What goes ________ in the night?

This baby GHO is the answer. Poor little BUMP fell out of a very old magpie nest that is disintegrating. The bad news is that it was about 15' high over the middle of a well packed dirt road. The good news is that he was spotted sitting there and rescued this morning. And luckily he wasn't broken. As the nest wasn't very high it would have been possible to get him back into it but I made the decision not to do that. His mom was sitting in it so it is assumed there is at least one more chick in the nest. Because it is so small the chances of BUMP falling out again would be high and the second time he might not be as lucky.

As you can see, he's right at home in his new "nest" made up of the top rings of a five gallon bucket filled with shavings and covered by long-leaf astroturf. Then I surrounded it with thick weeds and branches so he'd feel right at home. I don't know exactly how old this young bird is but he's probably at least two weeks from hatch. He'll stay here and live with the super foster dad, SEEDY, until ready for release back to the wild. He's in very good shape right now, you'll notice the mouse tail hanging out of his mouth. That was number two I fed him, he decided to wait on numbers three and four.

Can you see me now?

Good heavens, I can't believe I said that. Oh well, this is ALLEY, an adult male GHO who was found wandering the back streets in a subdivision near Cody. X-rays revealed nothing broken but his left wing doesn't stay close to his body so it may be just bruising from hitting perhaps an overhead wire. At any rate, his appetite wasn't affected, he ate his whole rat last night, and he's seen here up on a perch that's about shoulder high so apparently he can fly a bit.

ALLEY will spend some time in this mew until I know he's well and strong enough to be moved in with the other Great Horned Owls. Unfortunately right now the baby GHOs are branching and will be fledging soon. That means more food brought to them by their parents. If this male has a mate and offspring it will not bode well for them as both parents are needed to bring enough meals.

New residents

These two young birds came to live at IBR just a couple weeks ago, aren't the cute and so well behaved to just sit on the chair. Okay, they don't require much care but they will do their part in taking care of the baby redtails that arrive here. Or even help me find one if it's lost out of a nest.

Thanks to Vicki at Buffalo Billies here in Cody for finding them. I'd had one for quite a few years but the sound it makes when squeezed finally wore out. You see, this toy, when squeezed, make the sound of a screaming adult redtail and that's very important. When I get in babies of this species I use that sound to reassure them when I'm heading in their direction with their meal. And it also alerts them that food is on the way. Works a treat as they become anxious and will eat their food without hesitation because "mom" brought it.

The bottom photo shows the group of five baby redtails that were from two different nests but were comforted with the help of this amazing toy.

Number Three

On Friday I got a call from Tim Fagan, one of our WGF wardens about an eagle that was found near Cody unwilling to fly. I met him in town to transfer the bird to my care but couldn't find anything wrong with this adult male golden eagle. He was in fairly good weight, 7#2oz, but seemed weak and unable to stand for very long.

His name is TREY, the third golden I've received this year. At this time last year I'd had about 12 of them. Naturally I got this male on a holiday weekend but there didn't seem to be any noticable damage so it was not critical he be seen by Dr. Blessing or Dr. Pedersen. I gave him an opened rabbit and altho he grabbed it right away he didn't seem interested in eating. He was also sitting back on his hocks instead of standing on his feet.

That was Friday evening, today is a different story. It took him all of Saturday to finish his first meal but today, when I tossed him another rabbit, it never hit the perch. He grabbed it out of the air and has so far eaten more than half of it.

The good thing is that this bird was found quickly, the bad thing is that it is an adult and goldens are now sitting on eggs. If he does have a mate, and it is likely he does, we will have lost this clutch as the female shares brooding with her mate. Because he isn't there to relieve her she will eventually get off the nest to find food which will leave the eggs to the elements. In this weather they will chill down quickly so the growing of the embryos will stop. As eagles do not double clutch we will have to wait until next year for this pair to produce young.

This is a wait and see problem so I will make the decision after having him x-rayed to see if there is damage that isn't readily discernable. I don't have to worry about his catching food, he obviously knows how to do that. As they mate for life his lady will be there waiting for his return.

Getting bigger

The baby chickens are growing quickly. They are about 20 days old now and getting cuter by the day. I've moved them into a dirt floor pen where they can practice their scratching and learn to dust bathe. I don't expect any eggs from these tiny ladies for a few months so now it's just a matter of them growing bigger and better.

