STANDING at just 3ft 4ins tiny Aibhlyn Fergusson is a prime candidate for "Britain's Got Talons" — as the country's youngest falconer.

The cute three-year-old is dwarfed by Whisper the Barn Owl and colossal European Eagle Owl 'Bobby', below, who is almost the same height as his miniscule handler and has a wingspan twice her height at more than six feet.

Amazingly she started handling smaller birds with sharp meat-tearing beaks and powerful talons at just 18 months old.
But for Aibhlyn the daring feat runs in the family — mum Ffyona, now 43, trained a White Tailed Sea Eagle, in 1969, also aged three.

Aibhlyn's six-year-old brother Ruaridh handles huge birds of prey too and already has four years experience under his belt.

But then their skills are no surprise when you learn they live with Ffyona and dad Grant at the Galloway Falconry bird of prey school in Galloway, Scotland.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2867350/Tiny-girl-three-tames-falcons.html  Pics here

[Hooahh!! Thanks!]

Hooahh!! Thanks! bguitar

[1 is a baby cavy??????????????????????]

1 is a baby cavy??????????????????????

What is a cavy???????????

BC...you have some weird names! LOL  I need to look that one up.

Here my 3 cats: 2 males, Panpan and Tobi and a female, Puce

http://picasaweb.google.com/np46np/GrosPlanDes3Chats#

Beautiful Nicole!!

[Off Topic...Donna, this mess outside my door...shoveled 8 inches of slush today...is all your fault...snow...BAH HUMBUG!!!]

Off Topic...Donna, this mess outside my door...shoveled 8 inches of slush today...is all your fault...snow...BAH HUMBUG!!!

OT:
Ei, we had that slush yesterday....all gone today. I'm really sorry and will take full blame. I'll be waiting for Mr Plowman tomorrow night.  Good luck to whoever is getting this mess coming tonight into Friday.
Not looking forward to the 50 MPH winds though and neither are my porch cats. 

Good job all on the pics. They are fantastic...I love every pic....I love snow. They are all winners to me. 


More snow here tonight thru Friday.......maybe some feets here. I'll be happy with a foot.

Thanks Aafke for another fine contest. 

   Thanks for the update Donna. I felt bad for this woman.

So did I Mak....imagine them chewing through your roof? Creepy.

[The party is over for a flock of vultures that spent the past seven months above Nancy Cox’s Ridgeway home.]

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The party is over for a flock of vultures that spent the past seven months above Nancy Cox’s Ridgeway home.

A troop of local Boy Scouts recently descended on Cox’s yard to battle the brush, trees and bamboo that drew the vultures. Just three days later, her home was vulture free.

“I’m so happy,� Cox said.

Tri-State Roofing and Home Improvement installed a tin roof over the rubber roof on Cox’s house in December. The vultures had pulled apart the rubber so much that the roof began to leak.

With a lack of rubber to chew on, the number of vultures frequenting Cox’s home decreased. However, they still were coming by to spend their days in the dead tree next to her house and munch on the bamboo growing on the edge of her yard.

To get the birds to leave entirely, Cox said, she would have to cut down the dead tree and dig out the bamboo by its roots. But at age 68, she was not able to dig up the bamboo, let alone cut down a tree, and she could not afford to pay someone else to do it, she said.

Lucky for her, James Whitlow, leader of Boy Scout Troop 168, read about Cox’s dilemma in the Martinsville Bulletin and decided that taking down the dead tree and bamboo would be a good community service project.

“Part of what Scouts is about is helping people,� said Whitlow. “Scouts are also required to do community service projects.�

On Jan. 23, eight Boy Scouts, aged 11-18, and 12 adults pulled into Cox’s yard with a trailer and tools.

“The birds were all in the tree and sitting on her house when we got there,� Whitlow said. “It was eerie looking.�

At 8 a.m., the Scouts got to work cutting down the tree while the vultures watched, he said. Some of them flew to another tree to observe, he said, but soon they all apparently decided it was time to pack up and look for a new home.

