Family came a calling

A week or so ago I had a visit from a couple of distant cousins from South Dakota and enjoyed every minute of it. Charlie and Deon were here a few years ago on a trip visiting various sights and people. They did the same this year going to see friends in Buffalo, Riverton, seeing Yellowstone National Park then on to my place.

Charlie is in his mid 80s now and altho he's finally beginning to show his age, his spirit is high and I loved seeing them again. Wish it could be more often. Deon took our photo and sent it along.

Who says dogs can't fly?

They can, just look at these photos. They are SNICKERS (t) and CANNONBALL (b) doing some dock diving. They belong to a cousin living in Ontario, Canada and just love what they do. They are also accomplished frisbee catchers too.

Sometimes it just doesn't work

Yesterday I received a call from our Cody game & fish office about an injured Sharp-shinned hawk found in Meeteetse. They had gathered him up and were transporting him to me. The original story I got was that he had caught a sparrow and was munching it in the middle of the street. Because he would probably have been hit by a car he was moved to a nearby location. Then I thought the caller said he'd hit a window while flying away.

Now the true story.....The bird did catch a sparrow after flying out from under or near a parked vehicle. And he was eating it just inches from the road. And he was moved from that place. The story continues as told to me by Anne Price, curator of the Raptor Education Foundation located in Brighton, CO. They were up in Meeteetse for the 30th anniversary of the recovery of black-footed ferrets. They were the ones who moved the little sharpie off the edge of the curb on Sunday evening around 7 pm. At that time the bird was still eating his meal but was able to carry it a short distance away from the people. Then the bad started. Anne and her colleague left the sharpie in some tall grass to eat in peace. About an hour later he was found in the street after being hit by a car. He was gathered up, checked over by REF and WY G&F staff, and put in a warm safe place. The next morning, because he made it through the night, it was hoped he would survive.

I received the beautiful young bird around 11:00am on Monday. I immediately transferred him to a warm place and gave him fluids. I also weighed him. He came in at 2.1oz., approximately half of what he should have weighed. He died about 20 minutes later. I believe that just too many things happened to this approximately six month old male and his spirit couldn't overcome all of them. If only he had caught the sparrow in a location without people and cars...he might have then been strong enough to catch another meal. And another, and another until he was strong and healthy. If only he hadn't been hit by a car...he would have continued his life. If only, two little words that would have changed his world.

Thanks to the REF and the WGF for all their great efforts in trying to save this wonderful baby. And for the above photo taken while he was eating what turned out to be his last meal.

Photo credit: Copyright 2011 Raptor Education Foundation

It worked ! ! !

PATCH arrived here last June with horribly swollen tissue around her left eye. (see post "Shoulda ducked" on June 13th). After a bit the swelling went down and her eye came through an exam with fyling colors, no permanent damage at all.

The trouble is that this adult female apparently decided she just couldn't fly, at least not more than a few feet. Knowing that it was possible a concussion could cause this reluctance to do what comes naturally, I gave her time. Over the past three months there was some improvement with even long flights the length of the 80' barn, but not every time.

Last weekend I decided to try something new by rearranging the long tree log that was leaning against the "tower" in the barn. It has always been only up as high as the nest box platform in the middle of the tower. PATCH would routinely sit on the lower end and from time to time would climb to the nest. I wondered if I moved the end to the very top if she would continue upward. Of course the angle would be too sharp but I solved that by using one of the many sculpture crates donated to IBR from the BBHC. It worked just beautifully and with the help of lots of astroturf door mats for grip, you can see that PATCH has reached the stars. Well, the top of the tower anyway. She can now fly to the far end with the added height.

The next goal is to see her sitting up on one of the wall perches and surveying her kingdom. As an adult she doesn't have to learn how to hunt so as soon as she's making these long flights, and to the tall perches, she will be ready to return to where she was found as her mate will probably still be in the area.

Long time passing

Just a short time ago my 50th high school reunion was held in Downers Grove, IL. I've not made any others and didn't make this one but a fellow student and former neighbor and his wife made the trip from their home in VA and sent me some information about it.

One of the things that Chuck sent was a display of the 82 kids in our class that have already passed away. One of those is my twin brother, Tom, who died in 1960. It really hits home when you see your own age group dying, makes it obvious that time has passed and things aren't as they used to be.

The photo above is of that display, my brother is on the far left of the top row. Now I wish I had taken the time to go home for the reunion and am now thinking that if it's possible I'll certainly try to make the 60th.

He's gone

Here's the photo I took this morning when I released the Red-eyed Vireo shown below. He felt much better this morning after a quiet night. Not the best focus but you get the picture (pardon the pun). And it turns out this isn't a rare bird here, it has been seen but that doesn't make it less exciting for me.

Rare?????

This very small bird was found here in Cody after it hit the side of a parked camper. It wasn't broken but does probably have a very bad headache so it's now sitting in a small cage in my kitchen and tomorrow morning I'll take it to a very protected yard in town and release it.