Awesome visitor

Today I had a visitor come to IBR. His name is Shigeru Yabu (Shig) who, when he was nine years old in 1942, was forced, along with his parents, from their home in CA to the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Cody until WWII was over. During their internment the children didn't worry about the future but lived day to day. One day that included a bunch of boys trying to knock a nest out of a tall tree but when it fell they found a baby bird in it. A baby Black-billed Magpie without any feathers. Shig took it back to his barrack where his mother didn't want it around but was convinced to let the baby stay.

In 2007 Shig wrote a childrens book about that very baby bird. "Hello Maggie!" is an amazing story about how this tiny bird brought some joy to an otherwise very difficult time for these Americans of Japanese descent. MAGGIE learned to talk, even some Japanese words, and became a treasured member of his family as well as a friend to all who came by to say hello. I urge all to read this marvelous book, especially to your children.

Shig is now on the Board of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation and was here for one of their meetings. It was an honor to meet such a nice man and I look forward to their big get together this coming August. The one photo shows Shig visiting a magpie staying here until she can be sent to NC for use in educational programs.

My volunteer job

As many of you know, I do a lot of volunteering at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody. I started back in 1983 as a helper in receptions and the Christmas program. Then when I retired from my "real job" I began putting in much more time doing various projects. One of the neatest was doing a complete inventory of the Buffalo Bill Museum vault. Some of thoses artifacts were extrordinary and it was such a priviledge to see and sometimes handle them. Wearing white cotton gloves of course.

Then a few years ago I started working for the Graphics Dept. under the tuteledge of Kimber Swenson. I found my niche in picking and applying vinyl. On boards, on walls, on anything that it would stick to. And I do a lot of cutting and mounting panels and labels onto various foamcore, boards, etc. This past couple weeks I've been working on a most wonderous project, DRESSED JUST RIGHT. I've included photos of some of the sections of the exhibit which covers all things western and cowboy.

The first photo is of the very talented designer who is now in charge after Kimber retired. Tiffany Olson is an amazing young lady who never ceases to amaze me with her ideas for the perfect design. All the words on this wall are made of vinyl and placed in exact locations by me according to directions from Tiffany. You can see the size of the work.

The other photos show various segments highlighted; rodeo attire, working ranch hands wear, womens and mens "unmentionables", dude ranch clothes, etc. They are all carefully put together and the small signs in front describing all of the articles are something else I helped mount. The hat section shows various Stetson hats so people at the exhibit can try them on to see just what they'd look like wearing the hat that Bat Masterson, Tom Mix, the Boss of the Plains and others wore. There are also other interactive elements for visitors to touch and saddles to sit on for their portraits to be taken by friends and family. Wearing their Stetson hats, naturally.

Yes, Spring is here

I think the first sign of Spring is either seeing or hearing those birds the epitomize that season. I've had a male robin singing his heart out every morning and all through the day for a few weeks now. But today was my first Western Meadowlark sighting and hearing that most wonderful song. It happened just after we'd released HERO and was driving back towards Cody. I finally got a shot of him for my blog. Isn't he beautiful?

HERO is at large

Now weighing nine pounds, HERO took flight this morning. What more appropriate spot than off a rise at Eagle Pass just east of Cody. He had his backside to the door opening so it took a couple minutes for him to get situated but the minute he turned around he was off like a shot. Thanks to Dr. Kevin O'Neall and Janet Britt for bringing this wonderful bird to me for care. And again to Joyce Cicco for running the camera so the event could be recorded. Good luck to this young bird.

Spring??????

Snow is what I woke up to today. My poor bushes are trying to bud out and the iris are peeking up from their winter sleep. And today I'm heading for Powell to pick up a lot of baby chicks. That is if they make it in from their hatchery. I certainly hope so as they were hatched on Wednesday and they can live three days on their yolk sac. I'll add a photo of them when I get one.

It was a treat to walk into a room and listen to 600 baby chicks peeping. I chose my 25 Araucana's and 10 assorted other heavy brown egg breeds and came home a happy camper. As you can see in the photo, they instantly became busy finding food and water. They are all very healthy looking so should produce some great eggs to sell in the Fall. I already have lots of hens producing lots of eggs so if anyone wants to buy some let me know.

