Ok, finally found where everyone is hanging out!! Now that winter is coming, I wonder if Mariah will hang around there, or go somewhere else? What's been her pattern?

Good to see Shakey on board again - are you going to be doing your artistry again next year like you did for Mariah and Kaver? Boy, I sure miss Kaver - guess that's why I missed a lot of the action this year.   


Linda
4 the Birds

Hi Linda!

Glad you found us!   

Congrats on your first post and have a Karma point! 

 

Maybe a juvie red-shouldered?  Definitely NOT a PEFA!  No "helmet" and the head's too flat.  Just my opinion...

 

Great job in stumping everyone...well, everyone but BirdCrazy, that is!   

I had to go for the mountaintop-removal guy, since that impacts my home state, but having spent a week in February wolf-watching in Yellowstone, it was a hard choice.

Patti

Definitely a hard choice and I wish I'd been able to check all of them too!  I went with the guy who wants to destroy condor habitat - there's been sooooo much hard work put in to bringing these birds back from extinction and, since I work at one of the places that is deeply involved in that project, I had to vote for him - the dirtbag...   

Thanks for posting this, Ei!  I voted...hope everyone else does too!

   (not a condor, but it'll have to do)

   
   

Join EuroBirdwatch in your country!

17-09-2009

I'm not sure if everyone knows that USFWS is a sponsor of International Migratory Bird Day, which usually takes place on the first Saturday in May.  This year it was on May 8.  Here's the link to their web site:

http://www.birdday.org/  

We feature IMBD at the L.A. Zoo for our Spring Bird Walk, focusing on the Pacific Flyway, which is the principal migratory path used from Alaska south to Mexico, Central and South America...

http://www.birdnature.com/pacific.html

  

[This one's for Mirta!]

This one's for Mirta!   

Endangered spider named after David Bowie
A German specialist has found a new Malaysian species of arachnid and linked it to the rock star as part of efforts to raise awareness

David Bowie has received one of the most unusual tributes of his career. A newly discovered Malaysian spider has been named after the rock star.

The giant yellow – and very hairy – spider has been named Heteropoda davidbowie and is the most recent discovery of German spider specialist Peter Jäger, who has found 200 new species in the past 10 years.

Most of these arachnids are endangered, and by naming spiders after celebrities Jäger hopes to attract public attention to the dangers facing each species. "It is working against time," he says. "Along with the species, we are also quickly losing genetic resources that have evolved over more than 300 million years."

Bowie – whose album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was a major hit in 1972 – shares the honour of having a spider named after him with Jakob von Uexkull, founder of the Right Livelihood Award, which honours those working on solutions to global problems, and Nina Hagen, a German punk singer.

Whoa!  He not just big...he GINORMOUS! 

Excellent photos, Aafke...great detail.  Wow!

 

Judi - Yes, I did hear that you guys took in some of Martine's critters, but that the folks at Shambala decided to shelter-in-place.  Do you still have some or are they back home now?

Jen -

Hi Jen - wish I could have joined you...the air cleared up Thursday and the temps dropped to tolerable too (only 89 in Arcadia today!).

As far as I know we still have the chimpanzees and some of the cats (not sure if we have all the cats or not, but I know we have some).  I think it's going to be a few more days before Martine can take them back home.

Judi   

Thanks for posting the link to the judge's decision.  This is not the final decision, only the decision on the preliminary injunction.

Both Defenders and Earth Justice are fighting to have this decision reversed.  Keep your fingers crossed!

I tried the 70 piece bulbs like you did and my time was 8.23!  Woo Hoo!   

Very cool bird, Aafke!

 

Judi-who was it who described a red tail as looking like a white football from the front when it perches on a pole?  Was it Siobhan?  Anyway, she's where I learned about the patagial markings...

Yep, it sure was Siobhan!  There is still a beginning birding tip sheet posted in the KFalconCam files section from her that I posted there 4 years ago...can you believe it? 

Hmmm...I think I need to email her and see how she is doing...   

I'd swear I've tried just this before, but maybe I was missing something...

I love the little dancer guy!   

A couple of other clues...if it's sitting on a pole, it's likely a red tail-it's their favorite hunting perch.  Hunting on the edge of a grassy field and a road and/or the edge between a mowed and unmowed section of grass just like your picture, it's likely a redtail.  They watch for movement in the taller grass waiting for the mouse or vole or whatever to come out into the open and pounce.  Some days it seems about every other pole along the road on my way to work has a red tail on it...makes driving tough sometimes 

And two more clues to identifying a red tail - that creamy white chest and streaky belly band is their trademark marking, plus if you see them in the air but can't see the red tail (from sun reflection) look at the under part of the wing - it has what looks like a comma at approx. mid-point on their wings.

Our western birds are a bit darker than the eastern RTH's so it's a bit more difficult to ID the belly band but the commas (patagial markings) are a dead give-away!

Judi

P. S.  Congrats on your first post, Judy!   

A friend sent me this video...    

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=649_1252090474     

Enjoy!