This is in Denville NJ.....Main St and Gardener field where they play baseball. Not now.

We had major flooding here. Not by me but across the highway.

He is just so cute!! A very lucky baby.

[I briefly stopped in and agree it was fun and something we need to do more often. We also chatted about when Orville first appeared on the scene and the number of moves this famous pebble has made. It was concluded that Orville appeared on Cam in 2003. Attached is a compilation of posts that was in the Kfalconcam files. Too bad the story was never finished.~Joyce]

I briefly stopped in and agree it was fun and something we need to do more often.  We also chatted about when Orville first appeared on the scene and the number of moves this famous pebble has made. It was concluded that Orville appeared on Cam in 2003.  Attached is a compilation of posts that was in the Kfalconcam files.  Too bad the story was never finished.

~Joyce

Orville, he's a hoot!

That is OK Donna I don't really need any.

Me either but the powers of chocolate....weakened me. 

[We had a good chat last night. All ya need is a little bribe. , seems to work. Learned a lot about Woodpeckers...thanks Ei, Paul, BC...I had my woodpeckers all wrong. We also learned that Archer is due back soon, so he's not late! (Thanks Joyce). Scratch is 9 years old and the lifespan for a egg-laying hen is about 4 years. Thanks Linda. Shaky popped in looking for some Candy also but I ate it all, sorry Shaky. NYCbird was there also and had some info. We need to do this more often, it's really fun and kinda breaks the ice. Due to time difference in other areas, NL, Germany, even Ca...it's hard to get all in at once. We'll find time for all.]

We had a good chat last night. All ya need is a little bribe. , seems to work. Learned a lot about Woodpeckers...thanks Ei, Paul, BC...I had my woodpeckers all wrong. We also learned that Archer is due back soon, so he's not late! (Thanks Joyce). Scratch is 9 years old and the lifespan for a egg-laying hen is about 4 years. Thanks Linda. Shaky popped in looking for some Candy also but I ate it all, sorry Shaky. NYCbird was there also and had some info.

We need to do this more often, it's really fun and kinda breaks the ice. Due to time difference in other areas, NL, Germany, even Ca...it's hard to get all in at once. We'll find time for all.

Sorry BC about the candy, I tried!

http://www.youtube.com/v/E_9J2v3uVcY

Tilburg 1st egg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqWOQ8EkgGI  Guess Scout told her.

A prime piece of real estate opened up this week along the Yellowstone River — for osprey.

The 60-foot pole at the Duck Creek Bridge Fishing Access Site has a sturdy round platform. The view is great. It’s off the road. There are even a few “starter’’ twigs secured on top to encourage nesting by the fish-eating raptors.

Best of all, there is no 7,200-volt power line running through it.

Yellowstone Valley Electric Cooperative, with support from federal and state agencies and the Yellowstone Valley Audubon Society, erected the nesting platform after removing a large nest from one of its power poles nearby.

“It’s not that we don’t like osprey,� said Terry Holzer, the co-op’s general manager. “We don’t like them on power poles.�

Last year, osprey raised two young at the old nest, which was located atop YVEC’s power pole next to the bridge. The power company had removed the nest before, with oversight from regulators, but osprey kept returning and rebuilding.

The nest was among 30 osprey nests from Big Timber to Billings that were identified by the Audubon Society in a survey conducted last fall.

Monty Sullins, an Audubon member, said the local chapter has begun a conservation project to survey and monitor osprey nests in Yellowstone country. The chapter hopes that information gathered will help with overall osprey management and conservation in the Yellowstone River corridor.

Audubon wants to work with power companies, landowners and government agencies to reduce hazards for the birds and to help relocate problem nests, Sullins said.

Osprey have made a comeback from the 1970s, when numbers dwindled because of the insecticide DDT, which was banned in 1972. Osprey are not considered endangered or threatened but are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

While typically more numerous in Western Montana, osprey have been moving east for at least the past 10 years. The birds are not too picky about nesting sites. In addition to tree snags, they inhabit power poles along roadways and have tried to build nests on top of smokestacks at the ExxonMobil Refinery in Lockwood.

But they are persistent. Osprey migrate south for the winter and often return to the same nest year after year in the spring to raise young.

“Osprey can be rather problematic,� Holzer said. The branches, twine and other materials that osprey use in feathering their nests on power poles can conduct electricity. Birds can get electrocuted, he said. There are problems with power outages and risks of fire, he said.

YVEC has three or four osprey nests to contend with, including a large nest on a distribution line south of Laurel, he said. The co-op insulated the energized conductors with rubber covers and that worked for a few years, Holzer said. The co-op finally conceded the pole to the osprey and moved the lines.

YVEC worked with state and federal wildlife agencies to remove the Duck Creek Bridge nest and to erect a new platform, Holzer said. The 4-foot-diameter platform is the end of wire spool that has been attached to the pole. Long bolts extend through the platform to help secure nesting material. To deter osprey from rebuilding at the old site, YVEC installed triangular-shaped devices on the power pole’s cross arms.

YVEC put in the $1,200 to $1,500 in labor and equipment costs for the platform, Holzer said.

