Endangered bird rarely seen in Wisconsin is on the mend in Fredonia after being found injured in the middle of condominium construction site

When Doug Winquist saw the mass of feathers lying under a pine tree, he thought he had stumbled upon an injured great horned owl, maybe even a peregrine falcon.

Then he picked the bird up.

“I said, ‘Hey, this is a barn owl.’ I couldn’t believe my eyes,� said Winquist, a Fredonia resident and longtime board member and volunteer at Pine View Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in the Town of Fredonia.

“I’ve never seen a barn owl in the wild, so this was quite a surprise,� he said.

Winquist isn’t the only one surprised by the discovery of a bird that has been listed as an endangered species in Wisconsin since 1979.


“Barn owls are rare in Wisconsin, very rare,� said Noel Cutright, a bird expert from the Town of Saukville. “I’ve seen them in the wild, but only a couple of them in my 30-plus years around here.�

Winquist, who was responding to a report of an injured bird, found the barn owl last month in the unlikeliest of places — a residential area of Mequon a short distance south of Mequon Road and just west of Port Washington Road.

“After I got over the initial shock of finding a barn owl, I thought, ‘What the heck is a barn owl doing in the middle of a Mequon condominium subdivision?’� he said.

That remains a mystery, as does the owl’s ailment, although Pine View Director Jean Lord reported last week that the bird appears to be recovering at her center.

“For now, things are looking better, much better than three weeks ago, but it’s been a very long month trying to figure out what was wrong with this bird,� Lord said.

The owl, which was noticed by a landscaper working in the Mequon subdivision, was severely underweight and couldn’t fly or stand when it was brought to Pine View.

Lord has seen just about every injury animals can suffer, and many times it’s painfully obvious what ails the animals. Birds that have been shot, hit by cars and poisoned are frequent visitors to her center.

But the barn owl — so rare in Wisconsin that this is the first one to be cared for at the 30-year-old Pine View center — had Lord and other experts stumped.

The bird had no physical signs of injury, so experts turned their attention to internal problems. First on the list of suspected causes was lead poisoning, a significant threat to birds who ingest lead shot and fishing sinkers consumed by the prey they eat.

But one test after another came back negative. Eventually, high levels of uric acid were found in the bird’s system, suggesting a kidney problem.

Although there is no specific diagnosis, what’s important now, Lord said, is that this bird seems to be recovering. Its weight has increased to that of a normal female barn owl, which is larger than a male, and it can stand, Lord said.

“This has been such a complicated case, but we’re finally seeing some progress,� Lord said.

Local residents fortunate enough to have seen a barn owl in the wild remember when several of the birds took up residence in the steeple of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Lake Church about 20 years ago. The birds garnered quite a bit of attention and were eventually caught and moved to nearby Harrington Beach State Park in the Town of Belgium, St. Mary’s historian and longtime Belgium resident Bea Krier said.

As rare as the barn owl is in Wisconsin, it is widespread throughout the world, living on all continents except Antarctica.

In this country, the owl typically lives well south of Wisconsin where there are ample grasslands and open forests well-suited to these stealthy hunters that specialize in catching small rodents.

“We’ve just lost so much of our grassland in Wisconsin,� Cutright said. “The loss of habitat is really why barn owls are rare in this area.�

With its distinctive face, chilling shriek  and reputation as a lethal hunter of rodents, the barn owl has a host of nicknames ranging from monkey-faced owl to death owl.

It is also called the ghost owl, a moniker it owes to the white feathers on its chest and under its wings and haunting shriek.

“They look white when they fly. And the fact they fly almost perfectly silently adds to the mystique,� Cutright said.

“They are really magnificent birds.�

 Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. would have to halt some construction activities on a planned C$16.2 billion ($15.4 billion) Canadian pipeline for more than five months every year to protect wildlife, a government-appointed panel said.

The proposed 1,220-kilometer (758-mile) natural-gas pipeline from Canada’s Northwest Territories to a U.S.-bound hub in Alberta would make “a positive contribution,� provided the energy companies backing the project and government regulators agreed to take extra measures to protect birds, grizzly bears, caribou, fish and the water supply, the Joint Review Panel for the Mackenzie Gas Project said today in a report.

The restrictions called for by the panel include a ban on road building, rock quarrying, campsites, blasting or airplane runways within 1,000 meters of Peregrine falcon nests from April 15 through Sept. 1. For eagles, the restrictions would apply from March 30 to July 31, according to the report.

“Obviously the proponents are pleased the panel has concluded that with appropriate measures to mitigate impacts the project should proceed,� Pius Rolheiser, a spokesman for Exxon Mobil’s Imperial Oil Ltd., said in a telephone interview. “Given the length and detail of the recommendations, we can’t comment at this time in more detail.�

The recommendations now go to the Canada’s National Energy Board for final approval.

Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil and partners Royal Dutch Shell Plc, ConocoPhillips and the Aboriginal Pipeline Group, which represents some northern native bands, have 21 days to submit comments to the energy board.

September 2010

The energy board has said it will issue a final decision on the pipeline in September 2010.

In May 2007, Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson said the project was “not viable� and “not economical� after the cost estimate more than doubled from C$7.5 billion. The company hasn’t disclosed any new cost estimates.

Environment Minister Jim Prentice, 53, said earlier this year the Canadian government may offer financial aid for the pipeline, though it has yet to disclose any plans. The funding could cover the building of airstrips and barge landings, he said on Jan. 19.

Plans in the 1970s to build a pipeline to tap Canada’s northern gas reserves were halted by falling prices and concerns the development would disrupt the lives of aboriginals. A doubling in gas prices and an agreement for Indian groups to own a stake in the line helped revive the proposal this decade.

[Sheesh....YES..sorry!]

You mean the homepage at kfc?

Sheesh....YES..sorry!   

[Has anyone been checking the home page @ RFC? Some nice greetings over there. Thanks!]

Has anyone been checking the home page @ RFC? Some nice greetings over there. Thanks!

[Happy Birthday Ginha....Glad your back!]

Happy Birthday Ginha....Glad your back!

SAPPHIRE — Visitors to Gorges State Park will have the opportunity to get a close look at Seymour the Peregrine Falcon 2 p.m. New Year's Day at the Grassy Ridge trailhead.

Seymour resides in the mountains of North Carolina with his owner and trainer Peter Kipp-Dupont.

Kipp-Dupont is licensed in Master Falconry as well as being a licensed Raptor Rehabilitation Facilitator. He has worked with the Peregrine Falcon Reintroduction Program as a volunteer in a nationwide effort to save the Peregrine Falcon from extinction.

Kipp-Dupont has trained birds of prey for 40 years and will share his knowledge regarding Falcons and Falconry including a brief history of Falconry, equipment, care, and training of birds of prey, raptor rehabilitation, and the laws and regulations regarding falconry.

Program participants will have an opportunity to have their questions asked and see one of the fastest birds on the planet.

The program kicks off the 2010 theme for North Carolina State Parks, “The Year of the Birds�. The program will be followed up with special hikes and activities throughout the year centering around birds both in the parks as well as the public schools.

The Grassy Ridge trailhead can be reached by turning South off of US-64 on to NC 281-S to the park entrance. The trailhead is 1.7 miles from the entrance.

An injured red-tailed hawk has a second chance at life thanks to some quick-thinking witnesses, a skilled bird handler and a bird-rescue organization.
Photo courtesy of Adam Daniels Photography

A red-tailed hawk with an injured wing stands alongside Route 8 south of Batts Neck Road in Stevensville on Wednesday. Kent Island resident Stephen Reverand, a licensed falconer, captured the bird, which was taken to Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research in Newark, Del.
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The bird, with a mangled left wing, was spotted on the side of Route 8 near Batts Neck Road in Stevensville on Wednesday afternoon.

Kent Island resident Stephen Reverand, who is a licensed falconer, got a call from his friend, Chris Bird, about the injured hawk.

"They had seen the hawk on the side of Route 8 and they knew I handle hawks. … People know people on Kent Island. They knew I am licensed to handle hawks," said Reverand, who said he works by day as a filmmaker for the National Geographic Channel.

Reverand, who currently trains and flies a peregrine falcon as a hobby, quickly headed to the scene.

"I thought I'd see Chris and an injured hawk, and there were eight or nine cars and a photographer," he recalled. "That tells me people care about injured wildlife."

Reverand guessed the hawk may have been hit by a car.

It recently had eaten and had a full crop, which is a pouch near the throat that is part of its digestive tract. Other than the broken wing, the hawk appeared to be in good shape, though Reverand cautioned he's not an expert.

With the help of his son, Joshua, who is an apprentice falconer, Reverand covered the hawk with a towel, secured its legs and took it home. The bird stayed at the Reverands' home overnight and then was taken to Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research in Newark, Del., on Thursday.

Dr. Heidi Stout, the executive director of Tri-State, said the hawk's prognosis is "guarded." The bird underwent surgery Thursday and is still receiving treatment.

Reverand has high hopes for the hawk, but is realistic that it might have to be put down or might never make it back into the wild.

He hopes that if the bird recovers, it can be released back in Stevensville.

"The prognosis of a red-tailed hawk with a broken wing is serious," he said. "This organization is giving this animal every chance in the world."

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – In a world of birds that shirk parenting by laying eggs in each others' nests, University of California Santa Cruz researchers have observed in the wild one species that can recognize and kill the freeloading chicks it was tricked into raising.

The American coot, an aggressive marsh bird, uses the first-born in each set of coot hatchlings as a template, said lead researcher Dai Shizuka of the UCSC Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. If other hatchlings in a batch match, they are accepted. If not, the parasite chicks can be violently ousted.

