Lauren brought back a lot of eagle equipment from Asia (as we all do) but as she had spent more time and been more places. Most useful were a couple of pairs of eagle — boots?– gloves? At any rate, foot warmers for the birds’ naked feet (golden eagle legs are thickly feathered). The boots …
Tag: Raptors
He has a Head Under his Hood
And now must learn how to use it. Pix by Daniela– in the first, he is taking a tidbit.
New Bird
After all the hints, he’s here– my “shotgun range” falcon! Yesterday we drove down to Bill Meeker’s breeding facility east of El Paso (and general animal friendly house– Ataika nearly went nuts trying to get to know –I hope only that!– their totally intact skunk through the bedroom door) to pick up a chamber raised …
“Big Black Nemesis”; or, what is an Altai Falcon anyway?
A while ago, LabRat at Atomic Nerds started a series of posts on the evolution of sex among other things. The first was appropriately called “Shuffling Your Cards: Why Sex?” Since in science we are both mad nerds obsessed with evolutionarily odd strategies like parthenogenesis in local lizards (and the hybridization that may have started …
Further adventures of Lauren
Mostly photo- blogging this week- it’d amazing how much time maintaining some level of competence takes when you have ANYTHING else to do. But I have been sent lots of good photos and stuff from Mongolia, England, and closer to home… Lauren has been visiting nests: “This was the nest we visited in April when …
Lesson
Falconer friend Andrea Chen sent this irresistible image of her baby goshawk tiercel absorbed in an interactive web lesson.
Lauren: Further Adventures
Lauren is winding up her “Apprentice Berkutchi” Fulbright in Mongolia by studying Cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus) in the Gobi (these huge birds, which we saw in the Altai, are rivaled in size only by Lammergeiers in Asia). Meanwhile her young eagle shocked everyone by building a nest and laying (infertile of course) eggs. She has …
Urban Cooper’s Hawks
Tucson has the greatest population of urban Accipiters known– at least one study has been done, and another is under way. Bruce Douglas shot these photos of three young and a parent out his wife Debra’s office window over a couple of days. I don’t think they provide anything but a bath.
The Parrot Bites Again
Matt Mullenix said of the line below: “Journalism: Dead.” ” Alan Parrot, one of the world’s foremost falconers…. “ Steve again: all this is in reaction to a link I couldn’t get but which I have seen plenty similar to the last few days, like this one. There has also been a lot of talk …
“Sparrow Hawk”
A local pigeon fancier asked me to catch a “Sparrow Hawk” that was (I qoute) “living under my coop and killing sparrows”. While I’d think that a bonus– sparrows waste pigeon feed and spread disease– I loaded up my trusty butterfly net and caught this VERY fat male Sharpshin. (David Z– in any other part …