Audubon, Sullins said, wants to help with the expense and has set up a special fund for the osprey project. Any money donated to the fund will go toward helping to relocate nests and erecting new platforms.

“At $1,000 or more a pop, there’s going to be money involved,� he said. People may send donations to the Yellowstone Valley Audubon Society, Attention: Osprey Fund, P.O. Box 1075, Billings MT 59103-1075.

Whether osprey will move into the new Duck Creek Bridge platform remains to be seen. The birds are expected to start showing up in a week or so.

“Hopefully, this will be a go for them,’’ Sullins said.

JAMES CITY — A Toano subdivision recognized as a leader in conservation is at the center of an investigation of illegal clearing near an eagle’s nest.

It could be an accident, or a misunderstanding inspired by savvy eagles.

Jeff Cooper, non-game bird projects manager with Virginia Game & Inland Fisheries, said he received a report that at least part of a buffer zone around a bald eagle’s nest at River’s Bend at Uncle’s Neck had been cleared.

River’s Bend has been cited as an  example of how residential development and ecology can work well together. In 2008 the developer donated about half of the developable land, or 190 acres, to the Williamsburg Land Conservancy. It was promoted as protecting at least one active eagle’s nest and two great blue heron rookeries.

River’s Bend was praised for hiring a retired state wildlife biologist to develop a management plan. Officials believe the mistake happened at the individual-lot level, not the development level.

Cooper said that Bryan Watts, a leading eagle researcher with William & Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology, alerted officials of the clearing about a week ago. While bald eagles are no longer on the federal endangered list, they remain protected by two sets of federal wildlife laws and are further protected in Virginia, where they are still considered threatened.

River’s Bend promotional materials proclaim one active eagle’s nest. The center’s maps show one active and one “recently active.�

Watts isn’t taking calls on the matter. “He wanted to make clear that there is an open federal case... regarding the property mentioned in your inquiry, and neither he nor [the Center for Conservation Biology] is at liberty to discuss it with media or otherwise,� said outreach coordinator Carla Schneider in an e-mail response.

Dan Rolince, resident agent-in-charge of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Law Enforcement division in Richmond, confirmed that the department is investigating the incident but said it is too early to release information.

No charges have been filed, he said. Violating the Bald & Golden Eagle Protection Act can cost up to $100,000 and a year in jail for the first offense. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act and state laws also apply.

The developer seemed surprised.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,� Associated Developers Inc. president Henry Stephens said. “We haven’t done any clearing [recently]. One of the lot owners has cleared a lot.�

He said that several abandoned eagle nests were identified in the area and that Watts himself flew the area to identify the nest sites when they were developing the plan.

The one active nest at that time wasn’t in the vicinity of the 35 homes, Stephens said, and he and his partners went through all of the permitting requirements.

Cooper echoed Stephens, noting that he remembers working with River’s Bend during the planning stages in 2006.

The nest in question was freshly lined, indicating recent residency, Cooper said.

Therein lies a dilemma. If a nest isn’t used for five seasons, it’s officially classified as abandoned, and the standard 660-foot buffer is lifted.

But the eagles don’t know that. What might have happened is that a pair moved into a nest that was legally abandoned.

Eagles also hedge their bets, sometimes preparing more than one nest during mating season in case any single one is compromised. Yet environmental plans are based on nest sites, not nest areas, Cooper said.

Cooper was unable to say when the clearing occurred, but one of the two most sensitive times for nesting is January-February when mating pairs in this region establish nest sites. The other is after eggs hatch, but before fledglings can fly. They may panic at disturbances, jumping out of nests. Startled mother eagles can also damage eggs and chicks when fleeing the nest, Cooper said.

More — Virginia  Game & Inland Fisheries and Norfolk Botanical Garden have a blog and camera on eagles at   dgif.virginia.gov/eaglecam. A fledgling was hatched Thursday.

[Environment, Oregon Coast, Outdoors »Brown pelicans won't fly south from Oregon coast and that worries scientists]

Answers Found to Pelican Mass Stranding Mystery

The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) is reporting that the primary causes of the recent Brown Pelican mass stranding (involving varying degrees of incapacitation of hundreds of birds) along the Oregon and California Coast are related to shortages of preferred prey items, such as anchovies and sardines, and rough winter weather likely related to the current El Niño event.

CDFG, the U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, Sea World San Diego and the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) pooled their efforts to determine the causes for the bird deaths and strandings, and ruled out infectious disease and marine toxins as major contributory factors. Some pelicans have had waterproofing problems with their feathers, possibly related to storm runoff from recent heavy coastal rains.


More than 300 birds are being rehabilitated at the IBRRC facilities in San Pedro and Cordelia, California. CDFG has been donating frozen trout to organizations conducting the rescue feeding. Rehabilitation has been taking one to two weeks and rescued birds are said to be responding well to treatment. Birds first became stranded around the middle of January but the numbers being recovered each day have greatly diminished in recent days.

