but if this is real....WOW.

Eagle and Fox fighting over deer carcass

We have some on the hill behind our house and this fall one was in the trees along our driveway. They are so cool. I remember the first time I saw one close up they are huge.

They are awesome, I saw 2 while babysitting this past Summer. 

Published: 1:26PM GMT 17 Feb 2010
Starling flock forms shape of rabbit

Only when captured on camera can the bizarre shapes the birds form be seen clearly.

These starlings put on their evening display to deter a nearby falcon.

Kevin Hill, 59, a wildlife enthusiast and his wife Carol, 61, spotted the birds on the RSPB reserve at Ham Wall near Glastonbury at 4:30pm on Monday.

Mr Hill, a keen wildlife watcher from Somerset, said: "It was absolutely amazing and when they sweep over the top of your head you can hear their wings beat.

"They make these peculiar shapes if they are worried about being an easy supper for a peregrine falcon. When a peregrine is around the starlings sense that there is danger and wheel and dive as protection against predators.

"No starling wants to be on the outside on their own. Unfortunately, on this occasion it didn't work and a starling was taken, but that's nature."

The starlings, which arrived in late October from Europe, rest overnight at the reserve. At dawn they will go out into the countryside to feed in small flocks before returning an hour before dusk.

The birds will have migrated back to Europe by the middle of March.

Eaglet looking at cam.

3 eagles and a baby

Thanks, Donna.  I'm happy the eaglets will be cared for while they learn to fly and hunt, but it must be awful for the parents to have their chicks taken.

Dot in PA

I agree but it has to be done for their survival. 

From Adam Tyson (Mary's Son):
> For updates on my father and mother, Wayne and Mary Tyson, please go to
> this site and set up an account.  Please share this link with anyone you
> think might want to be kept in the loop.  The more good thoughts and
> prayers, the better.
>
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/wayneandmarytyson
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/wayneandmarytyson
>
>
> Visitors do not need a password but they do need the URL, and they have
> to set up their own user ID and password to visit.

Carol
WV

Thank you so much Carol, have been wondering about Mary. Sent her a few emails but she didn't reply. Now I know.

[Bald Eagles at WCNC]

Bald Eagles  at WCNC


Adler
   

Adler is one of Carolina Raptor Center's resident bald eagles. He arrived at our rehabilitation facility in the fall of 2005, not quite a year old, after being found on the ground in Stanly, North Carolina. When one of our transport volunteers got a call asking her to check on a large raptor that had been spotted on the ground, she had no idea what she might be in for! As she worked for over an hour to safely catch the eagle, a coyote was keeping his eyes on her AND the young bald eagle the entire time! Once in our facility, X-rays revealed that Adler had been shot, and his right wing had suffered permanent damage, leaving him unable to fly well enough to be returned to the wild. Many people mistakenly believe that these large birds are a threat to their pets or their children. Bald eagles, weighing between six and fourteen pounds, eat a diet consisting primarily of fish, and when they do go after something bigger, they typically cannot carry more than 2-4 pounds. So, family pets and small children are quite safe! Although Adler cannot be returned to the wild, he now has an important job: acting as an ambassador and teaching people throughout the Carolinas about the importance of raptors and the natural environment.

Dante is the newest eagle to join our education team. Dante came to Carolina Raptor Center in the summer of 2007, from a private rehabilitator and educator in Ohio. He was found in Ottawa County, Ohio, in 1997, after his nest fell out of a tree - with Dante and his sibling inside!! His sibling had only minor injuries and was able to be relocated to another nest where he fledged later that summer. Unfortunately, Dante was trapped underneath the nest when it fell (bald eagle nests can weigh several tons!), and his left wing was very badly injured. Back to the Wild, a rehabilitation center in Ohio, gave him the best treatment possible, and then sent him to the University of Minnesota Raptor Center for additional treatment for his wing, as they were hoping he might be releasable. Unfortunately, his wing injury was quite severe, and after many months of rehabilitation, the Minnesota Raptor Center sent him back to Ohio as a permanently non-releasable eagle. After returning to Ohio, Dante was continuing to struggle with his injured wing, and the decision was made to amputate nearly all of his left wing. Dante then spent several years as an education bird at Back to the Wild before being transferred to another Ohio rehabilitator for education purposes. After only a year in his new home, the educator decided to downsize the number of education birds at her facility and began to look for a new home for Dante. He was flown in to Charlotte from Cleveland, Ohio, this past summer, and we are very lucky to have him as part of our team!

