he left, she followed, probably to give him a piece of her mind. The nerve.   

[Tonight, if you see it, it won't be in closeup at all; it is almost 90 million miles away now. At opposition, because its orbit is lopsided, it sometimes comes within 40 million miles.]

If you live in a place with clear weather tonight, go out and take a look at the waxing crescent moon in the evening sky. The bright star near it -- you may be able to make out a subtle salmon hue -- is the planet Mars, and this is about as pretty as the view of it gets.
The Mars rover Spirit lived up to its name by surpassing all expectations.

Mars is just a couple of months past opposition -- when it is directly opposite the sun, and therefore about as close to us as orbital mechanics allow. The earth, 93 million miles from the sun, takes 365 days to make one orbit; Mars, 141 miles out on average, takes 687. We overtake it on our inside track once every 22 months or so.

If you have a telescope (fewer people do these days), this will be a good night to use it. You may see subtle striations in color -- the same ones that had the 19th-century astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli convinced he was looking at channels carved by water on the Martian surface.

Schiaparelli's Italian "canali" was inevitably translated as "canals" -- and soon enough there were perfectly intelligent earthlings wondering if intelligent Martians were irrigating their planet while planning invasions of ours.

Tales of a Rusty-Red World

Today we know better, or at least we think we do. The twin Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, found evidence that Mars probably did have standing water on its surface millions of years ago, though it would have been in brackish ponds instead of artificially-made canals.

The rovers, which were expected to last 90 days after they landed in January 2004, still are transmitting six years later -- though Spirit, the first one, broke through some crusty soil last year and is probably trapped in its final resting place.

As a bonus, a probe called Phoenix landed in the Martian arctic in 2008 and found ice just beneath the surface. So Mars keeps getting more and more interesting in close-u

Tonight, if you see it, it won't be in closeup at all; it is almost 90 million miles away now. At opposition, because its orbit is lopsided, it sometimes comes within 40 million miles.

As predictable as the ages, spring still manages to startle us with its boldness. The morning sun arrives earlier each day, warming the earth that for so long has been cold and wet.

And with spring come the riotous birds. The lengthening light triggers a bird's urge to sing, and the breeding cycle begins anew — with song and courtship, then pair-bonding and nesting. All over the Bay Area, their nests, big and small, can be seen by the careful observer:

# Peregrine falcons: Only two pairs of peregrine falcons nested in the Bay Area in 1970, as the magnificent raptor was almost eliminated by the use of DDT following World War II. The peregrine falcon is now one of the greatest success stories of the conservation movement, with an estimated 25 to 30 pairs breeding in the Bay Area, according to biologist Glenn R. Stewart of the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group.

Seen canoodling in early March, San Jose's two favorite falcons — Clara and Estaban — are now protecting their four eggs atop San Jose City Hall. This is the fourth year that Clara has laid eggs here.

The chicks are likely to hatch from their brown speckled casings at the end of Easter week, Stewart predicts. One of last year's offspring, Hiko, is believed to be starting his own family with mate Haya. Their nest is on a ledge on an old unused railway that sits next to Oakland's Fruitvale Bridge.

A third nest is in downtown San Francisco; a fourth is in Alameda. Others have been reported at Mount Diablo and the Marin cliffs near the Golden Gate Bridge.

"It is a heartening tale of conservation success," says Stewart of the population recovery. "Now that they have rebounded, we receive up to one million hits per week at our Web site from people who watch the birds and comment on a related online discuss group."

For more information, go to San Jose Peregrine Falcon Alliance at www.sanjoseperegrines.org. Want to watch the City Hall falcons? You can see them via two webcams: the City of San Jose Web site at http://sanjose.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=91 and the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group Web site at www.scpbrg.org. A video of the March 9 egg-laying at the City Hall nest is at www.youtube.com/SanJosePFA.

Some of the best-known birds of prey, such as bald eagles and peregrine falcons, have increased in numbers dramatically in the last two decades. They’ve benefited from restoration efforts in New Hampshire and from the banning of harmful pesticides that nearly wiped out some species in New Hampshire.

But biologists have recently found overall about one third of the state’s bird species are in long-term decline. New Hampshire Audubon recently released its “State of the Birds� report, which examined population trends for 186 New Hampshire species. Audubon biologist Pamela Hunt compiled the report, which determined 65 species are decreasing in numbers, 42 are increasing and 27 appear stable. There were another 52 species that lacked sufficient data or didn’t display a clear trend.

“Wildlife populations are always changing, often for reasons independent of human activity. As a result, it is not unexpected to see some species increasing, others declining, and some apparently stable during a given time period,� according to the report. “However, when the trends for several species in the same habitat all show the same direction, and/or trends are maintained for several years in a row, it is reasonable to assume the pervasive influence of additional factors.�

Biologists have watched certain species, such as the northern cardinal, increase their ranges greatly while others, such as the state bird, the purple finch, are decreasing in numbers. Species in decline include shrub land and grassland birds, along with several aerial insectivores, such as swallows, according to the Audubon.