They're baaaaaaaaack !

I didn't think these little guys would be out of their hibernation yet but they are. I tried a few days ago to get a photo but the camera battery was dead. Finally everything co-operated and I got the shot. Unfortunately it's through a window but this little chipmunk is sitting on the side of my log house watching the world go by and trying to decide if he wants to climb down and get a drink in the water pan.

My dogs go absoulutely nuts when they see one of these tiny rodents and have, a time or two, actually caught one. At one time I tried to remove them from around the house but the score was chipmunk 123+-, Susan 1 so I gave up and we all just live in harmony. I even have a short sided water pan out near my mews so they don't have to go so far for a drink.

New arrival

Today I drove south to Riverton to pick up a year old male golden eagle I've named HERO. Altho he was found on a roadkill near the small town of Superior, he was taken to Dr. Kevin O'Neall in Green River about a week ago when he didn't fly away as a vehicle drove by him. Thank goodness for Janet Britt, a fellow rehabber who lives in Riverton and has willingly driven the three or four hours to Green River to pick up birds and bring them to her facility. Then I only have the three hour drive to her house.

This young bird is in good weight but his feather condition, as you can see, is horrible. I have no idea why he wouldn't fly so he'll stay here until I'm sure there's nothing wrong with him. Shortly after I put him in his mew I gave him a small rabbit. In an hour it was all gone but some scraps. I guess appetite isn't one of his problems. I'll keep you updated on his progress.

Well, he's off into the wild blue yonder

Today my prairie falcon took off for a life of freedom. He's been flying in his larger mew just fine and I was going to put him into the 32'x 48' flight barn tomorrow. MIKHAIL had other ideas. When I went in to put his half quail on the feeding stump he was ready. As I opened the door he made a quick corner bank, tipped on his side and slipped through the small opening in the door. He was so fast that other than feeling a slight touch of wing tip to my head I wasn't sure what had happened. I looked around quickly, decided he really did fly out and stepped out the door to see where he went.

Wherever he went it was quick and fast as I never saw him again. That is until I returned from an eagle monitoring meeting at the museum. As I was driving down towards my house I spotted him sitting on top of the third power pole from my house. I was hoping he would stay there so I could get my camera and take his picture but he flew the minute I got under the pole.

You can't imagine how great I felt when seeing him launch away, both wings at full extension, with power and determination. He started soaring around and altho I was expecting him to just circle the area, he headed east. Hopefully he'll come back around tomorrow so I can toss out his uneaten half quail in case he's hungry. As he was hog fat when he left he is in good shape to continue on the rest of his life without my help. The photo is one I took of him in his first flight area.

Oh dear...

Today the old man died. Over 20 years ago I received a call from a woman who wanted to get rid of the pair of ring-necked doves she'd had for about five years. I took them and from that time, until today, the male has lived with me. I originally named them Nick & Nora Charles and of course their first hatchling was called Asta. You have to be either old enough or a fan of old movies to know these names. Nora died many years ago but with their offspring and other doves that came to live here, Nick never wanted for companionship. He and his various ladies produced many babies but today that all ended. He might have been old but he wasn't dead, his last baby was hatched in 2009. I will miss his beautiful cooing and seeing him flirting with the girls. Goodbye old friend.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I know I've told a lot of people about my Scottish ancestors but I'm also part Irish. The photos are of my grandfather, Thomas McDermott Stanton, his mother, Lucy McDermott and his father, Loren Stanton. My great-grandparents were born, as I have been told but haven't documented yet, in County Cork. They then immigrated to Canada where my grandfather was born in Raglan, Ontario.

After marrying my grandmother, Mary Burns Davidson on December 8, 1900, in Raglan, they moved to Illinois, ran Governor Lowden's farm, Sittyton Grove, then had a farm of their own in Glen Ellyn. They also raised Shorthorn Cattle, Berkshire hogs and Shropshire sheep. I have a most wonderful collection of photographs of his livestock along with the ribbons they won in expositions all over the US and Canada.

