My new door

Quite some time ago I decided I wanted to replace my old front door to match the one on the sunroom. A friend of a friend had just the right board, a huge piece of oak. And she works for a man who builds cabinets for kitchens and bathrooms. In the past they built a wonderful small double mew for a couple of my school birds.

I decided on the design and I'm happy to say it's more beautiful than I ever imagined it would be. The bottom panel is a duplicate of one on a 100+ year old dry sink in my great room. Thanks Ken Rey for your work. Also thanks to Susan Osborne for giving me the glass, Stacey Huston for sandblasting the oval, Tiffany Olson for designing the lettering and silhouettes, Gerald and Grant Shippen for lugging it into the house from my truck and John McGee for installing it today. It's huge, weighs a ton and will last for the rest of my lifetime.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

I know, they're not black cats but these are very special to me. Both are gone now, TRAMP (l) when he was 16 and TARGET (r) at 10 1/2 years old. There have been a couple in between them and the two females I have now but these will always be in my heart and on my mind.

Happy Halloween to everyone, don't eat too many goodies. Well, a lot of chocolate is okay, right?

Recent photo of IBR

Thanks again to Dr. Lee Hermann I have an updated aerial photo of the Ironside Bird Rescue facility. This was taken just a few weeks ago and as you can see, the hay field and my lawn are still green. The former pond area is just weeds and dirt, I never did get around to mowing it when the weeds were short.

In this photo you can see the new mews that were added to the eagle and hawk flight barns. They have come in very handy when lots of birds arrived at the same time. Maybe one day I'll get a photo of the place when there's snow on the ground.

Finally found

If you look back to a post I did on August 1st you'll read that I went to the town of Burlington twice to look for an injured raptor. I never found him and was saddened to think he would not make it. Yesterday, late afternoon, I received a call from a gentleman I'd contacted during the original search saying he found a hawk with a broken wing and as he was coming to Cody would bring the bird to me.

My first comment, when I found out where he'd caught the bird was, "I certainly hope it's not the one I was looking for 12 weeks ago". Imagine my amazement when I saw the hawk and because of the healing that had taken place at the fracture site I decided that it's a good possibility it is that bird.

SUPERMAN is in amazing condition after all this time and is a quiet bird in his cage. I will take him in to Drs. Blessing and Pedersen tomorrow for x-rays that will tell us if the damage is repairable. Even if he can't fly again he would make an excellent ambassador for red-tailed hawks at another facility. He is only about six months old now and has a long life ahead of him if all works out in his favor.

Update: Good and bad news. Good; the birds wing was not broken. The bad is his elbow joint was pulled apart about 1/2" to 3/4". Both doctors were stunned at what they were seeing in the x-ray. As it was impossible to fix this damage, SUPERMAN was euthanized. And after examining him closer I decided he is the bird I couldn't find in August. It's a case of "if only" but the damage may not have been repairable even if he had been found that day.

Beautiful morning sky

Every morning when I first go outside it's pitch dark and I look up to the stars. I can only identify four of them; the big dipper, the little dipper, the North star and Orion's belt. The past week it's been so clear, absolutely beautiful and this morning there was a bonus. While I was watching there were four shooting stars overhead. Awesome ! ! ! !

Not coming for dinner

Today I took in a Canada Goose, PILGRIM, that had somehow fractured his left wing. Luckily he came down in a fenced yard so was easy to catch. After x-rays showed that the radius and ulna are broken but possibly fixable, he was bandaged and brought to IBR until the surgery can be performed on Thursday.

This is one fat goose that WON'T be on anyones table come Thanksgiving. Hopefully the surgery will be a success but it will be many weeks before the outcome is known. If it's beyond the migration time for this goose I do have one place that may be willing to winter him over until they arrive back in the Spring. Fingers crossed everyone.

Update: The surgery went off today (Thursday) without a hitch, the bones are in perfect alignment and if all goes well this bird will be able to fly again in a couple months. Yay! ! ! !