“When you allow overfishing of any seabird’s prey base and then compound that with impacts from El Nino events, which may become stronger or more common with climate change, you are spelling disaster for the bird. Their prey bases have got to be better protected if they are to survive long term,� said Dr. Jessica Hardesty Norris, American Bird Conservancy Seabird Program Director.



Environment, Oregon Coast, Outdoors »
Brown pelicans won't fly south from Oregon coast and that worries scientists

Unlike past years, they've refused to return to California.

In January, scientists were stunned to see hundreds of brown pelicans that normally fly south before winter lingering on the Oregon coast.

Now it's March and dozens are still here.

"This is a first for us," said Roy Lowe, seabird specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Biologists are worried. Birds have starved to death and been pummeled by storms. Scientists are also perplexed about why they've altered their habits. Climate change could be a factor -- no one really knows for sure.

But last week, birders counted dozens on the coast. Lowe said there have been sightings of 60 in Newport, 25 at Charleston and seven in Depoe Bay.

"Maybe some of them will survive the spring," he said. "I haven't heard of any moralities. They haven't looked good for a long time, but they continue to hang in there."

The downwelling ocean conditions off the coast this time of year do not support an abundance of forage fish for the pelicans. Lowe said they could be finding food in estuaries and lower bays, but they're also scavenging.

"They've been hanging around where people are crabbing and going for any bits of fallen food," said Deborah Jaques,  a wildlife biologist in Astoria who contracts with state and federal governments.

In the summer, flocks of about 20,000 brown pelicans live on the Oregon Coast and then fly to Southern California and Mexico before winter to breed.

Scientists said the El Nino conditions, with warmer ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, could have affected the brown pelican's food supply.

In January, many were found injured by storms or starved to death.

Rescued brown pelicans overwhelmed the Wildlife Center of the North Coast near Astoria, which rehabilitates sick and injured seabirds. Wildlife rehabilitators in California were hit with a similar phenomenon as well.

The International Bird Rescue Center received about 500 brown pelicans over six weeks in January and February, said regional manager Paul Kelway.

He said they were suffering from hypothermia and were emaciated.

"Food was clearly an issue," he said. "Some of them stayed late in Oregon. And some of those birds that were struggling for food there decided to head south expecting to find more food."

Kelway said the group's centers are still receiving emaciated brown pelicans but far fewer than last month.

The center near Astoria, which is caring for about 40 brown pelicans, has not received any new ones recently.

"Most of them have recovered," said Sharnelle Fee,  director of the center. "But we are holding them through the worst of winter. We want there to be good food out there before we let them go."

They're being kept in a 150-foot-long flight cage, giving them plenty of room to stay fit so they can survive in the wild.

Though few struggling brown pelicans have been seen on the north coast since January, the center's volunteers did rescue one on Saturday on Cannon Beach.

"This bird was getting pummeled in the surf," Fee said. "And people were prohibiting it from coming out of it. Dogs and children were chasing it."

The pelican, which has a limp in one leg, is now recovering at her center.

She said it's important that when people see a struggling bird to leave it alone and to keep a good distance.

Fee urged the public to call her center's pager at 503-338-3954 to  report any injured or problem pelicans.

Like all seabirds, brown pelicans are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes it illegal to capture, kill or possess one.

Lowe has no idea what next year will bring. And scientists do not know exactly why the birds have mysteriously shifted their longtime habits.

"We're beginning to think that we need to start preparing for the fact that this might not be the last time that we see this occur," Kelway said.

[The owls house sits on a 15 foot pole in the backyard.]

SAN MARCOS — Any day now, Molly’s eggs are going to start hatching, to the delight of the tens of thousands of people worldwide who have followed the barn owl and her mate McGee on a 24/7 video stream from a home in San Marcos.

Since the owls took up residence in January in an owl box in Carlos and Donna Royal’s backyard, the viewers have witnessed the courtship and the laying of six eggs and now anticipate the hatchlings like expectant relatives in a waiting room. “This has turned into so much fun,� Carlos said.

He calls Molly “the world’s most famous owl.�

She has her own Facebook and Twitter accounts, and in a little more than a month more than 100,000 viewers visited the owl box. Royal said he expects the numbers to rise even more after the eggs hatch.

The couple live on an acre off Twin Oaks Road and put up the owl box because they like bird watching. “We waited and waited and waited two years for owls to show up,� he said.

The Royals did not know that their box had attracted a pair of owls until the storms in January blew down their fence near where the box sits on a steel pole, 15 feet in the air. Their neighbor asked if they had heard the owls screeching during the storm.

Royal decided to place a camera outside the owl box so as not to disturb Molly and hooked it up to their television. When he decided to do some live streaming, he called his grandson Austin Faure, 17, a student at High Tech High in San Marcos, for help.

Then Royal added an infrared camera so he could stream at night. Royal was having so much fun with it, he e-mailed a friend and invited him to go to the site to see Molly and McGee.

“They must have sent it to their friends, and the next thing I know, we have 100 people at a time viewing the owl box,� he said.

The owls house sits on a 15 foot pole in the backyard.

http://www.pbase.com/soonipi1957/image/122705573/original  Great pic here.

I overdosed on the candy.

Me too!