http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emMTPOwvJxI&feature=player_embedded

Is she ever going to give birth??? 11 days now..overdue. I'd be like..."get it out of me". Poor girl.

Waiting for the sun to rise

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2010/01/national-park-service-partners-argentine-park-service-benefit-california-andean-condors5235

Story, pics and videos here:

and they have an egg! 

Some Canadian shorebirds have had to get fit or die trying. Research published in the open access journal BMC Ecology has found that the average Pacific dunlin has lost weight and spends more time in flight as a response to the increased threat of predation from their arch-enemy, the peregrine falcon.

Fortunately for the falcon, the outlawing of the highly toxic chemical fertilizer DDT in the 1970s has led to an increase in their population. Bad luck though for Pacific dunlins, which once enjoyed lazy winter afternoons roosting in relative safety on the shore of the Fraser River estuary in British Columbia. Drawing on a pool of data spanning four decades, a team of ecologists led by Ronald Ydenberg from Simon Fraser University has found that the dunlins have had to adapt their behavior – and their diets – in order to survive. Ydenberg says, "In the past, dunlins stored up fat reserves in the autumn months so that they could survive the harsh Canadian winters when food is short. What we're seeing now, however, with the increase in numbers of peregrine falcons, is that the dunlins have to consider the energy trade-off between preparing for starvation and being able to escape quickly".

Starving during the winter is still a very real possibility for Pacific dunlins, but they can no longer rest easy now that peregrine falcons are around. Some dunlins will fly long distances to find safer roosts, but many now choose to take to the air en masse during peak peregrine feeding times instead. "Over-ocean flocking is energetically expensive", says team member Dick Dekker, "but the risk from predators is now greater than the threat of starvation". When a streamlined hunter is hot on your tail, it doesn't pay to be a fat bird. The average weight of a Pacific dunlin has decreased by 2-4g over the past 40 years. These adaptations, along with spending more time flying out at sea, help the dunlin to escape predators so that they can safely make it through the winter.

We can relate! 


A peregrine falcon nest box could be removed from the tallest building in Sussex so maintenance work can take place.

But residents living in Sussex Heights, Brighton, are upset and claim they have never been consulted about the plans.

A petition has been set up to save the nesting box which was put onto the roof of the building by Graham Roberts from the Sussex Ornithological Society in 1998 to help protect the nests.

Sussex Heights has been home to a number of breeding pairs of urban peregrine falcons since the mid-1990s. There has only been one year when they have not nested on Sussex Heights.

Resident Allan Sayers said the board of directors from Sussex Heights Ltd claimed they had discussed the situation with the residents but he says no discussions have taken place.

The nest box, which has a webcam, allows an insight into the life of the peregrine falcons and how they bring up their young. Last year it was watched 125,000 times.


A peregrine falcon nest box could be removed from the tallest building in Sussex so maintenance work can take place.

But residents living in Sussex Heights, Brighton, are upset and claim they have never been consulted about the plans.

A petition has been set up to save the nesting box which was put onto the roof of the building by Graham Roberts from the Sussex Ornithological Society in 1998 to help protect the nests.

Sussex Heights has been home to a number of breeding pairs of urban peregrine falcons since the mid-1990s. There has only been one year when they have not nested on Sussex Heights.

Resident Allan Sayers said the board of directors from Sussex Heights Ltd claimed they had discussed the situation with the residents but he says no discussions have taken place.

The nest box, which has a webcam, allows an insight into the life of the peregrine falcons and how they bring up their young. Last year it was watched 125,000 times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIsLsDXXJUE   

She's like 11 days over due...maybe today Annette.

10 days, sorry.

She's like 11 days over due...maybe today Annette.

Bald Eagle Patients

Update on Buddy: UPDATE: December 22, 2009
by Dr. Dave McRuer, Director of Veterinary Medicine

Eagle #08-887 was brought into the clinic for a dremeling procedure on Tuesday, December 22.  The bird’s upper beak had actually worn a small grove in the lower beak, although this did not affect the bird’s ability to eat.

The dremmel was used to shorten the length of the lower beak  and reduce the height of the beak on the left rostral surface. The height of the adjacent margin on the upper beak was also reduced bilaterally. The length of the upper beak was also shortened.

The Wildlife Center of Virginia is currently treating two Bald Eagle patients:
Eagle #09-0298

This Bald Eagle — a mature adult — was found on April 10 in Prince George County, in a field and unable to fly more than about 10 feet.  The bird’s flight was described as “flappyâ€� — in that it did not seem to be using one wing.  With the assisstance of officers from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the eagle was rescued on April 11 and transported to the Wildlife Center.

[Animals admitted to the Center are given sequential patient numbers - in the order in which they are admitted. Patient #00-0298 was the 298th patient admitted to the Center during 2009.]

150_5068

Upon admission, the bird received a complete examination.  Although the bird was generally in good body condition, many primary feathers on the left wing were broken.  It also appears that the eagle had suffered fractures of the right scapula and clavicle — an old injury [at least two weeks old].  The bird also tested positive for exposure to organophosphates.

