Labor Day...full of labor

The Labor Day weekend is finally over. I thought you were supposed to rest on Labor Day?

I did two 4-hour programs this weekend and have also sweated out all of my body fluids. The weather in Cincinnati has been low on humidity but high on heat. I have been guzzling water like it's going out of style.

This was Storm's first foray into outdoor programs, and he did very well. A bit jumpy, but it's no more than I expected.


He was a popular draw at the programs, and he stopped everyone in their tracks when he screamed.

He was also very interested in Curly, a black vulture belonging to the Hamilton County Parks:

Most of the time, they were at the absolute ends of their tethers, attempting to get closer. I frankly don't know what would happen if the two were allowed to meet, but it probably wouldn't be pretty. I think Curly, being an inquisitive vulture, most likely would just like to investigate. Storm on the other hand, would probably have beaten the crap out of him.

Steel, our male American Kestrel, was very good. Scary good...he's usually so spazzy, I have to put him back in his carrier for breaks, but not today.

It's a shame really, how people will say, "Oh, how cute" to the little birds like the kestrel and screech owls, then move on immediately to the bigger birds. Kestrels are interesting, man!

Lucy, my lovely, did great as usual. I fed her while she was perched out (Sundays are a fasting day for our birds, so when Monday comes around, they are ready to eat!) and she sucked it down quick.
A day-old chick was the fare today. Day-old chicks still have a yolk sac in their abdomens, and when Lucy bit into it, the yolk went everywhere! It was so gross and so fun!

She was so ready to eat, she even swallowed the feet:

There they go!

Remember Rufous (our red screech owl) and his yearly Ugly-Molt?
Well, the Park's SO was feeling it too.
Want to see an owl's ear opening?


The ear is teardrop-shaped, and usually hidden under thick feathers. Man, I'm so glad I am not a screech owl. Losing my locks every summer? No thanks.

A photographer and videographer from the Cincinnati Enquirer were there to gather some news. They took pictures and video of Storm screaming. I hope they put it on their website...it will be throwing old ladies from their chairs across the region!

(Photo by Malinda Hartong)

I need to get some more water.

Hello. My name is...

"Storm"

(Like my shirt? Got it at Target.)

It came down to two names:
Storm and Valentino (good one, Lynne!) Cindy liked Storm because it's easy to say and it fits this bird. Valentino, while a really good name, would be hard to explain to small children. (The "Latin Lover" and all that...and St. Valentine doesn't fit this guy at all. He's a fighter, not a lover...hee hee)
So Storm it is. Thanks to all of you who voted....and Dave? Maybe for the NEXT bird, we will consider that name. : )

The other names we will revisit for the next bird. Cindy liked my suggestion of "Steel" for the male kestrel...because male AK's have steel gray wings....and when I thought of "steel", I thought of AK Steel, a nearby steel plant. See? AK? American Kestrel? Steel?
We have a female kestrel, soon to be a program bird. She was our "foster mom" until this year, when she decided that she didn't want to raise any more babies. We shall see how her personality is....probably snippy, just like the male!

Program birds I would love to work with:
1. A Northern Saw-Whet Owl. A huge amount of adorable-ness in a teeny package.
2. A Great Gray Owl. Holy cow. A bird that is almost half as tall as me? Suh-WEET!
3. A Merlin. Because most people in the public have never seen one.
4. A Turkey Vulture who actually likes me.
5. A Bald Eagle. That one is self-explanatory. But I would have to hit the weights hard...'cause they weigh 10 pounds or more. Eeep.
6. A Harpy Eagle. Just kidding. Holding one of those would make me pee my pants.

Name That Owl!

The permit holder at RAPTOR is the decider when it comes to naming the birds. Cindy and I talked about some possible names for Mr. Barn Owl. As I mentioned previously, "No-No" has a negative connotation, and we want a name that is positive and that also has meaning for this particular bird. I asked if I could put this out on the ol' blog. So, loyal readers: Let us know if there is a name on this post you really like. Or come up with your own. Cindy will be the final vote.

Quirks/behaviors of this bird:
1. Really, really loud screaming.
2. Gorgeous.
3. Very, very curious about his surroundings, constantly checking out everything.
4. Barn owls are a world-wide species, with many myths and legends about them.
5. This bird is uber-feisty. To take him from the mew, I just put my hand down to him, and he attacks my hand with his feet and I pick up his jesses and we are on our way (one of the easier birds to take in hand). And, when he is put in a carrier, he doesn't just step back onto the perch....he attacks that, too!


I was a big-time Greek Geek in my younger days, so I started brainstorming all the Greek heroes I could remember with any connection to the bird's attributes: (Too bad he's not a female...Athena is a great name for an owl)


Pericles (A magnificent orator with a reputation for scrupulous honesty)

Orion (The Hunter)

Orpheus (Son of Apollo, whose song was so mellifluous it brought inanimate objects to life.
Well, the barn owl can make a whole roomful of children jump about 5 feet out of their skin)

Hermes (God of flight, travelers and commerce. Messenger of the gods)

Euros (God of the east wind...the barn owl was from a county east of Cincinnati)

Ares (God of war...and the barn owl was one of his sacred birds!)

Other names we threw around:
Adam (from the county he was rescued in)
Titus (Get it? Tyto......Titus? And it also sounds macho)

I checked good old Owl Pages and others, and found this:
In British folklore, a screeching Barn Owl is believed to predict that a storm or cold weather was imminent. During a storm, if a Barn Owl was heard, it indicated that the storm was nearly over.
Storm? That's a cool name, too. He's definitely loud enough.
And you lurkers out there? Now's the time to let your voice be heard! I get a lot more hits on this blog than the handful of comments I see. Come on! Let me hear you!