My mother is the fifth of six kids and I grew up spending every Sunday on the farm under the watchful eye of my grandfather and enjoying all things to do with the horses he had on the place. My grandparents both died before I was a teenager but my memories of the time with them will live forever in my mind and heart.

Happy wearing of the green, everyone.

Now you see it...

No one can say I'm overly observant. Yesterday I went out to see the power meter reader and spotted this lump in one of my trees. And it's not small either, probably at least 18-24 inches in diameter. Of course it's a magpie nest and I certainly hope that it was recently built and will have babies hatched in there this year. Magpies are very clever nest builders as they put a roof over it. Not rain proof by any means but does provide more protection to the chicks from weather and predators.

The last time I had nesting magpies was a few years ago and altho the roof has collapsed on it the nest is still in a different tree. I decided to just knock it out one day but it's very well lodged in place. Oh well, when the leaves come out it's hardly noticable.

The eagle has landed

It took quite some time as he missed the connection from Detroit to Syracuse but BURL has finally arrived at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY after starting the journey at the Cody airport about 5:00am yesterday. The top photo shows his new home, the bottom just a couple days before he left IBR. I don't know what happened but according to the airline in Detroit their cargo area was full so they bumped the eagle off. BURL's flight was changed to arrive in Ithaca or, as the clerk said, "we can send him tomorrow" ?????? The reservation was made last week after they carefully made sure there was room on all flights for his crate size. I can't imagine any instance where the airline would bump a live animal in favor of a piece of cargo. I got the call from Dr. Parks last night around 10:30, our time, after he picked BURL up and was headed home.

As a few of you know, this has been a long and difficult path in making sure that BURL was sent to Cornell. The okay for his transfer came from both the state of NY and the USFWS Region 5 office (NY) last November 3rd. On the 9th of that month the Region 6 (Denver) office denied his transfer because they decided they have to "honor our trust agreement with the Indian tribes and from this point forward ALL non-releasable eagles must be sent to their aviaries". There are three Indian facilites that already have, at last count, 56 of these birds between them. This is not supported by any of the regulations concerning who is allowed to receive eagles for educational programs, nor have I been able to find any documentation on any "trust agreement" supporting the Region 6 USFWS ruling.

I had the help of Senator Mike Enzi's office and a member of his staff, Karen McCreery, in fighting to put this right. It was a long four months and in this instance the battle was won but the war isn't over. I will continue to fight for the rights of all facilities to receive eagles for use in their programs. If this is allowed to stand then there will never be an eagle sent to any other facility but those run by Indian tribes. And their primary use for the birds...molting feathers to be used in their ceremonies and on costumes.

The eagle has landed but the fight goes on.....

Old friend gone

Yesteday I found out that GARFIELD, one of the bobcats living at the Beartooth Nature Center in Red Lodge, MT has died. I met him in Ruth's office as a very young kitten and was thrilled to be able to meet such an endearing creature. This photo was taken when he was about grown but still an office cat with an outside run when he got to be too rambunctious. I don't have the particulars on what happened but I know everyone at the BNC is very sad now. As am I. Safe journey GARFIELD.

It's about time

After a 4 1/2 month confinement because of a broken wing, and after a 46 mile one-way trip in a crate in the back of the IBR truck, PILGRIM is finally swimming away. He had only a water pan to play in but now this bird is in a most wonderful home. Because I don't believe he'll fly again, at least well enough for long distances, I drove him all that way to a ranch with year-around Canada geese living there, breeding there, and raising their families there. There are numerous ponds that have springs to keep them open even during the winter. As you can see from the photo, not all the snow and ice is gone. Moments after leaving the crate, this beautiful goose was honking constantly and eventually even got out of the water, on the side opposite from where I was parked, and seemed to be taking stock of the area. I wish him well.

Borrrrring....

Wow, this has been the slowest start of any year since forever. As you saw in an earlier post I got in an adult female bald eagle the beginning of January and was able to take her back and release her where she was found.

Since then I've had a few calls about birds but they were just informational questions and not one needing rescuing. The resident and rehab birds are still here. I'm waiting for the feds to make up their mind about my sending my male golden eagle to Cornell. It's a long story, Cornell and I are waiting for the feds in Denver to make up their minds to honor his approval to receive the bird. That was granted by the state of NY and the USFWS NY regional office back in November. It's a governmental thing, hurry up and wait.