New resident hens

Today a friend and I drove about 30 miles to pick up some young pullets from a breeder just inside the MT line. As you've read in other posts, due to heavy predation by fox, I am down to 32 hens. These eight are not only nice but they gave me two eggs on the trip here. I'm not sure of the breed, I'll add that when I find out but they are bred just for laying eggs so my supply will be supplemented from now on.

Note: I found out these are Red Star Sex Link chickens. Not the largest eggs so far but they are just babies themselves so the size will increase.

Scotland the Brave

A few years ago I was able to make two trips to Scotland, the original home of my ancestors on my moms side. I went the first time with friends to ride horseback in the Highlands, second time on my own and stayed with a family I met on my first visit. I told everyone about the experiences and how much it meant to me. One of them is my friend, Morley Davidson, a distant cousin from Oshawa, ON, Canada. He said that one day he would get there too.

That happened this past September when he went with a tour group for 12 days. I just received his photos and they are wonderful. Morley is a runner having participated in many marathons over the decades he's been doing that sport. He took his running gear along and was rewarded in being able to run on the same beach where the movie Chariots of Fire was filmed. As you can see, he certainly enjoyed himself.

Another rare bird for me

Yesterday I got a call from a gentleman out on the Southfork Hiway, about 15 miles from Cody. He found a bird after it hit one of his windows and said it was a red-headed woodpecker. I've never had one of those as a patient so I told him to take it to Dr. Blessing for an exam and I would pick it up there. The x-rays showed no damage and when I got there I found out he'd had it since Saturday.

I gave it a few simple tests to see if the wings were working and they were. He was also very good at grabbing with his feet. I also had no clue as to what kind of bird I had altho knew it's of the woodpecker variety with the stiff tail and toe configuration but not a red-headed.

I took the bird to a local expert on songbirds, Chuck Neal, and found out it's an immature Red Naped Sapsucker. I know that sounds like a joke name but it's not, they do exist. Isn't he beautiful? I released him in the Neal backyard and thanked him for letting me see yet another unknown species on my life list.

Yummmmmmm

Every summer from July thru most of October there's a farmer's market in Cody in the Albertson's parking lot. I am able to sell my free-range eggs there thanks to some good friends who grow organic produce in Burlington. They are BJ and Mike Carlson of the Wayfaring Traveler Ranch (see links). Besides having the produce they also offer llama treking and guest ranch stays. I usually sell out of eggs quickly, especially after the salmonella scare, but stay there to help sell their goodies. Thanks you two for all the years I've known you and your generous souls.

Note: Neither of the ladies in front of the stand is me. I'm running the camera.

Free at last.....

At 11:40am this morning I released TRISTAN, a rough-legged hawk born last year above the Artic Circle in Northern Canada. Because they have no concept of what humans or vehicles are they frequently find out the hard way when they come this far south for the winter. This beautiful female was hit by a car back in December 2009 and suffered a severely broken wing.

Altho she was flying when the birds started their migration north in March of this year, she wasn't strong enough to make the distance. For that reason the Wyoming G&F gave me permission to keep her over until they came back. On my way to Cody from Powell yesterday I saw one sitting on a power pole alongside the road. That was enough for me to take this bird to a wonderful habitat south of town and release her.

As you can see, she's in excellent condition and never hesitated a moment when I opened the door to her travel crate.

Damage report

Yesterday I drove about 40 miles to pick up yet another victim of someone driving down the highway and not noticing a very large bird sitting on a dead deer in the middle of the road. This person had to have known he/she hit the bird but never stopped, never took the time to help him. Luckily a young couple on the way home from church did just that. After securing the eagle in a crate I dragged the deer carcass way off the road so hopefully this won't happen again.

This is BUCK, an adult male golden eagle sitting in a container of shredded paper because he can't stand up. X-rays show he has a fractured humerus (elbow to shoulder) in his left wing and a fractured femur (knee to hip) in his left leg. The wing break is in excellent position even tho there are a couple pieces in the fracture. That is being stabilized with a figure 8 bandage. The bad news is his leg, that fracture is very close to his hip joint. Right now we are waiting on a consultation with the MN Raptor Center on the probabilities that his leg can be repaired. Dr. Blessing is willing to try but so we don't put the bird thru any unnecessary trauma has asked a colleague for his opinion. Fingers crossed but the prognosis isn't good.

