http://www.operationmigration.org/crane-cam.html

Paul

Thanks for a great ride, Shaky!  I've never seen the view from a chairlift except in winter.

Paul

Pigmy Falcon (Polihierax semitorquatus) and Guira Cuckoos (Guira guira)
We spent time with these guys yesterday, prior to our Meet a Kiwi session.

Paul

The music is Tarara, by Antonio de Salazar,who was born in Spain (or, possibly Puebla, Mexico) in 1650 and died in Mexico in 1715.  The performance is by a local group, Hesperus.  It's a joyful Christmas song, often performed before a feast.

Here are lyrics and translation:

http://www.sfbach.org/text-tarará-tarará-qui-yo-soy-antóniyo

Paul

Thanks, Joyce and MAK!  The last time I saw a photo of her she was a lot browner.  She has come a long way since her Nantucket days and looks really great in adult plumage -- not as dark as Rhea Mae, more like her Mom.  

Paul

I went to visit my American Legion Bridge falcons in Cabin John yesterday -- my first since the brood dispersed.  The place was deserted, save for deer tracks.  I stood by the sluggishly-flowing Potomac and remembered how the calls of falcons had somehow risen above the roar of the traffic overhead, and said a sad farewell to summer. 

That was when the female came flying in from the downriver hunting grounds, wailing loudly, and landed in the nestbox.  The local falcons are still very much on guard.

Paul

Last data report was the 20th of Sept and she was still in the Power Plant area. RED is the latest!

Not sure what Joyce is talking about: Balloon Like Structure! They saw a falcon but whom??? Quest, I hope!

Here is an Imprints post with a picture.  It appears that Pickering gets its energy from eight nuclear reactors, one wind turbine, and Quest.
http://rfalconcam.com/imprinting/?p=1324
There is one white structure that looks like a balloon and is possibly a water tank.  Maybe that's it.

Paul

Jim and Dawn,

Thanks for this fascinating tour.  I still have vivid memories of reading Pliny the Younger in school and imagining the sights he described so vividly.  We also separately studied the dynamics of Vesuvius in geology class.  Your pictures of both Vesuvius and Pompeii connected the two events for me and deepened my understanding.

Paul

Thanks Patti -- this is GREAT!

Fidget, the resident avian, has been singing along with the Eastern Towhee.

Paul

I think the only place such research has taken place is with the Southern Cross project (don't have the link here)-arctic peregrines migrating to far south South America-and this 52 year old brain cannot remember the details.  Pretty sure there's only one nesting/year.

Here it is:

http://www.frg.org/SC_PEFA.htm#tracking_table

The falcons seem to have a much better survival rate than the transmitters, with only Island Girl's backpack still providing a good trackable signal.  Maybe the researchers got a bad batch, although two of them did make it for over three years.  There's no mention of second families on the southern part of their journey.  Maybe the birds just want to chill out near the beach and rest up after the long migration.

Anyhow, Island Girl is on her way south through central Quebec.



Paul

Here are a few images from May of 2001.

Paul

Thanks Patti!  Either the mountain shots or the butterfly ones would have made a wonderful album by themselves, so the combination was really outstanding.  I recognized lots of Tiger Swallowtails, but many of the butterflies were unknown to me, including the blue ones.  Can you tell is what they were?

Paul

Last August, while relaxing on Sandy Island, I read Behavior of Fledgling Peregrines by Steve K. Sherrod.   Some of the information may be a little dated, but there are a lot of good observations and analysis here.  For example, I learned that parents may feed their offspring using:

Perched Transfer
DIrect Aerial Transfer
Aerial Dead Drop
Aerial Live Drop
and the ever-popular Family Hunting Forays

This book has really helped me to think about the behavior of juvenile falcons, both here at home and in Rochester, by giving me a structured understanding of some of the things they have been observed to do.  You can get a copy from The Peregrine Fund for only $10 and help conserve birds of prey worldwide. http://www.peregrinefund.org/rcProdmain.asp?id=21&c1=1

Paul

Three cheers for Team Peregrine! Also, thanks for a great story.  What can beat finishing up with a Peregrine with minutes to spare?

Paul

Posted by Birdchick

http://www.birdchick.com/wp/2010/09/coolest-bird-job-ever/

Paul