Timber harvesting, acid deposition and climate change, among other factors, could account for species decline. The state’s temperature has risen about 2 degrees in 30 years, which could be affecting species that live in the state’s colder regions.

While heavy rains can affect nesting species by reducing their cover and leaving them vulnerable to predators, biologists are also concerned that climate change could throw migratory species that rely on specific food sources out of sync.

About half the species in the state live in forests and the report splits them into spruce-fir birds and those that live in hardwood/mixed forests. There were less data for spruce-fir species, though more were found to be decreasing than increasing. Possible threats include declining forest condition, climate change, forest conversion from spruce-fir to hardwood and potentially events happening outside the state during the non-breeding season. Hunt found for hardwood/mixed forests species that birds that can adapt to human-altered landscapes are doing reasonably well. Many species, particularly those that rely on grasslands and open habitats, have suffered as their habitat has gradually reverted to forest.

Along with identifying threats to birds, the report provides strategies for addressing them. Visit www.nhaudubon.org to see the report.

Know your birds
Bald eagles
The national symbol, with its six- to eight-foot wingspan and distinctive white head and tail, is an opportunistic eater. A bald eagle will swoop in to dramatically haul a trout out of the Merrimack River or will munch on some roadkill. Bald eagles, which stand three feet tall, live in New Hampshire year-round, but during winter months eagles from Canada migrate here and congregate nearby open water. Females can weigh up to 14 pounds and males weigh a few pounds less. Both an eagle’s large beak and its feet are bright yellow. Eagles, which can live up to 30 years, have bounced back from the brink in New Hampshire. Sightings now during winter months are fairly common, particularly along the Merrimack River. Bald eagles are listed as threatened in New Hampshire.

Peregrine falcons
Like bald eagles, falcons were essentially wiped out of New Hampshire. Falcons are known for flying at incredibly high speeds —230 miles per hour — when diving at prey, usually other birds, such as pigeons or ducks. They’ll try to physically knock prey out of the sky. They’re characterized by a bluish-gray back and a barred white underneath, and they spread a three-and-a-half-foot wingspan, according to the state Fish and Game Department. Falcon pairs mate for life. The state’s best-known pair of peregrine falcons live atop Brady Sullivan Tower in downtown Manchester. Peregrine falcon numbers appear to be increasing. They are listed as threatened in New Hampshire. They live throughout the state.

Osprey
Osprey feed almost exclusively on fish and they’ll dive in feet-first to grab an unsuspecting snack from the water. Osprey are characterized by a white breast and belly and dark brown back and wings, and a four-and-a-half- to six-foot wingspan. They weigh up to four pounds and have a distinctive “eye mask� that runs from the back of their beak all the way down the nape of their neck, according to state Fish and Game. Osprey numbers are on the increase in New Hampshire. Osprey often choose man-made structures, such as utility poles, platforms and bridges for their nests.

Red-tailed hawk
Perhaps the most common hawks in North America, red-tailed hawks are often seen alongside highways and roads as they hunt for rodents, squirrels, rabbits or snakes. Characterized by a distinctively red tail, a pale front and streaked belly, and broad brown wings, red-tailed hawks spread a four-and-a-half-foot wingspan and weigh in at two to four pounds. They stand up to 22 inches and can live up to 21 years in the wild.

Sy Montgomery on birds
Chickens are not stupid.

This is the main point of the first chapter of Sy Montgomery’s new book, Birdology: Adventures with a pack of hens, a peck of pigeons, cantankerous crows, fierce falcons, hip hop parrots, baby hummingbirds, and one murderously big living dinosaur (Free Press, 260 pages), which will be released April 6.

Montgomery, who lives in New Hampshire, is also the author of The Good Good Pig, Journey of the Pink Dolphins and other books about animals. In Birdology she devotes one chapter apiece to chickens, a cassowary, hummingbirds, hawks, pigeons, parrots and crows. None of them — she would like you to appreciate this fact — are stupid.

Montgomery’s knowledge of birds comes from living with them, starting with a parakeet she brought home at age 7. She’s also traveled extensively to spend time with them.

She’s even met Snowball, the YouTube rock star parrot.

The hawks chapter features an extensive visit to Nancy Cowan’s New Hampshire School of Falconry, where a hawk named Jazz “seems more immediately alive than any human I have ever known,� Montgomery writes.

To read Birdology is to travel with Montgomery as she takes up falconry in New Hampshire, communes with Snowball in Indiana, meets impossibly tiny rescued baby hummingbirds in California, ponders the pros and cons of crows roosting in Auburn, N.Y., and makes friends with chickens in her own home.

She does make some really funny sounds.   

I'll say.....hubby's in the other room saying..." What the heck are you listening to"?  I say "go back to  , your dreaming" 

I swear momma owl sounds like a dolphin sometimes....I keep hearing Flipper. 

aaarrrrgggghhhh. long john hairy eyeball, is it?

 

Babies babies......every where!!!