What makes it rare is that I believe it's an immature Red-eyed Vireo and according to the Sibley's book it has never been documented in this state. I've sent photos to an expert in CO for his opinion and will share that with you when he replies to my inquiry.

Soon

This is the most recent photo of CASSIDY showing him way up high in his mew. As seen in an earlier post, he came here from Cheyenne suffering from a broken leg. It was repaired and after the pin was removed he took up residence in an 8'x 20' flight area along with a magpie. He's now flying just super so will be released this weekend, probably around here as I do have quite a few crows flying by.

Again, thanks to Cathryn and Melissa for transporting the bird to IBR.

New feature

I now have the ability to post videos on my blog. There's only one for now, the release of that baby redtail shown in the post below. Thanks to Susan and her magic camera you can watch all 28 seconds of the event. Just click on the photo under the "video" heading to the right and the tape will run. Hopefully more will be posted in the future so you can see just what goes on at IBR.

Another success

Today, thanks to help from Susan Osborne and her mom, Marge, another baby red-tailed hawk is in the air and headed for hopefully a long life. Little DAVIS came to me from off the Southfork Rd near Cody. She was starving at only 25.5 oz. and very weak. Since that time she's been gaining both flight experience and learning how to catch food.

We took her to Jim Creek Road near Wapiti and released her in near perfect conditions; light wind, bright sun and blue sky. And she now weighs 45 oz. Hopefully, with her new skills, she will survive, find a mate and raise babies.

She is a color redtail I rarely see, a dark phase. She will end up with a very dark body lacking the white chest and belly band of the normal colored bird.

Thanks Susan and Marge for the help. Susan took a very short video of the release and if I can figure out how to do it I'll post it on this blog. And Marge did an outstanding job taking the still photos.

Home safe

Here are the latest photos of all my "ladies" in their safe haven. The new hen house is finished with the old girls living in it. The old house was refurbished so the new youngsters would have a home too. They aren't laying yet but should start in September. I am also planning on trying to add 20 more to their group but those should already be laying.

After so many deaths at the hands of predators, i.e. fox, raccoon and skunk, it feels good to have them all behind the fencing around their large yards. Of course there are now grasshoppers around the house which were never there when the hens were roaming near it but it's worth a few buzzing insects knowing the "ladies" are safe.

The dark roofing is the shade cloth now over the top as it's been so hot this summer.

Whisperers extrordinaire

This is a wonderful photo of two amazing people. Elijah Cobb with the rooster on his shoulder and Linda Raynolds holding the hen. These two people are chicken whisperers of the highest order. They have super hens and a few very handsome roosters living all together at their place on the edge of town.

Linda is also a very well known artist working in lots of mediums. And Elijah is a superior photographer of anything you can name. Including furniture, cups and saucers as he did for me, various subjects that most people would never consider as art and everything else in the world.

What's on tonight?

My TV watching dog, MADDIE, is very interested in this program on wildlife. She actually watches a lot of television but is particular on what she observes. She especially loves AFV and their "going to the dog park" segment.

Flying high !

My two youngest raptors have learned the art of going up, up, and away! Well, not away yet but they're closer to being releasable. The top two photos show SNOOPY sitting on the highest wall perch and then flying across the top of the 80' flight barn to the tower at the opposite end.






















The bottom photo is of DAVIS, my dark phase baby red-tailed hawk that arrived here severely starved and unable to do much of anything. She's now also on the highest perch in her mew and is making live kills. She will be released up the Northfork in a couple weeks.

Temporary guests

Yesterday I agreed to keep these banty roosters temporarily until a new home can be found for them. They are extordinarily handsome fellows and only about six months old. Luckily I have an empty pen for the time being but they will not stay here. Altho I love hearing the sound of a rooster crowing, I hate bullys and most roosters are just that to hens.

He's gone

but not forgotten. I don't mean as in dead, I mean as in he flew away this morning. SPENSER started the rest of his life on the Northfork at about 8 o'clock with the sun shining off the mountain and tree tops. The top photo shows him sitting in a dead treetop (look closely for the dark lump under the high peak) just taking in all that breathtaking scenery.

The bottom photo is of Melissa Hill helping with the release. She's working with the raptor program that will be starting at the BBHC as soon as the birds arrive. Thanks Melissa for the help.

First there were 10......

But only five of the pheasant eggs I received many weeks ago hatched. These five are now going to be released on the Curtis place north of town which is where they came from. Every year when Stan is out swathing his hay he usually comes across a pheasant nest full of eggs. This year it wasn't until he went back to bale the hay that he found it.

These babies will be in a very safe place where there are already pheasants living so it's apparently the right habitat for them. Hopefully they won't fall victim to hunters or predators and live a long life.

Happy campers

More than a year ago I transplanted some cloned aspen trees to a small section of my side yard. I was pleased that all but one made the transition to their new home so last spring I scattered some wildflower seeds around them. As the seeds had been living in my frig for years I wasn't sure if any would germinate but they did. Not a lot but enough to bring some color to the area.