Derek a male bald eagle, came to Carolina Raptor Center in August of 1998 from the South Carolina Center for Birds of Prey (now known as the International Center for Birds of Prey) in Charleston, SC. He was at least seven years old when he arrived. He had been found in December of 1995 with a gun shot injury that resulted in a broken left leg and a broken right wing. Although rehabilitators were able to treat his wing and his leg, Derek is not able to fly well enough to survive on his own in the wild. He lives on display at Carolina Raptor Center, where he acts as an ambassador for the 38,000 visitors that visit each year. For the past several years, he has bonded with Savannah, one of the bald eagles that shares his display aviary. Their offspring, Len and Lola, were hatched in March of 2006, and have been released to the wild. You can track their progress on our website. Click here for Eagle Journeys.

Derek is named after a very special boy that visited Carolina Raptor Center on many occasions. Derek Hageman loved raptors and could name almost every raptor. He pointed them out to his parents and would tell his classmates stories about the birds. When Derek passed away at the age of nine, Carolina Raptor Center became a place of remembrance for his family. His mother volunteered at CRC as she was learning to deal with her loss. At a memorial service at Derek's school, Carolina Raptor Center released a rehabilitated hawk as symbolic of Derek's spirit beginning a new journey. Derek was a special boy and it was a wonderful tribute to name one of our resident eagles after him.
»Click here to adopt Derek!
garibaldi

Garibaldi
   

All of the birds at Carolina Raptor Center are lucky because they were rescued, but Garibaldi was lucky enough to be rescued twice! The first time he was rescued was in Florida in 1998. He had been found stuck in a tree, hanging by his wing for over 24 hours. He was treated at the Florida Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, but he had a hole in the skin of his wing so he couldn’t fly well or soar at all! He lived happily at the Carolina Raptor Center’s eagle aviary, until July 2005 when a severe storm caused the eagle aviary to collapse. Garibaldi was flying free once more. The problem was, he couldn’t fly well enough to hunt. He was able to scavenge for food until February 2006 (seven months later!) when he was located and recaptured near Beverly Hills Elementary School in Concord. He was very thin when he returned, but otherwise healthy. After monitoring him for a few weeks in our rehabilitation center, he was returned to take his high perch in the eagle aviary once again.

Luke was nine years old when he arrived at Carolina Raptor Center in June 1995 from the Virginia Tech. School of Forestry & Wildlife Resources. The tip of Luke’s right wing had to be amputated after a collision with a power line. Power line collisions and electrocutions are common causes of injury among bald and golden eagles due to the large wingspans of these birds and the short amount of space between power lines. As a result of his injury, Luke cannot fly well enough to hunt and survive on his own in the wild. For this reason he remains in our eagle aviary as an ambassador for his species.

Savannah came to CRC in 1998 from the South Carolina Center for Birds of Prey in Charleston, South Carolina. She was found in the wild with a fractured left wing, and although we are not sure exactly what caused her injury, it is most likely the result of a collision, whether with a vehicle or power line or something else we’ll never know. She has adjusted to life at CRC quite well, and has found a mate here. Savannah and Derek have raised two eaglets in our aviary, and we were able to successfully release those eaglets to the wild. You can check on the progress of the eaglets, Len and Lola, here.

