Ravens? They are bigger than crows by 6+ inches in length and bulkier.

Scroll down to the bottom of this page link to see the ravens ( huge  ) that took over a peregrine falcon nest in Edmonton until the migrating falcons came home and drove them out, was quite the drama for several weeks!  We named the ravens George and Weezie  :

http://www.species-at-risk.mb.ca/projects/pfrp/forum/programs/index.php/topic,691.0.html

I so remember the drama with the Ravens Vs Peregrines. That poor nest sure had it's up and downs.

Shasta, the almost 25 year old redtail who lived at Wild Wings, has passed away

Free free, dear one

A beautiful tribute is:



http://www.wildwingsinc.org/store.asp?pid=29150

Oh how sad and what a beautiful tribute to Shasta. He was handsome. So sorry.

[Earlier this year, officials discussed employing hunters to release their licensed falcons and hawks into crowds of crows in hopes of sending them packing. On Monday, Melnick said that idea hasn’t been ruled out.]

STATE COLLEGE — For a third year, hundreds of unwanted visitors, hailing from parts of Canada and New England, are dotting the skies above State College. The crows — they've got to go.
112108Crows_3

“We’re hoping the word will get out among the crows and they’ll no longer find State College a favorite place for winter,� said Phillip Mel-nick, director of buildings and grounds for Penn State’s Office of Physical Plant at Monday night’s State College Borough Council meeting. “Hopefully they’ll tell their friends, ‘Hey, don’t come to State College.’ �

Between 2007 and 2008, the crow population descending upon State College has increased from 1,500 to 3,000, he added.

Penn State’s Office of Physical Plant has tried everything, including an attempt in 2007 to deter the birds from roosting using cotton candy scented fog above the Allen Street/College Avenue bus stop.

Last November, OPP tried frightening the avian pests by launching 102 small firecrackers —called “bangers and screamers� — between Whitmore and Pond laboratories on the north side of Pollock Road. After 75 dead crow effigies were dangled upside down from the trees in that area, many

of the birds began roosting in Hort Woods, a wooded plot in North Campus.
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Hort Woods is a mecca of crow amenities, including pine trees, a lit walkway and proximity to warmth from buildings, Melnick told council.

However, Gary Schultz Child Care Center is set for construction near Hort Woods. Small children and hoards of squawking crows don’t mix, Melnick said.

This time, officials are hoping to relocate the crows to a clump of trees east of the visitor’s center or the duck pond near the university’s wastewater treatment facility. Firework displays similar to those last year could start as early as next week, Melnick said.

“This will be more difficult,� he added. “The new areas don’t have the characteristics that crows normally prefer.�

Melnick said officials might erect portable light towers, similar to those that illuminate the tailgating fields after night football games, to make the new roosting areas more attractive to the crows.

Earlier this year, officials discussed employing hunters to release their licensed falcons and hawks into crowds of crows in hopes of sending them packing. On Monday, Melnick said that idea hasn’t been ruled out.

Last year, officials trapped some crows and tagged them with radio transmitters. One has returned this year, Melnick said, with the transmitter still working, and has been tracked at many places, including behind the Arboretum on Park Avenue.

“You don’t know where they’re going to go when you harass them,� he added. “We have our work cut out for us. ... We’ll adjust on the fly, so to speak.�

[We still have a hummingbird at our house. When I noticed that it was still around, I left the feeder up, hoping the hummer would leave when the time changed. It is still here, and I don't know whether to take the feeder down in hopes that the bird will fly south or just leave it up until the weather turns really cold. I'm afraid that if I take it down, the bird will starve here, but I would like for it to migrate south. When it comes to the feeder, it stays for a while longer than they did in summer. Its flight motion seems quite normal. Can you advise me on what to do? Brian Ahl, Boiling Springs.]

Claws Wings & Things: Late hummingbirds in Central Pennsylvania
By MARCUS SCHNECK, The Patriot-News
November 18, 2009, 10:00AM

Question from this week's Claws, Wings & Things column in The Patriot-News:

We still have a hummingbird at our house. When I noticed that it was still around, I left the feeder up, hoping the hummer would leave when the time changed. It is still here, and I don't know whether to take the feeder down in hopes that the bird will fly south or just leave it up until the weather turns really cold. I'm afraid that if I take it down, the bird will starve here, but I would like for it to migrate south. When it comes to the feeder, it stays for a while longer than they did in summer. Its flight motion seems quite normal. Can you advise me on what to do? Brian Ahl, Boiling Springs.

Answer: Maintaining your hummingbird feeders into the fall will not cause the tiny birds to tarry too long before making their migration in advance of the approaching winter.

It just isn't going to happen. Availability of backyard feeders will not cause hummingbirds to change the timing of their migration.