Regal visitors

Today, when I returned from taking a crow to the vet, I found I had some rather large visitors sitting on the power poles leading to my front gate. If you'll look closely you'll see an adult golden eagle on top of two of them. I have no idea where they nest but it must be someplace nearby, I just can't find it. As there is no young bird with them they may not have had any this year or lost the chick(s).

Graduation day, sort of

Today little SQUEEK moved to an outside big boy pen. He's old enough now that he should be thinking about flying and hopefully his large mew, 8'x 8', will inspire him to do just that. I have no idea why this baby was such a late hatch but the bad news is that swainson's hawks are now gathering in huge numbers for their migration to South America. That means they will be starting the long journey soon and this baby won't be ready for it. It looks as if I'll have to winter him over here or send him somewhere south where he can wait until they return in the Spring.

In the meantime, he's becoming more aggressive to me, which is a good thing, and hopefully will become self sufficient in his mind and not think he needs a human for companionship. He now has a mirror in his pen so he can see another swainson's.

Fisherman

This is AHAB, a two month old male osprey who apparently didn't have a very good landing this morning. Instead of using his two feet he ended up hitting his chest on the ground. Because of the bruising he's unable to open and close his feet very vast. Nor can he stand at the moment.

Thanks to Phyllis Baker, the land owner where the nest is located, he was quickly found and gathered up. Benj Brown, WGF biologist in Thermopolis, met me half way and transferred this baby to me this morning.

Now the problem is finding enough fish to fill him up. As that's the only thing they eat it will be a challenge but I have friends who love to fish and have said they'd help. I can also buy trout at the store but it's not the whole body. If all goes right this young bird will only be here for a couple weeks. He just has to be strong enough to use his feet as they were designed to catch and hold fish.

This photo shows him being weighed (2# 14oz) before being settled into his container of shredded paper which will support him while he's getting stronger.

Note: Today, Wednesday, I put AHAB down. He'd lost all movement in his feet so there was no hope of him every being able to stand and feed himself. Not a good week at IBR with the loss of both the old eagle and this beautifuly baby.

Baby boy is growing up

This most recent photo of SQUEEK shows just how much he's grown in the past 11 days. He can now get on a big boy perch and he's eating on his own. I still have to cut his mice into pieces but he's picking them up by himself and if hungry enough will rip and tear some if I leave a larger piece in the cage.

I'm not having the best of luck in keeping him from imprinting tho. I have photos of adult swainson's hawks taped to the front of his cage but will have to get more as he's now peeking under them and by standing on the perch he can see over them. As soon as possible he'll go outside to a mew that will allow him to see the world go by to stimulate him.

Fingers crossed

This is a very sick adult male golden eagle that was found up on the mountain outside of Thermopolis. Luckily the people up there spotted him and called Benj Brown, the WGF biologist there who then called me. This was a trip of about 110 miles with the last 6.2 miles on a very rocky, sandy, steep in places, dirt road. Luckily I have 4WD so it was a long crawl onward and upward.

I have no idea what ails this beautiful bird, he's severely starved, only weighing a bit over four pounds. He should be twice that and with his age there should be no reason for him to be unable to catch a meal. Because it was a Saturday afternoon I was unable to take him in for an exam but tomorrow he'll be seen and blood work done.

Thanks to his rescuers bringing him a large pan of water he at least had moisture. He was standing in it by the time I got there. Now we come to his name, TROUT. That's what the people gave him to eat not knowing that this species doesn't eat them. That's okay, their heart was in the right place.

Last night and today he's received some electrolytes in the form of Lactated Ringers solution and this morning I added a special carnivore diet to it. It's a very potent powder that's mixed with water and given through a tube to his crop or stomach. I was absolutely astounded to see him standing up this morning. As you can see, he's not strong enough to perch high, the folded towel is enough for the moment, thank you very much.

Note: He died this evening about 5 o'clock. Just too much to overcome.
8/18: Preliminary report back from vet lab. Lead and WNV tests are pending but at this point it appears that he has a tuburculosis or fungal lesion to the right shoulder joint. The mass made it almost impossible for him to fly and therefore to hunt food.

Ouch...

That's what the bandage says around LAURA, an adult female kestrel that was found a week ago with a broken wing. It has been repaired but the flight of this bird may be in question as it was an old fracture that had started healing. As these birds love grasshoppers I assume she lived on those she could catch on foot until she was found. If attitude has anything to do with it she will fly free again.

Awesome presentation

One of my great friends, Jonathan Wood, has an amazing job. He takes live birds of prey all over the United States and does programs for the public. You'll see in this photo, the stunning display he's now doing in NJ that he calls Extreme Raptors.

You'll notice the very beautiful golden eagle on the left side of the photo. Her name is MORIAH and she came from IBR. When the eagle he got from me in 1993 was failing a couple years ago he called to see if I had another he could acquire. MORIAH was only three that year so will be with him for a long time to come.

The others in the photo are his wife, Susan, and their daughter, Rachael. All three of them put on the best show and as you can see, include a huge variety of raptors. If they ever get to your area be sure to go see them, you won't be disappointed.

Note: See Links above right and click on it to see their website.