The story goes that the wealthy pilot was cruising along in Galveston when he was distracted, first by a dropped cell phone and then by an errant brown pelican. The car, which had just 500 miles on the odometer, was a total write-off.     

http://www.mnn.com/transportation/cars/blogs/blame-the-pelican-a-125-million-bugatti-veyron-crashes-into-a-texas-bay   story and vids here


Warning..Language.....I'd say it too probably

Wings for Aafke! (She loves wings).

Yes I do, thanks!!!!!!
greetings Aafke

 

Monday November 16, 2009
Is it a bird, is it a plane......no, it's three chicks back in the nest box.   After several days on her own, Froona's brothers have been back to visit several times over the last few days.  Not content to sit around though, Barega and Warrun have been exploring the nest box perch, roof and water tower walkway on their visits home.

You might have luck at Braddock Bay, Montezuma, and Charlotte

Yeah Will, you may catch some Eagles, Ospreys and others as Lou and Granny have. Good luck and that's one huge lens you have. You may even see a Peregrine.

Happy Birthday NYCBird

  Have a wonderful day

Have a great Birthday Dragonmom

http://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=22397

Found on a blog. It looks like a peregrine but most say "NO", I say it sure has the "Yellow" feets.

I'm with the Coop and Sharpie folks!

When I blew up the pic...it really doesn't look like a falcon but has all the same colorings. The neck doesn't look right but who am I to say. Good "Baffler"

http://westseattleblog.com/blog/?p=22397

Found on a blog. It looks like a peregrine but most say "NO", I say it sure has the "Yellow" feets.

http://www.klewtv.com/news/local/70069377.html?video=YHI&t=a  Video of release


LEWISTON - His trip to the warm south was delayed a bit, but now a peregrine falcon can begin his journey.

The WSU School of Veterinary Medicine released their latest rescue, Stephens, at the KLEW transmitter site Friday morning.

"Stephens was brought in by a falconer, who had helped another person who had found him, got his in a hood and a white bandage and brought him down to WSU," said Dr. Nickol Finch of the WSU Vet School .

Stephens was brought into the Vet hospital on October 2. Doctors spent weeks nursing the injured raptor back to health, setting two bones in his wing. Finch said after four weeks of healing, and two more of physical therapy, Stephens was ready to begin his migration south.

Stephens is just the most recent in a string of rescues.

"We tend to get about four falcons a year, and this is the first one we've released this year," said Finch. "We usually release about one a year. As of last year we've got 95 raptors, and released about 35."

Finch said the KLEW site at top of the hill was an idea place to release Stephens, on his migration path. He's expected to head to California and Finch said perhaps even farther.

"He flew the direction we didn't want him to go, but that's okay," said Finch. "He'll get his bearings and turn around and go the other way. As far as flying, he was nice and strong. The wind didn't bother him at all. It actually helped him out a little bit."

(movie)

Sure, I left at 2:16 and Beauty shows up at 2:19....don't it just figure. Glad she made an appearance.

Jackson Morgan, 8, uses his computer at his home in Marlboro, Thursday afternoon. (Zachary P. Stephens/Reformer)

MARLBORO -- Jackson Morgan of Marlboro might only be in the fifth grade, but he's already accomplished a lot in his eight years of life.

Morgan was recently inducted into American Mensa, an organization for individuals with a high IQ, and he was also recognized by Johns Hopkins University for his high academic honors and achievement.

At his home in Marlboro, sitting in the glow of his own laptop computer, Morgan cruised around on Google Earth -- a program that zooms in on different geographic locations with a virtual map -- then brought up a copy of his most recent science report, which was about the Piping Plover, a species of bird found in Cape Cod, Mass.

His love for animals, especially birds, is apparent.

"We have chickadees," he said, "and if you sit still and hold out your hand, they just eat out of your hand."

His eyes sparkle as he explains it.

"If you hold out your thumb they can use it as a perch," he said. "Their claws look sharp, but once they're on your hands if just feels nice to the touch."

In addition to the already mentioned honors, Morgan has been admitted into Stanford University's Education Program for Gifted Youth and is a young scholar with the Davidson Institute for Talent Development.