By noon, the Scouts had finished their work. The tree itself didn’t take long to cut down, but it took a while to load all the pieces onto the trailer, said Whitlow.

They also cut down the large patch of bamboo in Cox’s yard. Whitlow said he and his troop plan to go back in the spring to dig up the roots of the bamboo so it will not grow back.

The day after Whitlow’s troop came, Cox said she saw two vultures, and only one on the following Monday and Tuesday.

“After that I was vulture-free,� she exclaimed. “I am so happy and thankful to the Scouts for coming.�

She said the birds’ absence was a relief after having to holler at the vultures to leave several times a day for seven months.

“I still have dreams about them,� she said. “I wake up at night and automatically check to see if they are hanging around outside before I remember they’re gone.�

Cox’s pets also were relieved to see the last of the vultures, she said.

“Duke the dog and Snuggles the cat are very happy,� she said.

Cox said that Snuggles is venturing outside for the first time in seven months, and Duke no longer has to guard his food bowl from feathered thieves all day.

[Caption:]

With more snow on the way and many of the state's lakes dotted with ice-fishing shacks, it's hard to think of Connecticut as a sort of Florida for wintering birds.

But that's exactly the role the state plays this time of year, with thousands of predator birds, ducks and water fowl commuting here to escape frigid habitats in Maine, Canada and even above the Arctic Circle.

Because most of its rivers empty into Long Island Sound and are tidal for several miles above their mouths, Connecticut becomes an open-water haven for fish-eating eagles and ducks whose northern feeding grounds ice over in early January.

"In fact, this is the best time of year to actually see bald eagles in appreciable numbers," said Andrew Griswold, the director of EcoTravel for the Connecticut Audubon Society, which runs weekday and weekend rides down the Connecticut River this time of year so bird-watchers and tourists can see the species.

Connecticut is home to about 80 resident bald eagles, with about 20 pairs actively nesting and raising their young in the state. But this population is supplemented every year by "wintering" eagles traveling south from neighboring states and Canada in search of open water. More than 80 percent of an eagle's diet consists of fish, and eagles begin to travel south as soon as their northern rivers freeze over. The main source of Connecticut's wintering eagles is believed to be the Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts, which has more than 50 pairs of nesting eagles, but others come from northern New England and Canada.

Many other ducks and water birds also winter in Connecticut. Griswold said that the common merganser and the red-breasted merganser travel from as far away as Minnesota and the Dakotas to find open water here. Red-throated loons come from as far away as Alaska and parts of Canada above the Arctic Circle to feed until spring arrives farther north. Rough-legged hawks and northern harriers, which can also live as far north as the Arctic, are fairly common sights in Connecticut this time of year.

"These birds are all fish-eaters and they're incredibly hardy diving in the cold water," said Griswold. "But as long as the water is open, they can handle it. The Connecticut River is a real magnet for these species."

Caption: One of the eagles spotted aboard the RierQuest, an eagle-watching cruise on the Connecticut River, sponsored by EcoTravel, a division of the Connecticut Audubon Society.

[Feb 24, 2010]

This month's historic snowstorms caused at least $1.5 million damage at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, delaying its opening by up to a month and further threatening an institution that has struggled to emerge from financial difficulties.After the zoo nearly lost its accreditation two years ago, its staff had worked to make improvements and put the facility on firm financial footing. But the costs of storm- related repairs, employee overtime and lost revenue pose a new challenge.

"This is a big, big setback," said the zoo's president, Donald Hutchinson, a former Baltimore County executive hired to revitalize the facility in 2008. "We're hoping that everyone who loves the zoo will help us bounce back."Two aviaries - homes to gangly African spoonbills, wedge-headed mergansers and other birds - are in tatters. A huge limb has fallen from the leopard's preferred perch. And a long-eared owl is on the lam, circling the Druid Hill Park area in search of furry snacks.

 Zoo employees worked around the clock through the storms, shoveling paths to enable food to be taken to the creatures' winter cages and sleeping at the old mansion that serves as the administrative offices. But they were no match for the weather.