Until then we're all anxiously waiting for the end of this freezing, windy winter. It's been so long since we've had one we're all not used to the cold. It was -2 this morning when I got up and by noon it had climbed up to.....+2. Supposed to be in the negative double digits tonight. Hard to keep water in front of the birds and I have to quickly gather eggs before they freeze in the nest boxes.

Stay warm everyone, where ever you are.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hey everybody, Happy Valentine's Day to you all. Or as my friend Linda in TX and Cheryl in Scotland say, y'all. It's a beautiful day here, sunny and amazingly, 59 degrees so far. I have three birds going to new homes and this warm weather will certainly make it possible for them to fly out of here. One male golden eagle is going to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, one female golden eagle to Zuni, NM and one female, I think, black-billed magpie going to Chapel Hill, NC. Good wishes for all of them during the rest of their lives.

He's flying!

This is such a wonderful photo for one reason. MIKHAIL, on his first day in the large flight area, has made it to the very highest wall perch. He's not on it in this photo because when I went in he flew around and landed on the next one down. This beautiful year old Prairie Falcon came in last year with a fractured wing. Drs. Blessing and Pedersen did the repair surgery and as you can see, it's a great success. Now all he has to do is get strong enough for release which will be in a few months when the weather is nice.

Fun time

As I believe I've mentioned in earlier posts, I do a lot of volunteering at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in the graphics department. In 2009, because of all the exhibits being put up, the reinstall of the Whitney Gallery of Art, the repainting, etc. of the gift shop, I put in 740+ hours. Last year, because there was only one large exhibit, Splendid Heritage, and not much else, I only had a bit over 400 hours.

Each February the historical center honors the volunteers by having us all in for a brunch. Well it started out as a dinner with staff skits, then went to a dinner with great staff entertainment. One year it was a "Mystery Dinner" where we all were asked to dress up in 1920s costumes. That's me in a skirt, believe it or not. Now they serve a wonderful brunch and still have the staff skits. A great time was had by all.

I asked my former graphics boss, Kimber Swenson, to join me for the brunch. The other photo is of myself, Kimber (seated) and Lynda Covert. Kimber, an awesome graphics designer, is now working from her home office. Lynda, and her husband Jimmy, are fabulous furniture designers with pieces placed in homes of the rich and famous all over the country. Lynda also does amazingly exquisite bead work on pillows and the furniture they make. This is the start of my 28th year of volunteering, hopefully I'll make it to 30.

Little falconer

Here's the newest photo of little Ashley Mathews. Her dad, Nate, and Aunt Elizabeth are the ones who drove up here from Cheney, KS last June to pick up a baby golden eagle, CHOOY, then took her to a new home at the Eagle Valley Raptor Center. Ashley was born near Thanksgiving and is the apple of her parents eye. Such a beautiful little girl, doncha think?

Same old, same old, sort of

It's been quite some time since I've posted a message. Right now I'm sitting here looking out at a mini blizzard. When I was doing my cleaning this morning there were a few flakes coming down but nothing noticable.

I have a dinner to go to this evening, celebrating Robert Burns birthday, as we Scots do every February (even tho is birthday is actually in January). I told a friend I'd pick her up but she called to say it was horrible at her house, about 15 minutes east of here. While we were talking the snow arrived at my house but as I'm sitting here typing the snow has greatly diminished and I can see quite a distance now. The two photos are from last week when we did have a bit of snow but the sun was so bright you needed sunglasses to go outside. They are looking NE and SE from my front door.

OMG !!! A pair of golden eagles are flying over the house. It's rather windy so they're doing a lot of up and down in the air. One is an immature but I couldn't get a good look at the second one, may have been an adult. There are almost 70 eagles nests in the Big Horn Basin and a couple not far from here. At this time of the year the adults are reinforcing their bonds and thinking about sprucing up their nests. I certainly hope they find something to eat but with all the rabbit tracks in and around my house there must be lots of prey for them to catch.

Friends in IL and TX have reported very horrible weather in their area. Two feet of snow in IL and single digits in TX. Not usual for those areas at all. Stay warm everyone, Spring must eventually show up.