Im Back..an update

[BIGFRANK]

Hi,Cheyenne was into the vet for one last check,she is now fine and although she will be monitored closely for awhile by Tracy and I. Her foot owie has healed,she is alert and fiesty as ever. This weeks adventure...Kortright Centre where the CPF Raptor Centre is,cut down some trees. Tracy asked for a few of the larger stumps so we could change our birds perches,in their pens. We had hoped to use a machine to do the work,but that didnt work out,instead she and I grunted and made alot of faces to lift them into the bed of Marks big truck! Tracy is small but mighty! We managed to get 4 stumps at least 2 that had to weight about 200-300 pounds! Next week school visits start for our educational birds! The bulk of this week has been spent tiding the barn,pens and getting ready for the school visits to commence. More soon.
 Far as I know  no reports about Wind recently.

[Donna]

Hi,Cheyenne was into the vet for one last check,she is now fine and although she will be monitored closely for awhile by Tracy and I. Her foot owie has healed,she is alert and fiesty as ever. This weeks adventure...Kortright Centre where the CPF Raptor Centre is,cut down some trees. Tracy asked for a few of the larger stumps so we could change our birds perches,in their pens. We had hoped to use a machine to do the work,but that didnt work out,instead she and I grunted and made alot of faces to lift them into the bed of Marks big truck! Tracy is small but mighty! We managed to get 4 stumps at least 2 that had to weight about 200-300 pounds! Next week school visits start for our educational birds! The bulk of this week has been spent tiding the barn,pens and getting ready for the school visits to commence. More soon.
 Far as I know  no reports about Wind recently.

Busy busy your are BF. Way to go keeping your raptors happy! Thanks!!

[BIGFRANK]

Hi gang,well all of our birds are A-1 these days and enjoying the school visits they are doing with Mama Tracy. Thanksgiving weekend the gang will be at the Woodbridge Fair. Myself,Ive been popping into my raptor watch,on days when Tracy does schools in the greater Toronto area. I go by transit to the park and we meet up after she is done her schools and Im done my watch. This weekend should be really good. http://raptorwatch.blogspot.com if you want to follow along.  My buddy Walter has taken over the watch in my abscence this season and is doing a great job. He is reporting under my name. Its been an interesting and busy month. Highlight for me has been being taught to weigh and handle a few of the birds more often at the barn. Also CPF volunteer Kathy S and I were at a fair in Arthur Ontario,with Nova(Peregrine Falcon) and Alexandra(Great Horned Owl). It was particularily rewarding when young students showed up and recalled recent visits of CPF to their school and when other teenaged students let us know theyd never forgotton CPF school visits which took place 5 years earlier when they were in 4th or 5th grade. Good to know our educational program makes a lasting impression/impact! 

[MAK]

  Hi Big Frank it's good to hear from you! Say hi to everyone for me! 

[BIGFRANK]

Ive been down in Toronto for a few days,so I could attend the raptor watch (migrating bird of prey count) which I started in 2004. In my abscence this year  my normally righthand man Walter has abley taken over running things. Saturday we had a record day with over 1300 raptors WOW. Today we saw over 600. Its been a real thrill to see so many birds. Tomorrow promises to be another good day,then its back to Tracys. This coming weekend CPF goes to the Woodbridge Fair with some of their educational birds and we will be there too. Its always fun and rewarding to do the shows and pass on info and enjoy people enjoying our birds up close and personal.

[Donna]

Ive been down in Toronto for a few days,so I could attend the raptor watch (migrating bird of prey count) which I started in 2004. In my abscence this year  my normally righthand man Walter has abley taken over running things. Saturday we had a record day with over 1300 raptors WOW. Today we saw over 600. Its been a real thrill to see so many birds. Tomorrow promises to be another good day,then its back to Tracys. This coming weekend CPF goes to the Woodbridge Fair with some of their educational birds and we will be there too. Its always fun and rewarding to do the shows and pass on info and enjoy people enjoying our birds up close and personal.

Way to go BF, man, you see lots of Raptors!! THANKS!! 

[BIGFRANK]

A couple shots from the show. http://www.winkflash.com/photo/public.aspx?u=bigbirderfrank&ic=9801413

[Donna]

A couple shots from the show. http://www.winkflash.com/photo/public.aspx?u=bigbirderfrank&ic=9801413

Very nice and LOOK at the feet on that Owl! 

[BIGFRANK]

Well Quest and Kendal have taken to the box we put out at Harlequin!
Off topic...Tracy called me from our balcony...Get out here quick. I leave the tap running as I was doing dishes and run(ok moved quickly) to the balcony. "You gotta see this hurry!". I arrived to see the Northern Lights dancing in the sky(aura borealis). Hues of red and green filled the sky in an amazing natural light show. Unfortunately no pics from us but here is a link to a nice one taken from Toronto.
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/web/imagepopup.php?imgname=http://media.twnmm.com/storage/5014739/619&title=Northern Lights over the Beautiful City of Toronto&lang=en Really amazing and beautiful to see. It lasted at least 10min before things faded and not sure how long it had been going b4 Tracy stepped outside and noticed.