The weight of the snow toppled posts that supported the wire mesh enclosures of the African and Chesapeake marsh aviaries. No birds were injured, but the owl and a teal, a type of duck, escaped.

The teal returned to join its mate, said Karl Kranz, the zoo's chief operating officer. But the owl, whose big yellow eyes and upward-pointing ears give it an expression of perpetual surprise, has eluded workers.

As the storms began, workers tried to shake snow off the aviaries, a dangerous job, but they were forced to give up in the face of blizzardlike conditions.

"The snow was coming so fast we just couldn't make any headway," said Mike McClure, the zoo's chief curator, who slept in his office much of last week.

Feb 24, 2010

In a delayed effect from Sunday's heavy snow, the walk-through marsh aviary of the Baltimore Zoo's Maryland Wilderness section collapsed and four ducks took advantage of ripped netting to fly the coop -- at least temporarily.

None of the 37 birds occupying the open-air exhibit was hurt, but the collapse discovered by keepers Monday morning caused thousands of dollars in damage that will force the closing of the aviary, probably until April, said Brian A. Rutledge, the zoo director.

The collapse, he said, was caused by temperature changes that first began melting the snow and then caused it to freeze over the net openings. Tons of snow and ice proved to be too heavy for the structure as a heavy wooden perimeter support pole and a center cable snapped, and the fabric enclosing the approximately 10,000-square-foot exhibit ripped apart.

The aviary, which cost about $225,000 to build, opened in the fall of 1989 as one of several major components of the eight-acre Lyn P. Meyerhoff Maryland Wilderness and Children's Zoo. During the summer, it is home to more than 50 birds of 13 different species, along with a variety of stream-dwelling creatures.

In late fall, birds that would normally migrate for the winter were moved indoors, leaving two owls and 35 ducks of seven species to inhabit the exhibit -- which also includes a human-size oriole nest and lily pads for children to hop across.

The year-round inhabitants also are indoors now, including two of the escaped ducks that decided to return the same way they left -- through the open netting.

"Usually when you have an escaped animal, that's how you get them back -- open the door and get out of the way," Mr. Rutledge said. Still missing are two green-wing teals.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-franklin-institute-haw-cam

The most celebrated birds in recent Philadelphia history are back for a second season of their popular avian reality show.

Their webcam is officially up and running. Last year, it gave thousands of viewers a peek-a-boo view of a red-tailed-hawk couple nesting on a ledge of the Franklin Institute. They hatched three young that flapped their way into the hearts of fans worldwide.

More than 300,000 people clicked in to one of two Web sites, some again and again. Some people - occasionally a dozen or more at a time - lined up on the sidewalk below to watch, waving at their friends through the webcam.

The birds were a hit not because they are rare - red-tailed hawks are common - but because the webcam offered such an intimate view. The camera was less than two feet away, inside a window.

Over the last month or so, the adults have brought new material to the nest, making it bigger and redefining the bowl in which the female can lay her eggs.

If the hawks follow roughly the same timetable, eggs could appear within two weeks. Last year, the female laid them March 9, and the chicks hatched April 16 and 17.

Institute president and chief executive officer Dennis Wint said there was no guarantee the birds would nest there again, of course, but "their behavior would indicate that they are likely to do so."

And that would make it another big year for Philadelphia's raptors.

The pair of bald eagles that nested the three previous years at the Navy Yard are gone - perhaps having moved across the river to New Jersey, if a new nest there is an indication.

They were the first eagles known to have nested within the city limits in more than 200 years and were hailed as dramatic evidence that the species, once headed for extinction, was well into recovery.

After these eagles came, two other pairs showed up, and they're still here.

At Pennypack Park in the Northeast, a pair that had two young last year have already laid eggs. Frank Windfelder, a nearby resident and president of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, said that on Feb. 9, one of the birds was sitting on the nest in a distinct posture that meant eggs were underneath.

"Somehow, they survived these snowstorms," Windfelder said.

At the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, an immature pair that built a nest but never laid eggs last year is back again, carrying sticks.

