Woodcocks and Owls

This is a picture of a woodcock. My son and I went out to Silver Creek Metro Park for the Big Bird Night program. We were able to see some woodcocks up and close, although not quite as close as the stuffed one in the picture. They flew close enough to easily identify. Definitely a good night to view the courtship flight even if the cloudy weather cut short the amount of time they were flying about at dusk.

Gregory's wet shoes prevented us from continuing on with the group to listen for owls, but since there might have been a barred owl calling in the distance as we watched the woodcocks, the group likely had some success.

Big Bird Night

Medina Raptor Center

I'm always thrilled when I get to see some of the educational birds from the Medina Raptor Center. This is the second time I've seen the owls. The littlest owl (the saw whet owl) is so cute. Well, take a look yourself. This little video I put together features the saw whet owl, the screetch owl, the barred owl, and the great horned owl.



We were at the FA Seiberling Nature Realm on Friday, July 6, 2007. Check out more great things to do at the Metro Parks Serving Summit County.

More web cam mania

Check it out! The Toledo Zoo has some web cams up. How exciting is that?

Also, an Alpaca Cam.

And the eagles have fledged!

Now, I really should be cleaning, so I'm going to wander back into the other room.

Will they try again?

Scout (female) and Orville (male) have been seen around the nest box again. After the falcons' first attempt produced infertile eggs (not uncommon since Scout is so young), it looks like the pair may well try again. Check out the Columbus Falcon page for further updates. I'm watching the bottom half of a falcon as I blog.

The eagle triplets are getting BIG. They are expected to fledge soon. For a full report, see the Eagle Blog. It's a lot of fun if you catch them hopping around and testing out their wings on the Eagle Cam.

If you are looking for more web cam entertainment, you might check out Earthcam's top ten. The Eagle Cam made it on the list!

Wildlife webcams I've been keeping an eye on

I've been watching the Ohio's Peregrine Falcons webcam. It looks like the eggs might not hatch. How disappointing! Read the Columbus Peregrine Falcon Update for more details.

On a very bright note, there are archives now at the Africam. I particularly like the owls. I saw some Impalas late last night. It is about a six hour time difference, so it was morning there.

Oh, and the eagles should take flight soon.

Knock, knock, knocking

My husband took a great picture of this pileated woodpecker while we were out hiking at Goodyear Metro Parks. It was great timing because we saw some while we were on vacation but he was unable to snap any pictures. Only a few days back and we see a pair flying in the woods and knock, knock, knocking away. Pileated woodpeckers are the largest in Ohio. If you are out hiking that area keep an eye out!

Eagle News

I've been keeping an eye on the Eagle Cam at Norfolk Botanical Garden. I got to watch most of the banding of the eagle chicks today even though they postponed it until 3PM. At times it was a bit difficult to see what was happening, and there were a few times when the webcam froze, but overall it was interesting. It took at least 2 up in the tree and a more than half a dozen on the ground. The eaglets were lowered in a bag and then the biologists (some students I presume) did all the normal things associated with banding: measuring, weighing, taking pictures, etc. I thought I would miss the most interesting part because I had to pick up my nephew, but here it is almost 4:30 and they are just clearing out. I think between 3:30 and 4 was actually the best time to watch.

There is an Eagle Blog in case you want to check out what the eagles looked like when they first hatched. The archives go back to 2006.

From April 23-25, the Eagle Cam will be down because of upgrades. Quoting from the Norfolk Botanical Garden page with the Eagle Cam info: "The webcam feed may be interrupted or not working at times. Someone forgot to tell us that maintaining a webcam 90 feet up in a pine tree wouldn't be easy."

If you like wildlife web cams, check out Africam. I've seen some wildebeest grazing. You have to keep checking though because it isn't like the eaglets that can't leave the nest.

Not Only The Chickadee

If you are ever in Akron, OH, take a trip to the Nature Realm and you just might see not only the chickadees but also a brave little nuthatch eating out of someone's hand. This cute little bird will 'hop' down the trunk of a tree to check out what you have for it to eat.

While you are there, stop by the Visitors Center. There are displays, a window to sit by and watch the birds, and even an inside view of a bee hive. It is all quite fascinating. Outside there are trails to hike, gardens to see, and an arboretum.

As you can tell, my favorite part of a visit to the Nature Realm is feeding the birds.

Everything I Never Knew I Needed

Christmas this year was hectic yet wonderful. I ended up with a headache on Christmas day which wore me out even more, but it was nothing that I could not handle. In the end, the Tylenol did the trick. Or maybe it was just the fact that I stopped moving around so much.

Gregory got a great many gifts including a bunch of movies and video games. He is dragging the Pokemon blanket around the house with him and I don't think he has put the stuffed Charmander (who knows if I'm spelling that right?) down yet. At least I know I got him gifts that he is appreciating. Once he sees all the movies and plays all the games I figure he will move on to the other gifts.

My husband was quite surprised to get Seasons 1-4 of Family Guy on DVD. It took a bit of creativity to wrap them in different ways so he would be surprised even after he opened the first set. He told me I did a great job since he had no clue they were all basically the same thing.

My gifts were totally awesome. I got Destroy All Humans 2 for the PlayStation 2. I also got a Birdsong Identiflyer, which is the best! If you have no idea what an Identiflyer is, check out the web site and see for yourself. Basically, there are different cards to insert in the Identiflyer and then you can listen to bird calls. There is even a card with frog sounds! (Frog E would approve of that.) Now I can try to identify bird calls when I'm out hiking. It is just what I never knew I needed. Once I pick up a carrying case, I'll be set.

Feeding the Chickadees

One of my obsessions lately has been hiking the trails of the Metro Parks, Serving Summit County. It was here that I had my first experience feeding the chickadees. There was a couple hiking in the opposite direction who stopped to talk with me and my family. They asked if we had ever fed the chickadees. No, we had not. They gave me a handful of seeds, and we went our separate ways.

Now, it takes a lot of faith to believe that these birds will come to your hand when you have never seen it or even heard of it being done. I stood for what seemed an enternity, hearing the whispers of the disbelievers passing by. Then suddenly, magic. A bird lands on my hand just as someone says that it cannot be done. What perfect timing, right?

Since then, I have been fortunate enough to meet the author of a wonderful book all about chickadees. Ann McClain Roher shares her knowledge of chickadees in her New Brighton book, Mr. Picky and Me: Lessons from a Master Chickadee. I got tips from her on how to hand feed the birds with the least amount of stress. Stand near a bush or tree. This gives the birds who might pick up any dropped seeds a chance to escape from predators. If more than one person wants to feed the birds, take turns or make sure you stand far enough apart. If you stand too close the birds will start fighting because they will percieve you as one "birdfeeder" to be defended.

Not everyone has the patience it takes to wait for the birds, and not all the birds are brave enough to come close to a human bird feeder. I count myself lucky to live near an area where I can enjoy this activity without spending hours trying to win the birds over. My advice is, don't expect the birds to trust you right away, just enjoy the sounds and sights you would miss if you weren't standing still.

For more information on the Metro Parks, Serving Summit County: http://www.summitmetroparks.org