Their initial urge to migrate is triggered by the increasingly shorter daylight hours as fall approaches. It has nothing to do with food availability.

Taking down feeders will not force hummingbirds to leave.

In addition, well into the fall, there's a good chance that some of the hummers hovering at backyard feeders will be migrants from points north on their way to warmer climates.

Leaving feeders in place and keeping them filled will provide a burst of nutrition and energy to birds moving through the area on their southward migration.

Feeders available into the fall also might help some birds that have been sick or injured to regain their strength and their ability to make the migration.

There is nothing but an upside for the hummingbirds in anyone maintaining the nectar feeders just as late as they want through the seasons.

Keep your feeders filled with nectar as long as the hummingbirds continue to use them.

When is the best time to clean out bird boxes? Alice Bender.

Answer: As soon as you place a birdhouse, also called a nestbox, outside and something live visits the interior, the chance for fungus, parasites and more begins.

And, most birds will not reuse the nest inside the nestbox, preferring instead to build anew for each nesting, even if that means building on top of the old nest.

To minimize all those problems, nestboxes should be cleaned at least once each year, and the best time is soon after the birds have finished using them.

Wear a dust mask and rubber gloves to protect yourself from the same things you are trying to clean out of the nestbox.

Remove the old nesting material and use something like a painter scraper or an old butter knife to scrape out anything that's stuck in there. Then scrub the whole nestbox with a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water, and rinse it well with clean water.

Allow it to dry thoroughly before re-closing it.

This is also a good time to check over the nestbox for any repairs that need to be made, such as loose or missing hardware.

If you leave the nestbox in place through the winter, a variety of small songbirds may use to escape low temperatures and nasty precipitation on some winter nights.

However, small rodents like mice and squirrels likely also will make themselves at home and pack the nestbox with their own nesting material, making a second cleaning necessary in late winter.

Leaving the nestbox out for winter use by the wild things is an individual judgment call. I tend to leave my nestboxes in place.

Faneuil Hall Marketplace has a new mascot.

An owl has made the shopping and dining district its new hooting grounds, hanging out for about a month. And it fits right in at the popular tourist trap -- people-watching, sampling the local fare, and even recently checking out the mall’s new 87-foot Christmas tree.

“He’s very friendly,� said Rebecca Stoddard, the marketing director for the mall. “He floats around and oversees everything. You can see his head moving as he actually watches everyone go by.�

The barred owl was first spotted in a tree near the North Market building in mid-October. Security officers and merchants took note, thinking the owl was a one-day novelty. But it kept showing up.

“He’s been here for about a month, living at the marketplace,� Stoddard said. “Originally, we spotted him in the North Market, then he made his way over to South Market.�

When workers propped up a Norwegian spruce on the plaza last Thursday, the owl took notice. On Tuesday, it perched about 15 feet up the tree and supervised the workers as they strung lights nearby.

“It seemed the owl had come to pay us a visit,� said John Egan, owner of the New York tree farm that is installing and decorating the tree. “He flew in, sat on the branch, and watched.�

Egan’s son, James, said he worked about five feet from the owl for nearly an hour, before realizing it was there.

Owls and other predatory birds, such as hawks and falcons, are sometimes known to settle in Boston, said Chris Leahy, a bird expert with the Mass Audubon Society. Red-tailed hawks have nested at Fenway Park and snowy owls at Logan Airport.

“It’s a striking phenomenon, but it’s not particularly unusual,� said Leahy, noting the raptors feed on the city’s rodent population.

“They’ve figured out that cities are actually a really good place to make a living,� he said.

Tom French, assistant director of MassWildlife, said the marketplace’s owl, which can grow up to 14 inches tall with a three-foot wingspan, is probably a newborn.

“Barred owls that were born this summer disperse, and sometimes have no particular place to go. They get confused,� he said. “But this guy is just visiting. He won’t be there in the spring.�

In the meantime, the marketplace community has adopted the owl.

“Everyone has a different name. The management calls him 'Fanowl,' like Faneuil Hall; merchants call her 'Holly;'� Stoddard said. “But 'Hooter' is the consensus.�

November 20, 2009

Hutton's Shearwaters spend most days at sea feeding on small fish and krill.
Wildlife experts on New Zealand’s South Island first scratched their heads when they heard reports of migratory birds crash-landing onto roads and smashing into buildings.

Park Ranger Mike Morrissey on the Kaikoura coast, near Christchurch, said it was soon discovered that the Hutton’s Shearwaters were being confused by bright lights.

“It varies a lot. We've had up to 50 odd in one night,� he told reporters.

Experts say the once-rural area is being developed with new buildings and more bright lights, causing confusion for the birds.

