[I'm thankful that QUEST has someone watching out for her...even if she is wearing a cloaking device. Joyce]

 I'm thankful that QUEST has someone watching out for her...even if she is wearing a cloaking device.

Joyce

Hi Joyce,

a sociable finch female can not sing. Only the male can this.

Annette

I learn something new every day.  I'm sure the memory of your little brown finch will always be in your heart.

From the article...

In September, a local cameraman shot a video of five turkeys that appeared to be menacing a young boy near Brookmead Drive in Cherry Hill. A woman, presumably the boy's mother, snatched him out of harm's way and ran away screaming. The video was posted on YouTube and as of yesterday had received nearly 200,000 hits.

Here's the video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhh68bITXM8

I stopped by the University of Buffalo south campus and then headed to the abandoned Central Terminal on my way to work this morning.  Got skunked again!  No falcon fixes in Buffalo. 

I couldn't find Smoky & BB at UB, and no Stash & Stella at CT (appropriate ethnic names since the old train station is on Paderewski Drive).  However, I did see the newly installed nestbox at the Central Terminal.

The nestbox was installed on Wednesday November 18.  Here is a link to Sage's (aka Vicki) Buffalo Central Terminal Nestbox Installation Album:  http://picasaweb.google.com/Sage836/PeregrinesBuffaloCentralTerminalNestbox#

Latest update from Sage: 
"There was a lot of mating activity this spring from Stash and Stella but she was still young.  She's now in full adult plumage, and yes, both were there...watching the activity!  And circling the tower.  So cool!  Neither bird is banded so it's a mystery.
 
BB and Smoky are staying in town this winter.  Maybe because after they saw their kids off to the corridor they came back to discover intruders had taken over the tower.  That alien female was very large and at the time, BB had become pretty scrawny herself, keeping her four growing kids fed.  Fights ensued, witnessed by the MacKay guys, but she and Smoky regained control of their tower and box.  She has had a chance now to recover her old weight and more, and is much bigger after her summer rest.  The guys at UB love to watch them!  One of the guys said yesterday that they found a mostly devoured Wood Duck (!) under the tower and a lot more ducks!  He also said the lovely Barn Swallows seem to have disappeared but hopefully they just migrated!
 
We had lunch with Connie [Adams, DEC] and others after the nestbox installation yesterday and I told her how BB loves to eat her prey in the nestbox now, to the point that I refer to the box as her "lunchbox"!  She was a bit dismayed as she realized they'd have to climb up and clean the box before nesting time because BB has no housekeeping skills yet!  The box was overpoweringly raunchy when the DEC went up to clean it this summer!
 
The Statler birds haven't been spotted lately but they must be somewhere - I think this pair did stay in town last winter."

Absolutely beautiful!  Since we didn't have any babies in Rochester in 2009, this is so wonderful to watch.  I love the close ups of the adults too.  Thanks for sharing.

Joyce

Annette - may her song always be in your heart.

Joyce

GREAT FIND!  Love the way it comes into focus and when you just follow the eyes and look at nothing else, those talons come at you...WOW! 

Isn't that precious...a sibling reunion.  Love their dark caps...reminds me of Kaver.

I was at Wild Wings earlier this month to check out the peregrine and merlin and always make the rounds to say hello to all of the residents. I was kidding with Tess that Shasta looked like he was going bald.  

Not only was Shasta loved by humans, but it was great to hear the stories of his young female admirer, and how she would sneak him tasty squirrel treats. Even in the winter there was evidence of her being there - you could see tracks in the snow where she had been outside the cage.  Shasta would perk up everytime she was near. How wonderful to have a "wild" girlfriend in his senior years.  I'm glad I got to see him one last time.

isn't this where Quest has been visiting? 

I won't be surprised if when Spring comes and Quest's hormones start raging that if she can't find a mate in Port Hope - she just may come back here and try for a site with an existing mate like Beauty did.  No doubt she's seen the possibilities here on her little tour and I wonder if her day trips are her way of scoping out future nest sites. 

Carly - you might be right.  I wonder if Quest is done with Port Hope.  Now that she is in Bath, Ontario with a nestbox on the Lennox Power Plant, maybe she is taking her little trips to scope out a mate.

 

I got my cards last weekend and they are super!  Thanks to the M&K Legacy Team.  

I don't send Christmas cards anymore, but I'm glad I got these for my keepsake collection.  I love reminiscing and browsing through actual M&K photos, just like I do with Lou's postcards of the juvies.  If you're like me, treat yourself to a set even it you don't share them with anyone else.



Joyce

Where are these crows filed? HA-HA just making fun of your spelling!!

Seriously, though, how do these compare with just a "regular" crow besides size? Any differences, except for one likes to hang out in fields? I don't know too much about crows.    

We couldn't get close enough to these crows to actually judge their size, but they were big.  From a distance we could see one with it's beak open, and one with its beak to the ground.  The other was looking around.  We were driving at the time, and couldn't believe the size, so we traveled down the highway, turned around and went back to see if we could get some pictures.

Suzanne may be a better person to make a crow comparison.  We know Suzanne will find these interesting.

Joyce

Thanks Donna for posting!  Carol, Kathy O and I know exactly where that picnic table is.  Burlington is a day trip we are hoping the watchers would like to take on a nice calm weekend day this winter.

Joyce

(Any weekend with 27 red-yailed hawks, 1 juvenile bald eagle, 2 kestrels, and 3 GIANT field crows can't be all bad!)

WAIT 'TIL YOU SEE THESE GIANT FILED CROWS!