I have been thinking about Electra all day…and have spent several blogs trying to gain some insight into her behaviour on the Cowlitz PUD nest since her last chick died of heat stroke. She has spent more time at the nest today than yesterday when it was deathly hot. She food calls when she seesContinue reading “Considering Electra”
Nest Hopping News for 1 July
Juvenile Osprey Blue 096 has fledged from the Rutland Manton Bay Nest of Maya and Blue 33 (11). It happened at 12:12:27 pm. He looks up. Wings begin flapping. Blue 095 goes, “oh, not this again! This nest is getting too small for flapping. I wish you would just go away!” He’s on tippy toesContinue reading “Nest Hopping News for 1 July”
Need a relaxing bird nest to watch?
After the trauma of the Cowlitz and Osyoos Osprey Nests, it is time sometimes good to pull back – to breathe – and watch a bird nest where there is absolutely no drama. Right now, these nests can be hard to find. The juvenile Bald Eagles in almost every nest in the United States haveContinue reading “Need a relaxing bird nest to watch?”
Wishing Everyone the Happiest New Year
The featured image is by Japanese printmaker, Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915) (courtesy of the British Museum and WikiCommons). His image captures the tradition of fireworks over the Ryogoku in Tokyo made famous by Utagawa Hiroshige in his One Hundred Views of Edo of 1858, seen below. The Ryogoku Bridge was one of the most famous bridgesContinue reading “Wishing Everyone the Happiest New Year”
New Year’s Resolutions, Sustainability, and the Birds
There was an article, “It’s Not That Hard to Buy Nothing” in the New York Times today about Elizabeth Chai who, at the end of 2019, before the pandemic, made a resolution “she would not buy anything in 2020, with the exception of food, coffee, toiletries (if she ran out of something essential) and theContinue reading “New Year’s Resolutions, Sustainability, and the Birds”
The hampers all began with Tricki Woo…
It all began with Tricki Woo and the pandemic this year. Do you know who Tricki Woo is? Have you watched All Creatures Great and Small? James Herriott was a vet in a rural area of North Yorkshire from the late 1930s through the 1950s. Those books formed the basis of the television series thatContinue reading “The hampers all began with Tricki Woo…”
Protecting birds by simple changes in our lives can make a huge difference.
For the past week I have been posting information on how we can all join in and make our environment friendlier to birds. The tips and the ongoing discussion with my chatters on the Cornell RTH FB page have been enriching. Those posts were a way of remembering J1, the eldest chick of Big RedContinue reading “Protecting birds by simple changes in our lives can make a huge difference.”
Feathers and Preening
You have probably never thought much about feathers unless you raise chickens and wind up plucking them yourself. Or your duvet is full of down and feathers and you find them all over the place if there is a small hole. But, maybe, like many of us, you wish you had wings and could flyContinue reading “Feathers and Preening”
Why are female Red-tail Hawks almost always 30% larger than the males?
It is called Reverse Sex-size diamorphism. There are several theories as to why this happens with Red-Tail Hawks. The first is that the females had to be larger to protect themselves from the feisty males. The second is that the females selected smaller males to be their mates because the size difference allows each ofContinue reading “Why are female Red-tail Hawks almost always 30% larger than the males?”
Everything is fine in the world of the Js
Little J3 spent the night of June 14 on Rice, apparently alone. He flew back to the nest hoping to have breakfast at 7:46 am on June 15. Arthur quickly awarded him with a squirrel which he mantled with both feet. The little guy was really hungry and no one was there to steal hisContinue reading “Everything is fine in the world of the Js”