[Donna]

Well Quest and Kendal have taken to the box we put out at Harlequin!
Off topic...Tracy called me from our balcony...Get out here quick. I leave the tap running as I was doing dishes and run(ok moved quickly) to the balcony. "You gotta see this hurry!". I arrived to see the Northern Lights dancing in the sky(aura borealis). Hues of red and green filled the sky in an amazing natural light show. Unfortunately no pics from us but here is a link to a nice one taken from Toronto.
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/web/imagepopup.php?imgname=http://media.twnmm.com/storage/5014739/619&title=Northern Lights over the Beautiful City of Toronto&lang=en Really amazing and beautiful to see. It lasted at least 10min before things faded and not sure how long it had been going b4 Tracy stepped outside and noticed.

Wow, glad you saw that BF, must have been an awesome sight!

[BIGFRANK]

I see on our weather channel it was seen in Texas even!

[BIGFRANK]

It was a perfect day for raptors to migrate,so when Tracy went to the barn to get Oscar for school visits,she dropped me off there for the day. I hadnt hawk watched from the barn before,but there is a hill behind it with a very open vista so with that and Tracys assurance that birds of prey migrate passed,I hoped for the best. I wasnt disappointed and was able to see 189 raptors. There were a few Sharpshinned Hawks,a Coopers,a few Northern Harriers,3 Red-shouldered Hawks(a species in decline here),3 Roughlegged Hawks(a very high north bird),151 Redtailed Hawks,20 Turkey Vultures,a Bald Eagle and 5 Golden Eagles! A terrific day..I ducked into the barn a few times infront of the space heater as it was hovering around 32f with the windchill. I watched from 8am-4pm and finally got warm at about 11pm!

[Donna]

It was a perfect day for raptors to migrate,so when Tracy went to the barn to get Oscar for school visits,she dropped me off there for the day. I hadnt hawk watched from the barn before,but there is a hill behind it with a very open vista so with that and Tracys assurance that birds of prey migrate passed,I hoped for the best. I wasnt disappointed and was able to see 189 raptors. There were a few Sharpshinned Hawks,a Coopers,a few Northern Harriers,3 Red-shouldered Hawks(a species in decline here),3 Roughlegged Hawks(a very high north bird),151 Redtailed Hawks,20 Turkey Vultures,a Bald Eagle and 5 Golden Eagles! A terrific day..I ducked into the barn a few times infront of the space heater as it was hovering around 32f with the windchill. I watched from 8am-4pm and finally got warm at about 11pm!

Oh my, you saw some good Raptors BF! Yay for you and keep warm. Waiting for the snow here in Jersey!!

[BIGFRANK]

Well it was a busy Saturday,we camera shopped,then visited 3 nest sites to try the camera out. We found Jack and Angel at Sunlife in Etobicoke,both enjoying the warmth of the sun. Their chin feathers were well puffed out showing just how happy and satisfied they were. Our other stops were less successful as pairs at William Osler and Mississauga Executive Centre eluded us. Back to our Raptor Centre and we had a group in at night that was part of the conservation authorities Hoot andHowl program at Kortright Conservation Area where our birds are housed,so Seamus the Barn Owl and Alexandra The Great..Horned Owl were the stars. Tomorrow...more camera tests and nestsite visits.
  Also of note,my Raptor Watch is approaching a new year count record for the park its held at. Last season we saw 6545 and are currently 38 short of a new high total for the season. The count runs till the end of November,so Im sure we will make it. I hope to get down next week for the record setting day.

[MAK]

Well it was a busy Saturday,we camera shopped,then visited 3 nest sites to try the camera out. We found Jack and Angel at Sunlife in Etobicoke,both enjoying the warmth of the sun. Their chin feathers were well puffed out showing just how happy and satisfied they were. Our other stops were less successful as pairs at William Osler and Mississauga Executive Centre eluded us. Back to our Raptor Centre and we had a group in at night that was part of the conservation authorities Hoot andHowl program at Kortright Conservation Area where our birds are housed,so Seamus the Barn Owl and Alexandra The Great..Horned Owl were the stars. Tomorrow...more camera tests and nestsite visits.
  Also of note,my Raptor Watch is approaching a new year count record for the park its held at. Last season we saw 6545 and are currently 38 short of a new high total for the season. The count runs till the end of November,so Im sure we will make it. I hope to get down next week for the record setting day.

Good to hear from you BF! Say hi to the gang up there for me!