Raleigh is one of our oldest resident raptors, having arrived in April of 1986 from Nebraska when she was only a year old. Her left wing was shot and the entire wing had to be amputated in order to save her life. While it is hard to tell the age of many raptors past their first year of life, bald eagles can be aged up to 5 years, as their head does not turn completely white until they are between five and seven years old. However, if a bald eagle arrives at CRC’s hospital as an adult, he or she may be as old as 25!

[But how will the baby eagle learn to fly and hunt?Dot in PA]

But how will the baby eagle learn to fly and hunt?

Dot in PA

Here ya go Dot-

How are the eaglets released?

Carolina Raptor Center has a partnership with Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation to provide the secure release site in North Mecklenburg. The site is located among nearly 2,700 acres of nature preserve along the lake, all of which is protected by Mecklenburg County. The proximity to water provides critical foraging and roosting opportunities for the eaglets as they learn to hunt and survive on their own.

The eaglets are raised by their parents for the first few weeks to ensure they become properly imprinted. When the eaglets are ready to be separated from their parents, at 5-6 weeks of age, staff move them to an artificial nest or "hacking tower" at the release site. For several weeks, they acclimatize to their new "nest" as we feed them through a specially designed food hatch which allows us to slide the food, unseen, into the nest. Then, we open the doors of the hacking tower, and the young bird can try out its wings, and practice hunting on its own. Young bald eagles are ready to make their first flights around 12 weeks of age. They can return to the "nest" for food and security until independent. Instincts tell them how to hunt for fish, but they need to practice their skills. Besides eagles, the tower has also been used for "hacking" ospreys.

That is where Rich's Dad lives!

 

[LOL Janet, you sound like the guy in the movie Funny Farm....he wanted it all to.....the dog the deer the dishes....We WANT IT ALL!!!!]

I know I saw a hedgehog baby and I want one!

Ok...what's it gonna be Janet- Snowy or Baby Hedgehog? 

Both!     I want it all! 

LOL Janet, you sound like the guy in the movie Funny Farm....he wanted it all to.....the dog the deer the dishes....We WANT IT ALL!!!!   

Frozen ground, broken trees limit food, shelter

You think you've got it bad? Try finding a worm right about now.

As bad as the dual blizzards of 2010 were for people in southern New Jersey, it's a lot worse for the American woodcock. The rusty brown bird, a rare inland shorebird, has to eat its weight each day in earthworms.

While people struggle with power outages, dead cell phones and impassible streets, woodcocks are trying to find dinner under several feet of snow. The birds can be seen probing with their long bills on the few bare spots uncovered by snowplows on the side of the road.

The woodcocks that stay this far north in the winter gamble that the weather will not be that bad and that they will have the habitat to themselves, experts say - and this year the gamble did not pay off.

"A lot of birds are dying. It's a tradeoff, and a lot of times it works," said Don Freiday, a naturalist at the Cape May Bird Observatory.

It isn't just the woodcocks dying. Freiday said the frozen salt marshes are killing the birds, such as rails, that winter there - and there isn't one in sight.

"I look out at the marshes of Cape May County and I don't see a sign of life," Freiday said.

Birds that rely on evergreens, such as the Eastern red cedar, also are affected. The wet snow Friday stuck to the foliage of the evergreens, and high winds sheared the tops off or stripped their branches. Cedars tend to be very brittle.

"I hate to lose them because they're habitat for tree birds in the winter," said Jay Schatz, who chairs the Cape May Shade Tree Commission.

The red cedar is arguably the single most important tree in this region during the winter for birds. The blue berries on the female trees provide food. The green awl-shaped leaves, or needles, provide cover. A dense cedar can even prevent snow from getting to the ground under it, giving birds that eat worms a chance at dinner.

"A lot of cedars got killed and that impact is strong and bad. It will affect roosting of owls that like that cover in front of them. Yellow-rumped warbler is a main winter eater of cedars. Cedar waxwings and robins also eat the berries," Freiday said.

The good news is the berries produced last summer are still on the broken trees and they will continue feeding birds. The cedars that survived may take on a more bush-like appearance this year.

