As several readers who communicate outside of the blog know, the redheaded falcon has been extremely wild and difficult. I had decided to send him back to the breeder and was feeding him to repletion every night. But, as his weight rose, against all expectations he got tamer and tamer. He is now butter- fat, …
Author: Steve Bodio
Redtail & Rabbits
From around the same time as the photo below– maybe 36 years ago (I had the hawk for six years)– our biggest day, my biggest ever.
Button and Speke
Actual sign in Ruaha National Park sent by Jonathan Hanson: Utter. Word. Fail.
Just for Fun
A photo taken on top of the hill in Shutesbury Mass, ca 1974, of me with my redtail tiercel Cinnamon (still one of the best gamehawks I ever had and oddly, like one of the more recent best birds, stolen after years with me), and a friend who is holding my intact rather huge albino …
Breeder Issues
No; though there will be fun stuff today, I will not stop beating this drum, because it needs saying/ beating. Jess from DesertWindhounds, in a comment at Retrieverman’s on why “can’t we just all get along?” “Tell you what. When I stop getting harassed by total strangers for my breeding decisions, we’ll all get along. …
Tiger Reading
John Vaillant did a reading last night at Riverrun Books in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for his wonderful new book on Amur tigers, poachers, and rangers. I had participated in part by reviewing The Tiger here. I’ll let him configure the whole tale for you, but Dr Hypercube was the pivotal figure, and blogged it here. …
Eevil Eagles
When I announced Darren’s new book (Tetrapod Zoology 1) I mentioned a Darren drawing that contained, among other things, an Australopithecine and a Socorro County calf in mortal danger. Here is the proof, in the form of his 2004 Christmas card (click on it to enlarge):The hominid is the (documented– look up recent material on …
Autumn Poems
An exchange between blogger- neighbor Anna Lear and me (go to her Laughing Raven for exquisite photos of our country, often focused on the small rather than the large), starting with her reaction to the photo below, prompted me to reprint my favorite Autumn poems. Campbell’s was written when he lived in Provence near Marseilles …
Why I miss New England in the fall…
Ruffed grouse and woodcock, in the oven as well as in the field, or rather woods. We have no substitute for the second west of the Mississippi… Photo by Tim Gallagher, on opening day– really near Ithaca NY but I bet it smells and feels the same…
Two quick links
Tim Gallagher just sent this link to a new study of passenger pigeon genetics.It is NOT a big mourning dove, and is closer despite its long tail to New World Columba like the bandtail. This might give more weight to some of my speculations in A Feathered Tempest (developed more succinctly in my recent Living …