He doesn't seem to think very much about being a gifted child despite the fact that he spends most of his time with kids who are years older than he is.

Though biologically, Morgan should be in second grade, he
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is currently in David Holzapfel's fifth- and sixth-grade multi-age class at Marlboro Elementary School.

Morgan's mother, Linda Morgan, said she thinks it's possible that Morgan feels comfortable around older people because he has five older siblings all over the age of 16.

"I like being the youngest," Morgan said.

"He isn't sick of his parents yet," his mother responded with a laugh.

In a society that regularly honors athletes with trophies and mentions on the evening news, Linda Morgan said that she felt like Jackson should be acknowledged for his accomplishments as well.

In order to get into Mensa, Jackson had to submit evidence of prior testing, since Mensa only uses its own tests to evaluate people over 14 years old. Only those with an IQ in the highest 2 percent are inducted.

To be admitted to the John Hopkins Center for talented youth, Morgan had to achieve a high score on math and vocabulary tests at a fifth grade level.

Linda Morgan said she's happy that Jackson will now have the opportunity to enroll in special online classes, and he can participate in the Center's summer camps as well.

"We're grateful for access to anything like that," she said.

She said that Jackson has been an easy child to raise, though it's clear to see how bright he is upon first meeting him.

For instance, it's not every child that will tell you how long he's been in Marlboro down to the day when asked how long ago he moved.

"One year, one month, and five days," he said. "I just remember because we have been here since Oct. 1 last year."

His mother said it was interesting to ask her son what he was doing on his dad's computer one day only to find out that he was keeping track of his allowance on an Excel spreadsheet.

Having a teacher that nurtures his abilities can make all the difference in Jackson's life, Linda Morgan said, adding that Jackson's current teacher (Holzapfel) is outstanding in that department.

"He's great," she said. "He's innovative with the students and very clever with the way he teaches them."

Holzapfel said that Morgan brings a lot of positive things to the classroom every day.

"Morgan's ability to penetrate and understand a subject has always been helpful in classroom discussions on various things," he said. "He is a superb reader and reads widely, so he is able to bring to the conversation not only the subject matter at hand but other related pieces of information."

During a recent class trip to Cape Cod, every child was supposed to conduct an interview on the specific Cape Cod-related subject they had chosen to study, Holzapfel said, but Morgan had a hard time finding a naturalist to speak with about the Piping Plover.

"When visiting the Audubon Society, we spontaneously spoke to the people behind the desk and an interview was arranged, but Jackson didn't have his questions with him," Holzapfel said. "And yet he was conversant enough and knew the questions well enough to be able to hold a half hour conversation on the issue he was looking into."

Morgan's skills should serve him well through the years. He's already thinking about what the topic of next year's research will be, when his class gets to visit New York City.

"Maybe the New York pigeon," he said, "and how the pigeons can affect daily life in New York City."

And just in case you forgot how old he was, he added, "I like chasing them," with a grin.

Cutting back hedges and bushes too early this year could starve birds of late autumn berries.

The mild weather has meant birds are feasting on insects later this year. They have not had to turn to autumn fruits yet, so many hedgerows are still bursting with berries.

These sources of food are what birds rely on to set them up for winter.

Traditionally, people start trimming their bushes at this time of year once the breeding season is over and before birds start scoping out roost sites.

We always suggest waiting until later in the winter, but this year it’s even more important than recent years.

[Ei!!!]

  Ei!!!

aka

" DUMPSTERKITTY"

November 14, 2009 in City

The Spokesman-Review

A peregrine falcon has been released into the wild after being restored to health by a team of veterinarians and volunteers at the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

The falcon, named Stephens for the man who brought him to WSU, had a wing broken in two places when he was found near Rosalia. The team mended his injuries without surgery by using bandages to hold the wing in place.

“Because Stephens was young, about a year old, the bones healed rather quickly,� said Dr. Nickol Finch, who heads up the Raptor Rehabilitation Center at WSU. “By using extensive physical therapy we were able to heal the break and have the falcon ready to release in just six weeks.�

Stephens was tagged and freed Friday north of Clarkston overlooking the Snake River. It is hoped he will return to Washington in the spring.

Yes you did....