Cedars, actually members of the juniper family, are an old tree found all over the world. The Eastern United States is one of its major strongholds and Freiday expects the trees to bounce back. Tree experts in the region give the red cedar the tree version of a four-star rating, which includes D (drought tolerant), S (salt tolerant), N (native) and W (flood tolerant). It's one of the few trees at the shore to be rated at D, S, N and W.

"I don't think it will affect berry production. I think we'll have the same number of trees, but they'll be shaped differently," Freiday said.

The weather has also led to some strange animal behavior. A bat, which probably decided to migrate too late, came down the chimney into a Lower Township home. Field mice are moving into houses. People with bird feeders are seeing unusual visitors.

"I'm hearing people have meadowlarks at their bird feeder, which is crazy," said Freiday.

Schatz said deciduous trees are faring better than cedars and pines unless they are covered in vines. Trees along New England Road in Lower Township were devastated for this reason.

"The vines held the snow," Schatz said.

Bushes in Cape May, many planted to benefit birds and butterflies, were also flattened by the snow load.

The state Department of Environmental Protection is not worried about the impact of the blizzards on wildlife because nature always bounces back.

"It's all part of nature's cycle, as devastating as it seems," DEP spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said.

 HICKORY Mount Doom has come to the Viewmont section of Hickory.

A large telecommunications tower near N.C. 127 in the heart of north Hickory hosts a daily gathering of turkey vultures and black vultures.

In mid-afternoon, the big birds begin to arrive and continue gathering until sunset, when the top of the tower is nearly covered with the hulking forms. In the afternoons, there are sometimes dozens of birds on the tower and dozens more circling in the sky overheard.

The tower is the perfect place for the flock to roost as they travel over the countryside looking for food, said Bruce Beerbower, naturalist at the Catawba Science Center in Hickory.

"The birds usually roost in tall trees, but as we cut down more of the old-growth trees, where are they going to go?" said Alan Barnhardt, executive director of the science center. "It just happens to be a roost they like where they can be safe from predators" and hunt for food, he said.

They rest on the tower overnight, and when the morning sun has warmed the air and thermals begin to rise, they take off, Beerbower said.

The turkey vulture is a big bird, with a wingspan of nearly 6 feet. It is an efficient glider, often soaring for hours without flapping a wing. It circles in updrafts, gaining altitude, before diving at speeds up to 60 mph to the next updraft. It searches for food with its keen sense of smell, up to 3 miles distant. It can be identified by its featherless red head.

The black vulture is smaller, with a wingspan of 5 feet, and uses sharp eyesight to find its food. Not quite as ugly as its cousin, it has a featherless, dark-gray head.

Both feed on dead animals, sometimes rotting vegetation, and the black vulture will also feed on small live animals. Together they do a fine job cleaning up roadkill.

[Falcon]

Wildlife groups tried to nurse the birds back to health


CORPUS CHRISTI — Four birds rescued from an oil spill near Ingleside died Sunday despite wildlife groups’ best effort to nurse the birds back to health.

The birds were found covered in oil following a Feb. 9 spill that sent more than 8,000 gallons of crude into wetlands at the former Falcon Refinery.

The birds were taken to the University of Texas Marine Science Institute where more than two dozen people worked together to keep the animals alive, said Guy Davis, an employee at the institute’s Animal Rehabilitation Keep in Port Aransas.

“The birds were contaminated with a very, very toxic crude,� Davis said. “There was a valiant effort made, but we just couldn’t keep them alive.�

The birds were waterfowl, including two coot, a northern shoveler and a double-crested cormorant, Davis said. The birds were given a number of baths last weekend and were resting under heat lamps to keep their body temperatures as close to 104 degrees as possible, because their coated feathers prevented them from retaining heat, Davis said.

By Sunday morning, they were dead.