The staff is watching daily, hoping to catch sight of the dramatic eagle-mating display, said deputy refuge manager Larry Woodward. The two birds fly high, then clutch talons and plummet toward earth.

While the Navy Yard was inaccessible, both Pennypack and Tinicum offer spectators opportunities to see the birds without disturbing them, officials said.

Throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania and central New Jersey, the numbers of bald eagle nests have increased - so much so that officials wonder if territorial disputes will become the norm.

The drama for the Franklin Institute hawks reached a high June 6, when one of the young learning to fly left the nest for a practice run, but was unable to get back.

A wildlife rehabilitator from the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education rescued the bird and put it back into the nest two days later, depositing it through an open window.

After the breeding season ended last year, the institute cleaned the feces off its windows and turned off the camera.

But the hawks' fans kept up their vigil all the same.

Della Micah of Plymouth Meeting continued her regular treks to the Parkway to keep an eye on the adults, which spent the winter in the area. She blogged about her sightings at http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com.

By now, there's also a Franklin Hawkaholics Facebook page, and as the institute's webcam sputtered into existence during testing this month, the posts mounted.

At one point, the hawks dropped off sprigs of pine and spruce, which John Blakeman, a retired biology teacher from Ohio and hawk researcher of four decades, said commonly happens.

"It's a sign of profound commitment," he noted on Micah's blog. "We're on for a good year of hawk-watching. Nothing like it in all the world."

Yesterday, as hawks added bits of paper and plastic bags to their nest, Micah said, she was glued to the webcam.

She knows that the next step in the birds' relationship - laying eggs and sitting on them - is not as exciting as when the eggs hatch and the parents bring bloody morsels of pigeon or rodent for them to eat, but she doesn't want to miss a detail.

"Having gotten to know these birds," she said, "they feel like old friends."

Well Owl be....what a great weekend Jim. Amazing pics. Have you gone back in search of the Snowy at the Pier lately?

I've been monitoring a local birding email list for possible sightings but so far I haven't heard of any Snowys around Rochester or at the pier.

Too bad, I remember all the great pics of that Snowy.....was a good year.

(movie) I take that back, she did take the leftovers of prey!!

Beauty visits. Thought she was going for leftovers but she snubbed it.

[This picture is of the California Condor, the largest flying bird in North America and the rarest.]

The picture is from a book written by Elliott Coues, published in 1890 and titled "Key to North American Birds."

In the 1890s in Pasadena, this book was treasured by boys like Joseph Grinnell and Ralph Arnold, bird collectors and future scientists.

The book covered the description and scientific classification of birds and also "Field Ornithology: A manual of collecting, preparing, and preserving birds."

Most birds were so plentiful in the Pasadena area then that the boys had no qualms about collecting birds and their eggs for study.

The California Condors are believed to have once been found along the entire West Coast and inland to the Rockies. They soar to great heights and feed on dead animals. By the 1890s, they were scarce.

Joseph Grinnell wrote the bird section of Reid's 1895 History of Pasadena.

"The California vulture (Condor) is one of the rarest birds, as it is seldom seen, and then only in the mountains. It has the general appearance of the turkey vulture, but is very much larger, having a stretch of nine feet and even more, and a length of four and one-half feet."

Added is a note by Prof. C.F. Holder, written in 1888 after seeing a specimen. In part he said, "The strength and power of the bird is almost beyond belief. Four adults have been seen to drag the body of a grizzly weighing over a

thousand pounds, two hundred yards. The bird is rare in the San Gabriel valley, and the present specimen is an unusually fine one, a young male in complete plumage, and perhaps three or four years old."

Another note says, "In 1878 E.W. Giddings shot one of these birds and it measured ten feet, three inches from tip to tip of the wings."

Two bird photographers in 1906 obtained a valuable set of pictures of condors nesting in Eaton Canyon.

Today, Condor sanctuaries have been designated. Condors bred and hatched in captivity are released to these areas.

It is still unknown if they will survive. One cause of death is lead poisoning from dead animals shot with lead bullets.

This picture is of the California Condor, the largest flying bird in North America and the rarest.