"Whatever you decide to name me, I won't like it and I will NOT come when called."

There's a first time for everything

Today was the barn owl's first program. I was scheduled for a presentation at the Cincinnati Museum Center (they do a "Harry Potter" camp every summer...owls, owls, owls) and it was a perfect opportunity to try him out. A small room, mostly-behaved children.
I am happy to announce that he was great. Awesome. Better than I expected.

I asked one of the counselors to take a few photos for me. But she failed miserably.

When I brought the owls back, I set up the camera to catch the action I knew was coming. You see, the barn owl doesn't like the "second glove", i.e. the glove that sometimes is worn on the other hand, especially if the bird is a bitey-sort. Which the barn owl is. He was in rehab for months as our rehabbers tried to save his wing. They were always coming at him with both gloves on, and you can imagine that he is not a happy camper when he sees two gloves.
Anyway, I use two gloves to handle him because, while he usually holds back on the actual bite, he has landed a few.

As I wound the tether up on my left hand, he was watching my right hand like a...hawk.
And screaming.





Another first today was a new caterpillar for our yard. There's something to be said for not yanking up every single Queen Anne's Lace plant.


Credit goes to Isabelle for this find. She saw this little spiky guy and called me over. Then, I saw another one on a nearby plant (turns out that these are the same species, just different instars.


Black swallowtail caterpillars! This one is even showing us his osmeterium! He actually looks mad, doesn't he?

What a weekend!

I have lots of photos, so if you are still one of those poor dopes with dial-up, go get a massage or a few beers and wait.


Da da dum dum, da da dum..............
Ready?

THURSDAY:
Isabelle graduated from Kindergarten. I cried. A lot.

(photo by Swami)

FRIDAY:
Caught some teeny hummingbird tongue action.







Powder thought my nice Longaberger bread basket would do for a bed.

Makes her look like she forgot her body somewhere.


SATURDAY:
I took the bird-sicles that Kathi gave me, to RAPTOR. I thawed out a starling and gave it to Lucy.


I left her alone, and by the time I came back to put her back she had de-headed it.

I did some glove training with No-No:

I could look at him all day. What a mixture of textures...pure white, copper, chevrons of dark grays...and let's not forget those big liquid eyes....Ooooooo.

Our first yard bird babies of 2008 showed up to learn how to use the feeders.
House finches:

Why is it that the last of the baby feathers are ALWAYS on top of their heads, like bad haircuts?

"Dad? Dad? Dad? Daaaaaaaaad? Daaaaaaaaaaad?"


This one hovered awkwardly for about 10 seconds trying to get back up to the feeders.

SUNDAY:
Picnic at Germantown Metropark.
My first kingfisher nest, on a cliff above the dam backwater:

Carrying a fish back to the babies!

This sign is by the fence above the backwater, just for those dummies who would think that a swim in an active backwater would be a great idea. I asked the girls to stand in front of it with frowns on their faces, and Lorelei, without any prompting, struck this pose:

Yep, that's my kid.


We took a nature walk and found a red-backed salamander:

Look, Nina! A Sally-mander!

I started turning over buckeye leaves and found a little blue caterpillar:

What kind of caterpillar uses buckeye for a host plant? Anyone know?

And a life dragonfly:

A Carolina Saddlebags. A goofy name for a spectacular dragonfly.

I didn't even include all the gardening I did in the past few days. I am typing with most of my fingers wrapped in Band-Aids. I will have to save all that excitement for the next post.

A big No-no!

Hooper didn't run away today. That made it a good day.

He crosses his legs like a lady.
And he sings. Since there's some husky or malamute in there, he doesn't bark. He yodels...especially when we all howl at him. "Aaaaa-wooo-wooo!"

But the poor guy doesn't get any love, really. We really don't care about him.

No hugs, no affections.

The kids can't even stand him. Poor neglected puppy.


(This is what happens when you try to get a macro shot of his eyes)

I talked to Shannon about any Hooper specs I needed to know. His age three years ago when she first got him was calculated at 6 to 8 years. That makes him 9 to 12. It was hard to tell his exact age because he apparently used to chew rocks and his teeth are a bit worn. No wonder he walks a bit creaky...he's a senior citizen.

I had a program at a local, eco-friendly pre-school summer program, and they were so impressed and thrilled with my visit, they scheduled me for next summer right on the spot. You can imagine that made me feel good. On the way back, I saw this license plate:

It probably stands for "Black Satin", but I read "Black Satan". Or it could be "Block Satan"... or "Blink Saturn"......



Okay. I have kept this a secret long enough. We have a barn owl at RAPTOR. He was injured while hung up on a gutter or downspout or something. A large amount of skin was sheared off, and it's been difficult to get it to heal. One of our vets suggested amputation, but we aren't ready to give up on him yet. But it is looking like he will be a program bird, even if he gets to keep his wing. I have never wished a bird NOT to be released, but I can't pretend that I
would not happy to have him for programs. Most people have never even seen a barn owl, and they are not doing so well throughout their range, which is extensive. Birds of Ohio states that there are maybe 50 nesting pairs in Ohio, though there are probably more than we realize. Still, an uncommon bird.
*Susan does the Snoopy dance*

His unofficial name is "No-No". Barn owls when they are young have a damn cute thing that they do when they are threatened. They spread their wings, lower their head
and shake it, like they are saying, "no, no, no..."
When I dropped off my birds today, one of our volunteers was on her way down to do some stuff with him, so I had to get one picture, just through the cage door:

That's just a damn cute bird.