It's a costly gamble for females that make more eggs than they can care for and hatch more chicks than they can possibly feed.

"Most parasitic chicks don't make it because of egg or chick rejection," said Shizuka, a recent Ph.D. gradaute. However, "you lose out if you don't play the game. Everyone's trying to sneak one past each other."

Most of the time, the first-born coot belongs to the parents, but in experiments done with Bruce Lyon, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the school, Shizuka placed a foreign coot as the first-born, and the parent still used it as a template, rejecting instead its own babies.

The research doesn't yet explain how coots distinguish chicks, maybe through song or feather patterns, but it places them on the opposite wing of birds that can't tell a foreign chick, wasting food resources on something size, shape and often species-different.

The findings are surprising, but solid, said Stephen Rothstein, University of California, Santa Barbara, professor of zoology, who studies one of the lopsided parasitism cases, the brown-headed cowbird, often larger and earlier-hatching than the host's chicks. In the case of the cowbird, the host often loses all its babies, he said, so the parasitism is more harmful, but "here you have a case where the discrimination task is more difficult and the cost is less."

But why kill, rather than shun a seemingly defenseless chick? Wesley Hochachka, assistant director of bird population studies at Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, said coots are likely protecting their own.

If you're snubbing a kid, it's going to follow you and going to be loud about it. It could draw attention to you, and something that might want to eat your kids," he said.

A brown pelican might see the new year thanks to the kindness of two local women.

Natalie Cribb of Mandarin and AnnMarie Semmig of St. Augustine were driving along Crescent Beach on Sunday evening when they spotted a struggling pelican about 25 feet from the shore.

In less than a minute, the two were waist-deep in the cold Atlantic water, trying to get the uncooperative bird to safety.

"We saw he was hurt," Semmig said, clutching the bird as she sat in the passenger seat of the Grand Cherokee they drove to the parking lot of The St. Augustine Record looking for help. "We got behind him. He didn't have the strength to get away from us and we got him to shore."

Despite the bird's weakened condition, getting him from the water to the vehicle was not easy. Semmig said she let the pelican bite her left arm as the women dragged him to safety.

"He was hobbling and shivering," Cribb said.

The two friends had not seen each other in months and decided to go for a leisurely sundown drive after dinner.

"I think it was meant for us to find that bird," Cribb said. "We both just dove in the water at the same time."

By the time the three reached the Record, the right leg of Cribb's sodden jeans was littered with phone numbers, the result of one agency after another referring her to someone who might care for the pelican.

After about an hour of the bird flapping occasionally in a cardboard box and after about a dozen phone calls trying to get help for the pelican, Semmig made plans to board the pelican at her house and take him to a local veterinarian in the morning.

Semmig is no stranger to helping birds and beasts. After Hurricane Andrew devastated Homestead, she found foster barns for more than 100 horses. She also has the rescue of songbirds and a bald eagle to her credit.

"We both love animals," Cribb said. "There was no way we were leaving this bird out there to die."

[Frosted rose]

Here is the Puzzle of the Week 236
 
Frosted rose 
 
This week a picture of a frosted rose. I saw a red, a yellow and a pink frosted one.

Frosted rose (236) Jigsaw Puzzle


my time: 4.06 min for the 48 Piece Classic

   greetings Aafke.

You know how much I  them frosted 

Hey Rich, Kaver's keeping 1 on ice for ya! Have a wonderful Birthday!
   

[There's nothing better than a ~~~LUCKY~~~ Rescue!]

Lucky’s Tail
It was near the end of the2006 Falcon Season.  Rhea Mae was the last of M&K’s young left in the area that year.  Let’s just say she was very spoiled by this time, getting all the food brought in by both her parents.  Just the day before, she had 4 meals, including her first witnessed successful hunt.  This turned out to be lucky for a wayward Cockatiel that flew into the gorge one summer morning...

So now Lucky lives with me and his sister Justice.  Every time I look at Lucky, I remember that day.

Thanks Carol!  I remembered he was rescued during a falcon watch, but I didn't remember Rhea Mae's role in the story...a lucky cockatiel for sure!

There's nothing better than a ~~~LUCKY~~~ Rescue!

[Thanks to Janet for sending me this to post. !!]

Thanks to Janet for sending me this to post. !!

You're welcome!   AND you post so well 

~~~Don't I know it~~~

[Thanks to Janet for sending me this to post. !!]

Thanks to Janet for sending me this to post. !!

[My mother her Shakymon Calendar...she laughed at every month...Thanks guys...was a well done Calendar.]

So, did anyone get any Rochester Falcon goodies for Christmas?  We'd like to hear from you if you did.   

My mother  her Shakymon Calendar...she laughed at every month...Thanks guys...was a well done Calendar.