When roads become wet and lights shine on them, the birds mistake the pavement for a pond or bay.

Morrissey says the birds are fortunately only stunned or knocked out by the crash landings. But they need a steep cliff or watery surface to take off.

Residents are being urged to take the stunned birds to the coast and launch them over the water.

These caves are pretty cool...especially the one with the Ice crystals. During the Whiteout last week, Jeff said they had 5 feet of snow and the drifts were outrageous. I so wish I were there.

Hi Joyce,

a beautiful picture of Buckeye. 


Annette

 

 Double  Thanks Joyce

The South Delta leader  BC

Published: November 19, 2009 12:00 PM

Short daylight hours, dark mornings and evenings, and persistent rainfall, can make this time of year quite depressing. Add to this the increased time indoors, and it is a recipe for a bad case of the winter blues. Fortunately, for Delta residents there is a good reason to be outside: November and December are excellent months for observing birds.

Peak numbers of ducks and geese are gathered in Boundary Bay, and many other birds have arrived for the winter, so grab a pair of binoculars and go take a closer look.

While the sight of great blue herons, bald eagles or large flocks of ducks and shorebirds can be easily enjoyed while strolling the dyke or walking the dog, it is amazing what one can discover if you go more slowly, and look through binoculars or a telescope.

That huge swirling cloud of smoke that flashes first dark, then light across the bay is really thousands of dunlin, a small shorebird that feeds on the mud flats at low tide and clusters in enormous flocks when the tide is high. Watching the flock carefully, you see how it bunches, twists, divides, elongates, then comes together again, as the birds try and evade a hunting falcon. Often the peregrine falcon, or a smaller merlin, will be above the flock, diving in with the light behind it like a fighter plane, singling out a weakened dunlin to chase down and punch out of the sky. The chase is not over then, however, as that is the moment a bald eagle will often move in to usurp the prey from the falcon, as these big predators are lazy hunters, and often prefer to scavenge another’s kill.

With binoculars, you can see the beautiful colours of the many different ducks that winter in and around the bay: the striking chocolate brown and white of the male northern pintail, the iridescence on a green-winged teal, or the warm red head of a Eurasian widgeon that distinguishes it from its commoner cousin, the American widgeon. When you look more closely at fields, trees and hedges, all sorts of small birds appear, with different plumages, habits and behaviour.

The experience of studying nature helps maintain an active mind. Recent medical studies have emphasized this link between enjoyment of nature and good mental and physical health, as well as more rapid recovery from illness, and better cognitive development in children. At the time of year when depression lurks in the shadows, children are indoors and bouncing off the walls, and exercise routines are hard to stick to, the lure of wintering birds can be just what is needed to get outside. What will you see today?

Also, Shaky, what happened to the temperature on the pics? Not there anymore.

The place where we get the temperature data is down. I sent them an email about it. No answer yet.

They replied a week ago saying they would look into it, but nothing has been done so I decided to switch to another provider. The temperature is now being displayed in the nest box images.

Thank you...I missed the temp! 

 A Meal On A Picnic Table
November 18, 2009 - Burlington - Lift Bridge
Sue McCreadie Reports:

Bill and I dropped by the Lift Bridge this afternoon around 3:00.  After a quick look around, we spotted Sir on the cable arm of the Hamilton Tower and Cirrus on a picnic table.  It wasn’t long before Sir flew to the picnic table and we realized that Cirrus was plucking a recent catch.  A few chirps from Sir would indicate that he was begging for a meal. 

[Poor Pete but happy he has a new home and good care.]

 Pittsburgh Pete at Mountsberg Raptor Centre
November 17, 2009 - Burlington - Lift Bridge
Sue McCreadie Reports:

Bill and I visited Mountsberg Raptor Centre today to photograph Pittsburgh Pete.  We are happy to report that as he cannot be released into the wild we felt he is in a good place.  He is being well cared for and was sunning himself on a perch in the enclosed ring.  Amy from Mountsberg reports that he is settling in quite nicely, but still has a little way to go to be totally comfortable around people.   As far as she can tell, he has not had a seizure since September.  Below are a couple of photos from our visit.  Amy told us today that he has a distinct scar from his injury and that his crop fills to the side not to the front as normal.

Poor Pete but happy he has a new home and good care.

[But remember, "it's just a loan"!]

I think it is Mariah's territory on loan to Beauty

                                                     
I was going to say Beauty's but I like your reply better, Jeanne! 

                                  Kris

But remember, "it's just a loan"!

Falcons are AMAZING!! Amelia was the same way with her eggs. She was buried in snow but never gave up.

So you never know what you'll find after drilling a hole in the Ice. This guy pops up.