Wednesday, 6:00am. Sad news, BUCK died during the night.

Come into my parlor...

Well, the "great room" such as it is. The top photo is what you see when you come to my front door. The bottom is what you see when you open that door. Needless to say I'm about ready for winter to arrive. My sunroom is 10'x20' and can hold four cords of wood leaving room to use the door. I call it the most expensive woodbox in the state.

I obviously heat with wood and in years past I went to the mountain with a friend, cut down the trees, cut it to length, hand split it with a 16 lb. maul, stacked it and then brought it inside to burn. My wood heated me five times. Now that I'm considered elderly (altho I don't feel that way) I have the wood delivered already split. I only have to stack it as you see in the photos. I've been in this house for 26 years and love my wood stove, I wouldn't have any other heating system.

Baby TV

Yesterday I got a call from our city Animal Control Officer, aka dog catcher, Duane Wiener about a turkey vulture down in a yard in town. It was very close to where they roost for the night but not one of the regulars. This is a baby of this year, only about four months old. As you can see from these photos, compared to those of the vultures in a previous post, this youngster has a completely dark head.

By the time I got to the sighting the bird had managed to get to the top of a portable carport then to the roof of a nearby house. After watching him for some time he decided to fly in the direction of the roost tree. He didn't make it all the way but was up in a tree nonetheless. I'm sure he was a bit hungry and wasn't the strongest flyer so hopefully he followed all the older birds in the morning to where they could find something to eat.

New homes

These two birds are heading for new homes. The raven, CRACKER, leaves this coming Tuesday for the South-western High School Raptor Center in Somerset, KY. This is a program in the school run entirely by the students with teacher supervision. They have received other birds from me in the past including a raven that died of a heart attack last year. Just a few months ago they also received a baby golden eagle, DAVE, aka, SANTEE. CRACKER suffered a broken wing as a very tiny baby in the nest and by the time she "fledged" and was found the damage was non-repairable. After a partial amputation you can see she looks just fine and is very athletic besides having the super intelligence of all corvids.

The golden eagle, BURL, is leaving as soon as the federal permit comes through, hopefully in a week or so. He's going to be living at the Balsam Mountain Trust Nature Center in Sylva, NC. This is a facility that does educational programs with non-releasable birds and animals. BURL is an old bird altho now that he's back in good health he may not be as old as I originally thought. He came in very starved due to being blind in one eye which made catching a meal very iffy.

It's taken so long to get the birds out of IBR and WY because the weather was too hot in the places they are headed. Especially one stop on the flight, Atlanta. Now that their record highs are non-existent the birds will be on their way to their new homes.

Relaxing

I'm not the only one in this house that likes to watch America's Funniest Home Videos. The cat could care less. As you can see, MADDIE was glued to the set during one of their "name that sound" segments. Neither of us got them right even tho it was a repeat show. Oh well. She's also front and center whenever there's an animal video shown.

Notes....

Just some catch up on things. Last Saturday I received a call from some people who were traveling up this direction from their home in MO. Just this side of Thermop they spotted an injured golden eagle on the road, gathered her up and brought her to me. Unfortunately it was the weekend so she had to wait until Monday for x-rays. In the meantime I sprayed her to get rid of the many large lice she had plus filled her up with good elk meat and mice.

Monday and a trip to the vet ended up sadly. The x-rays showed that the bones in her pelvis were in pieces and altho she had very warm feet she couldn't move either of them or her legs. Apparently there was also nerve damage so she was euthanized. She is the 16th golden eagle of the year so far.

Also, John McGee is working on refurbishing the original mews we built about 20 years ago. By we I mean people who didn't have a clue about "treated" wood so what was on the ground has slowly been rotting. The old is now new with matching metal siding to the mews John built a few months ago. Every time I think I've finished with such work I find something else. The next will be small, just covering the front and one side of another old addition.

