This rehab is only 20 minutes from our house and I read on the site that our Vet who takes such wonderful care of our Toby, Dr. Gwen Wollney, is an associate there.  I will certainly be sending in a donation to this great place that took such wonderful care of Mariah.   I hope all will be OK with Jemison and that he can be returned to his family soon. 

When he didn't fly after his release, it sounded like there was something wrong then. I'm so glad the watchers were there to get him again and that he's in good hands.  Hope the injury is not too serious.

[CONGRATS Sage...I'm so glad you have your own Falcon namesake. I'm very happy for you. Way to go Connie!]

officially named Sage by Connie

CONGRATS Sage...I'm so glad you have your own Falcon namesake. I'm very happy for you. Way to go Connie!

Love the pics too. Thank you!

How cool for you Sage.

Congratulations, Sage!   

Just to prove endings can be happy when caring, resourceful people get involved.   Be sure to watch the video to see how well this fellow does with his prostheses.  Have a long, carefree life, Oscar! 

http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/resources/news/cats/cat-given-prosthetic-paws-in-world-first.htm#video

Great video, Chrissy!  Thanks for posting! 

Naughty Lou!   

That was really bad!  My heart took a leap-for a second!!   

   boys will be boys 

You got that right, Janet!

So I finally got around to changing my calendar this morning, and this is what I found...



2002 Freedom, Isis and Kaver

I just changed mine too this AM, Ei, and thought how neat to see this pic at this time.  Love the calendar!

Naughty Lou!   

That was really bad!  My heart took a leap-for a second!!   

The story of Scout being found dead yesterday really touched me.  This photo of her is just amazing!

Very sad about her death but a beautiful Falcon.  Thanks for posting her picture. 

I was just going to post this news from the CMNH Forum. It's wonderful to know she's been found and that so far she's doing OK! 

As of 2 PM today, no sighting of Warrior yet. 

They've posted a goodbye video as both Owlettes have fledged.  Happy for them-sad for us watchers who'll miss seeing them each day.

  I applaud this huge effort. Thank you!   

I think it's great too, MAK but sad that it even has to be done. 

Gulf Oil Spill: 70,000 Turtle Eggs To Be Moved From Oily Beaches In Massive Relocation Effort

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- An effort to save thousands of sea turtle hatchlings from dying in the oily Gulf of Mexico will begin in the coming weeks in a desperate attempt to keep an entire generation of threatened species from vanishing.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will coordinate the plan, which calls for collecting about 70,000 turtle eggs in up to 800 nests buried in the sand across Florida Panhandle and Alabama beaches.

It's never been done on such a massive scale. But doing nothing, experts say, could lead to unprecedented deaths. There are fears the turtles would be coated in oil and poisoned by crude-soaked food.

"This is an extraordinary effort under extraordinary conditions, but if we can save some of the hatchlings, it will be worth it as opposed to losing all of them," said Chuck Underwood of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We have a much higher degree of certainty that if we do nothing and we allow these turtles to emerge and go into the Gulf and into the oil ... that we could in fact lose most of them, if not all of them," he added. "There's a chance of losing a whole generation."

Dozens of workers are fanned out across the coast marking turtle nests, most of them threatened loggerheads, which nest largely along Florida Panhandle and Alabama beaches.

In about 10 days, they will begin the arduous process of excavating the nests, mostly by hand. The digging must be slow and delicate - aside from making sure the shells don't crack, the eggs can't be rolled around or repositioned to protect the embryo inside.

Then the eggs will be carefully placed in specially designed Styrofoam containers, like coolers, along with sand and moisture to mimic the natural nest. The containers will then be trucked about 500 miles east to a temperature-controlled warehouse at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

There, the eggs will remain until hatchlings emerge, and they will be placed one-by-one on Florida's east coast, where the turtles can swim oil-free into the Atlantic Ocean.

"There's a whole lot of unknowns in what we're doing," Underwood acknowledged, noting many of the hatchlings could die anyway because of the stressful moving process.

All of the sea turtles that venture into Gulf waters have already suffered because of commercial fishing and habitat loss. Endangered Kemp's ridleys, which are nesting on beaches in Mexico and Texas, have washed up by the dozens dead along Gulf beaches since the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion that has gushed up to 130 million gallons of oil into the sea.

While some have been found oiled, it remains unclear how many of them died because of it. Tests are ongoing. The Kemp's ridleys aren't in as immediate of danger because oil hasn't been washing ashore yet in their nesting places in the western Gulf. But some fear those hatchlings also could eventually make it into the crude.

Threatened loggerheads, which are currently being considered for the added protection of endangered status, also have been found oiled and dead since the spill started, along with leatherbacks and green turtles.

David Godfrey, executive director of the Gainesville, Fla.-based Sea Turtle Conservancy, agrees this plan is the only option to save as many turtles as possible.

He said if left alone, the turtles will soon begin emerging from their nests and heading straight out to sea to feed in masses of oil-soaked seaweed.

Even more unusual, in a field that typically sees division between government entities and conservationists, there is agreement on what to do. Teri Shore, program director with the California-based Sea Turtle Restoration Project, said she thought the plan was good given the circumstances.

"If those sea turtles swim out to the Gulf, they're going to face a massive oil slick which will cause them to perish or at least significantly decrease their chances of survival," she said.

Godfrey said he agreed with the strategy and called it a "pretty amazing plan" because conservationists rarely support relocating sea turtle nests. They often push for a change in human behaviors, such as dimming lights along beaches at night to avoid disorienting them.

But no one can control the oil, he noted.

"We're talking about allowing the entire year's class of hatchlings to emerge and swim to their certain doom, and are we just going to sit back and let that happen?" he said. "We just can't."

Long post tonight on CMNH Forum about Warrior.  They didn't find her yet but will resume looking tomorrow. I hope she's OK.

New post today:   

No Easy Way
Life is sometimes difficult and hard. Especially for young, juvenile, barely fledged falcons just starting out in this world.

There is no easy way to say it. I picked up the body of Coach this afternoon from the 4th floor roof area of the AT&T building at 220 N. Meridian.

I know this is always hard on falcon watchers, but I hope we prepare all of you enough to know that the first year of life is extremely precarious for these young birds. I fully believe that Coach died doing what a falcon loves to do - chasing something at lightning speed, intent on his prey, going the next step to adulthood, fulfilling his purpose.

I am only theorizing but I believe he hit the glass building at a higher level and fell to the 4th floor roof. He was in a tuck position and his feet were slightly balled up - and I am sure he died on impact with the building, that there was no lingering or slow death.

From all accounts this happened on Monday, June 28th. I took his body to a DNR office to see if it will be in good condition for an education mount. I didn't have time to assess this today and will need to check with John Castrale on next steps.

Many, many thanks to my old friend at AT&T, Larry Smith (Smitty), the property manager for the AT&T buildings. We go way back and he knows of my love and involvement with the birds and was so helpful in getting the information to me and assisting me in the recovery of Coach's body. Thanks to his co-workers also.

I'm so sorry everyone. Yet I still am joyful - we have 2 surviving girls and I know we all hope they are successful.