On April 14, the Center’s veterinarians more thoroughly examined the eagle’s shoulder, using a fluoroscope.  The vets found reduced mobility in the shoulder, but no arthritic-like changes or complications.

The Center veterinarians re-evaluated the bird on May 11 and were encouraged to find no additional deterioration of the right shoulder, although that shoulder is still tight.  The team is encouraged by the growth of new feathers on the bird.

This eagle has been housed in several of the Center’s outdoor flight pens and is in one of the Center’s largest flight pens.    However, the bird is now not flying, and the long-term prognosis is not promising.  The bird has been placed back on pain medication.     Because of concern about breaking emerging blood feathers, the eagle will be on the Center’s “do not handleâ€� list until mid January.       
Eagle #09-2531
Photo courtesy of Robin Sexauer

Photo courtesy of Robin Sexauer

This adult eagle was spotted near the mouth of Nassawadox Creek, along the Chesapeake Bay, in Northampton County.  The eagle had a wing droop and was rescued by Kathy Cummings on December 27.  On December 29 the eagle was transported to the Center by Gay Frazee.  Upon admission, Center veterinarians found fractures of the major and minor metacarpals in the eagle’s right wing.  The wing was wrapped; the eagle received antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and pain medication.

The eagle went into surgery on January 4 to pin fractures and was taken back into surgery on January 5 to get better placement of the pins.  The eagle spent a short time post-surgery in the Center’s critical-care chamber.
Eagle recovering after surgery in the critical care chamber

Eagle recovering after surgery in the critical care chamber

On January 12 the eagle was moved to one of the Center’s outdoor pens.  The eagle has both a wing and body wrap to immobolize its right wing.  The bird had its first physical therapy session and had good extension of its right wing; for the time being, therapy will be repeated every four days.  The eagle has not been eating well on its own and has lost weight; the vet staff has administered an appetite stimulant [which has worked] and the hope is that being outdoors may also help the bird to relax and eat.  An additional round of radiographs is scheduled for January 18.

During 2009, the Wildlife Center admitted 40 Bald Eagles — an all-time high for Bald Eagles patients in a single year — and one Golden Eagle.    During all of 2008, the Center admitted 25 Bald Eagles. 

 

NOTE:  On January 10 the Center admitted its first Bald Eagle patient of 2010 — an adult bird that had been found, on the ground and unable to fly, on Port Isobel Island in the Chesapeake Bay [Accomack County].  Upon admission, the Center veterinary staff found that the eagle had multiple, serious injuries — to its eyes, beak, chest, and feet.  The bird was humanely euthanized.

NOTE:  On December 29 the Center admitted its 39th Bald Eagle of 2009 — a large adult female that was found by hunters in Essex County.  Upon admission, Center veterinarians found that Eagle #09-2530 had very high levels of lead.  Subsequent radiographs found two large [1 cm] pieces of buckshot in the eagle’s gastrointestinal tract — the apparent source of the lead poisoning.

On December 30, Dr. Elizabeth Daut, assisted by Natalia Deveaux and Madis Leivits, set out to remove the buckshot.  The first hour-long attempt with an endoscope was not successful; Dr. Daut then operated [a ventriculotomy] and successfully removed the two pieces of buckshot.  Center President Ed Clark postlates that this lead shot was injested by the eagle when it scavenged the carcass of a deer that had been shot.

Despite the successful surgery, the eagle continued to decline and continued to show neurological signs associated with exposure to lead.  On the afternoon of January 6, the eagle was placed in the Center’s critical-care chamber, which provides increased oxygen concentration and warm temperatures.  The eagle was found dead in the chamber on the morning of January 7.   A necropsy confirmed that there was no infection or complications at the site of surgery.

[Be sure to check out Nature on PBS this Sunday (Jan. 24th) for an airing of "Bald Eagle" http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/american-eagle/introduction/4201/. As with all of the Nature programs this is an exceptional program and a great look at the bald eagle.]

Tuesday, January 19, 2010
“Getting Ready�

The eagles at the Norfolk Botanical Garden continue to mate as we grow closer to an eventual 1st egg laying date. When will the first egg arrive? Only the eagles know. Both of the adults continue to work on the nest - bringing sticks and arranging the nest materials to create a well formed nest cup.

Bald Eagles typically lay a clutch of two eggs although nests of one or even three eggs occur as well. In fact this pair has a history of three egg clutches. The eggs are typically laid over a period of 3-6 days.

Be sure to check out Nature on PBS this Sunday (Jan. 24th) for an airing of "Bald Eagle" http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/american-eagle/introduction/4201/. As with all of the Nature programs this is an exceptional program and a great look at the bald eagle.

Whatever shrikes your fancy.

 

Pic from just now....she was just bringing some greens into the nest

http://www.wvec.com/marketplace/microsite-content/eagle-cam.html