Visitors

Okay, first the spider then these, Halloween must be in the air. These two adult turkey vultures came to visit and landed not far away from my gate. And they let me get quite close to them before taking to the air. They came because there is a meal for them near these fence posts. You'll also notice in the photo where they are perched there is another bird right in between them, a black-billed magpie. He didn't stay long as I don't think he was very welcome. In the flying photo you'll have to look closely in the dark cloud near the bottom to see the second bird.

I rarely see TV's around this area altho I know they nest someplace not too far away. One year there were about a dozen of them holding either a meeting or just gossiping behind my eagle flight barn. Was quite a sight to see.

Thank you

Just a few people to thank for all they do to make this operation run smoothly.

JOANIE and REBECCA for donating food for the birds. I'm sure there are lots of people who don't think about all the various food items needed to keep raptors and songbirds healthy. Because I feed a natural diet it's important to use only the best food for them.

Drs. BLESSING and PEDERSEN for providing excellent medical care for all the various patients I get in that are broken or damaged in some way. They both donate their expertise and skills in repairing the birds.

Eeeeeeeek ! ! !

Today I had a room-mate pointed out to me. Not one I've noticed but after finding this one there were lots more to be seen all around my sunroom both inside and out. It's a cat-faced spider. I rotated this photo 180 degrees, it's actually up in a far corner, not on the ground.

Happy Birthday

Today is my dads birthday, he would have been 98 years old.

Parental discretion advised

Okay, here's the latest photo of BINGO, the adult female I showed in last Saturday's post. She's doing much better now and finally consented to eat a meal. Hence the warning in the title. These birds have to eat what they have to eat and it's not some cereal or the like. They eat furry things and in this case it's the rabbit sitting at her feet. Hopefully this doesn't offend anyone. I am so thrilled that she's eating on her own, makes her recovery that much faster so she can be returned to the place she was found for release. As these birds mate for life, and she is an adult, she probably has one in that area wondering just where she is. After spending a few more days in this 8'x 8' pen she will go into the eagle flight barn for needed exercise.

Babysitting

Today a visitor came to call. Rasputin is a 14 year old male Jack Russell terrier belonging to a friend who is going to the mountain for firewood and a couple days off for the holiday. As her other four dogs may pick on this old fellow if they're all kenneled together, he comes here to stay. As you notice, he dressed up for the visit in his favorite purple scarf.

Walking wounded

Today I got a call from Sam Donahue of the highway patrol about an eagle down near the town of Thermo-polis. Luckily a wonderful man, Pete Galovich, was coming this direction on his way to the Billings airport (he's going on a vacation in Alaska) and offered to bring the bird to Cody. I met him at the G&F office to transfer this adult female to my care.

As she was found alongside Highway 120 I assume she's been hit by a car. She has some bleeding in her mouth and is breathing hard but no bones are broken. She can walk but is very wobbly and weak. Hopefully any internal damage is minimal and the lung damage will be absorbed. The bad news is this is a holiday weekend, my vets office is closed until Tuesday. At this point I don't think anything will help but tincture of time.

Update on BURL

The old golden eagle, BURL, will be heading for Balsam Mountain Trust in Sylva, NC as soon as the weather cools off enough in Atlanta so he can make the flight. By flight I don't mean with his own wings, I mean via Delta/Sky West Airlines. It has to be 85 degrees or less at any of the stops along the way and it's continuing to be in the 90s there. He'll leave Cody, go to SLC, to ATL and then to Ashville, NC.

Because of an eye problem that would make survival in the wild very iffy, I made the decision to place him at that facility as an educational bird. In the meantime BURL is now with my subpermittee, Stacey Huston (see links), working at learning how to sit on a fist. She is a wonderful person at training these birds, has done so for many of the young raptors that come to IBR with no knowledge of how to hunt. Stacey not only shows them how to do that with patience and skill, she makes sure they are ready for a life in the wild so they can survive. The birds she's trained become some of the 20% of all baby raptors that WILL make it through their first year.

The above photo was taken by Stacey (I haven't the foggiest idea how she did that) after only a few days working with this bird. He's not facing the right direction, should have his back to the camera, but he's sitting there calmly on her fist awaiting the next installment of his training. Great job, Stacey.