“Everyone here is so sad. We really thought they were over the hump,� Davis said. “It was just a bigger mission than we were capable of handling.�

Davis said a necropsy could be performed to determine the birds’ cause of death. The birds likely ingested some crude oil, which Davis said was extremely potent. The stress of the ordeal also could have weakened the birds, which have to be handled aggressively during the washing process.

Of the original 8,400 gallons of oil believed to have spilled into freshwater, about 1,050 gallons still remain, said Jimmy Martinez, regional director for the Texas General Land Office.

He expects the cleanup’s emergency portion to end Tuesday and begin the environmental remediation stage.

“We were doing everything we could to keep the oil from entering coastal waters, and now that threat is essentially removed,� Martinez said.

The oil leaked from at least two locations in large storage tanks last week causing about 1 million gallons of oil to spill. Most of the oil has been recovered and is being stored elsewhere, Martinez said. Superior Crude Inc. was leasing the former Falcon Refinery to store the crude, he said.

Wildlife can get by — and find food — even without help from the friendly humans

Winter weather might be bad for backs and spirits, but birds and squirrels are most likely doing just fine, according to wildlife specialists.

Birds and animals can adapt and weather the storms that have otherwise crippled the Baltimore- Washington area. The birds can fly to new food sources. And all creatures tend to eat less during colder seasons and can go a couple of days without food if it's buried in snow.

And, in general, feeding wildlife isn't recommended by most experts, though few would tell enthusiasts or the well-intentioned not to put up a bird feeder.

"The cold is not too much of a problem for animals around here," said Tom Bancroft, chief scientist for the National Audubon Society. "We probably won't see much of an effect on most of them. It may be a hard winter. But this won't wipe them out."

Deer, he said, can dig through snow to find food such as berries and greens. Rabbits and squirrels can also scavenge. Many birds can find food in trees and bushes, or, like robins, they will keep flying south. Ducks will find food in open waters. Birds that feed on the ground, such as sparrows, might have more trouble but will endure.

Bancroft says he generally puts out some seed in feeders and on the ground near bushes, which provide cover for birds from hawks, which feed on other birds. Don't feed deer, cats or other animals that will congregate, he said.

That will attract predators as well, said Bob Beyer, associate director of the Wildlife and Heritage Service at the state Department of Natural Resources. It also will allow disease to spread more easily.

Further, leftover pizza and pet food isn't good for most wildlife. It also might attract rats and other vermin. Bread, a popular item for distributing, is nutritionally useless for animals and birds, he said.

A lot of salt, used on icy roads, can be a problem because birds use pebble-like items to help grind their food. But even that isn't a significant issue, Beyer said.

"Is this weather harsh on them? Yes. It affects the weak, emaciated and young that can be out-competed for food," he said. "But will they survive? You betcha."

Most experts agree it's OK to feed the birds, as long as it's food meant for birds.

Bill Thompson III, editor of Bird Watcher's Digest, said many like to watch birds in their backyards and like to give them a hand in cold and snowy winters, even if they don't need it.

The birds typically burn little energy at night and look for food during the day. Cardinals, for example, will eat naturally occurring seeds and insects in the spring and summer. They'll move on to raspberries and wildflower seeds and then sumac fruits once they're frozen in the winter. Almost all wild animals have a strategy.

Thompson says he fills his feeders every morning with sunflower seeds and peanuts out of the shell that he buys in bulk. He also offers suet, the hard white fat found on sheep and cow kidneys, or suet dough that is mixed with peanut butter, rolled oats and corn meal - high-energy bird food.

He puts some on the ground under shrubs for ground feeders. And he also puts cracked corn and mixed seed on the ground for squirrels in an often vain attempt to keep them from the feeders.

It's important to clean the feeders every month and dispose of old feed that might contain bacteria or mold, which is harmful to birds. Thompson hoses off the crud and then uses 10 parts water and one part bleach to scrub the feeders.

"Birds are really built to survive without us," he said. "Any birds not built to survive the winter weather have evolved to migrate. ... Remember, feeding is more for us and our entertainment than for survival of birds."