Some weeks ago (on the Kfalconcam board) Baerbel posted a link to videos and a new book on global climate change.  I gave Baerbel's link a try, and found myself deeply immersed in the seven hours of video about this issue.  Really entertaining presentation, and the thinking skills presented do go beyond this single issue.

Anyway, if anyone missed that link, I wanted to second Baerbel's recommendation to give them a try (and thank Baerbel, in the process).  Having wandered about the internet, I've found this link to the videos the easiest to navigate:
http://www.manpollo.org/education/videos/videos.html

Jeane and I bought the book, and our book club will be reading it next month; the book is also great reading if you prefer reading to video, and it certainly doesn't hurt to use both media.
http://www.gregcraven.org/en/the-book

Enjoy the last Hurrah of the Summer

Donna

Wait a minute...summer's over?  I missed it entirely!  We skipped summer this year in Kentucky...no stifling heat and humidity...I'm hoping we don't skip fall and go straight to winter.

A friend sent me this video...    

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

Enjoy!   

My cat Oscar does something similar, though not quite to that extreme.  He does the same thing in that he comes running when I head toward the bathroom, leaps on the sink and expects me to turn the faucet on.  I do, but let only a small stream run.  Then he sticks his head in and drinks the water as it runs down his head and off the front of his nose.  It's really the same action as this cat, just less water.  I'm not sure he'd tolerate that much water!

I just saw an article yesterday (posted below) about wind farms in California, and their ability to chop up California Condors.  It's known that lead ammunition in the carcasses they eat is a leading cause of death for the birds, but this article talked about wind farms being another huge obstacle in the recovery of the condor.

http://www.examiner.com/x-13344-Wildlife-Conservation-Examiner~y2009m8d30-California-condors-wind-farms-on-collision-course

Yesterday I saw a new kind of bird in my garden.
It's a Goldfinch, but not the American Goldfinch, (Carduelis tristis) it's family (Carduelis carduelis)

greetings Aafke

Very nice; thanks for sharing!

OK...maybe I wasn't actually attacked, just subjected to some severe intimidation.  I was pulling a pokeweed from under the hummingbird feeder.  I stood up, weed in hand, just as Ms. Hummingbird came to feed, and she objected to my presence.  She got about six inches from my face and buzzed back and forth with her tail fanned, as if to say "I'm big, I'm bad, and you're in my space!"  Once she got bored with that she landed on the feeder and drank her fill, while I attempted to stand completely still.  Perhaps she was only curious about this strange creature in a place where there is normally no creature...but knowing the general temperament of hummingbirds made me think it was an attempt to intimidate me.  It was an overpoweringly awesome experience to be that close and feel the wind from her wings hit my face. 

...By the time I got up to the 21st floor, it had started pouring rain and the black clouds, at times having a green cast, came over. 
Anne C. (Toronto, ON Canada)

Nice photos...we get a lot of tornadoes through Kentucky (some years more than others), and when we see that green color it's usually our sign that things are about to get bad...

What a great story!  I'm glad they made it home safely...three cheers for Casey!

I've attached photos of my big boys:
Oscar (buff-colored)
Simon (slate-colored).

Simon loves to ride around on our shoulders, and Oscar loves to snooze in the window, so these are very representative photos.

Jeane and I returned about a week ago from a backpacking trip to the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming.  We took way too many pictures, as usual.  There's lots of good scenery, but if you're strictly a bird fan, there are only a couple of birds and critters.

So...if you want to grab a snack and enjoy a long slideshow, here it is:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/bellhanley

By the way, I took the quiz on this site and got 5 questions wrong. That includes a few correct guesses..

http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore_raptors/index.html

Lou

Thanks Lou, that was fun...I only missed two...