Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 16, 2008 19:37:44 GMT -5
Howdy folks, Yesterday was one of our days to go out and do a raptor presentation. This one was called the traveling talons show or Rapture for Raptors. *L* (A post Valentines Day show for bird lovers) and was at a recreation center in Ventura, CA. A television crew was supposed to film us but didn't show so these are just a few pics taken by Brett Ziegler, an excellent young photographer/reporter for the Ventura Star , our main local paper. Really pretty shots of some of our birds so I thought you might enjoy having a look at them....Mel Rosie and I having a good time talking to the crowd. She loves to show off. Rosie the Red Tail giving her best " I'm a mean birdie" look. Horus the Peregrine Falcon. Birdie nobility for sure! *L* Or maybe Elvis reincarnated as a bird. Little Lucy the Western Screech Owl. As you can see, her handicap is messed up eyes where a larger raptor tried to pluck her from the nest by the eyes and punctured both pupils. She can see well enough to bite real hard but not well enough to be releasable. And finally, Dakota our older Great Horned Owl. Her cage mate, Luna was supposed to do the show but when I caught her I found she had pulled out one of her jesses leaving a foot free which she promptly used to drive a talon through my gauntlet and into the back of my hand, a very uncomfortable experience. So, Dakota got to go instead. She's not the alpha bird and despite her savage looks, is quite sweet for being four pounds of savage predator.
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karenfh
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2006
Posts: 1,495
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Post by karenfh on Feb 16, 2008 20:15:36 GMT -5
Once again, you have made my day, with amazing pix. You are an inspiration for all of us! Thanks! Karen
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Post by docone31 on Feb 16, 2008 20:47:44 GMT -5
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, It takes someone special to handle those birds. I am glad I am privileged to see them. They are beauty in a small package.
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Post by Cher on Feb 16, 2008 20:51:19 GMT -5
Awesome pics Mel, thanks for sharing them.
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MidNight~Rocksi3
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2008
Posts: 1,716
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Post by MidNight~Rocksi3 on Feb 16, 2008 21:09:10 GMT -5
OMG THOSE BIRDS ROCK!!! You really do have the life right there Mel...Rosie is beauuuutiful! and Elvis? LOL I love his feet how bright and cool is that! And my dad would love those owls.. too bad about that ones vision that's sad.. glad they are in good hands tho.. Great pics Mel.. That was Fun to read and love to hear more!
*smiles*
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Post by akansan on Feb 16, 2008 21:26:12 GMT -5
Rosie's beautiful. She's a lot more red in the chest than the ones I see around here and "know" as red-tailed hawks - you know, the ones that perch every mile or so on the fence posts. The photographer did an excellent job on those pics.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 16, 2008 21:53:35 GMT -5
Thanks for the comments folks. I do love to show off our birdie ambassadors!
Akansan: Red Tailed hawks have more color varieties ( called morphs) than most other hawks. Here out west we have ones that range from almost black to almost white like the "pale male" in New York City. We kind of lucked out naming Rosie because she was a brown flecked young of the year when I started her training and funny enough, she grew into the exact color morph to match her name, a beautiful redhead *S*....mel
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mike4bears
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 275
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Post by mike4bears on Feb 16, 2008 21:55:29 GMT -5
love those bird. thanks so much for your time in working with them. and helping them. mike
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desertdweller
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since August 2006
Posts: 1,803
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Post by desertdweller on Feb 16, 2008 22:16:02 GMT -5
Right on Mel, mind if I add some bald eagle pics to your thread? The peregrine falcon is the fastest bird, right? I have read that they can dive for their prey at up to 200 mph, thats a race car bird.
BTW, We caught another gopher, that makes 5 total so far. Yippeeee
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 16, 2008 23:42:33 GMT -5
Jamie, I'd love to see your eagle pics! Peregrines when diving on prey, have actually been recorded at close to 250 mph. A relaxed cruising speed is about 60-70 mph.They dive so fast they have special eyelids to protect the eyes and special plugs in their nostrils to prevent wind from forcing it's way into them. They also strike prey on one wing with closed talons like a boxer, then they flip and catch the tumbling birds with those long toes and hooked talons. Their feet are huge for their size! Fastest creature on the planet that's not in a plane or race car *S*. Great to hear you're chipping away at those darn gophers. You'll find your trapping skills increase with practice...Mel
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Rockygibraltar
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,404
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Post by Rockygibraltar on Feb 17, 2008 1:53:34 GMT -5
These are fantastic photos. Beautiful birds.
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Post by Woodyrock on Feb 17, 2008 3:25:28 GMT -5
Wonderful to see these birds close up! This last Thursday whilst rockhounding near Mount St Helens, Washington, we came across ten Bald Eagles both on the ground, and in the the nearby trees, with a single Golden with them feeding on the carcase of an elk that some ((&*%$ had shot for the rack. I was able to approach within twenty or so feet of the Golden Eagle without causing him (it) to move. I have only been able to really identify a Golden this one time. We have a Barred owl on our own property that we frequently see from our hot tub at night. The backyard spotlight does not seem to bother the owl at all since we usually notice it on the lawn. We used to have a number of Screech Owls, but last year a development was put in near us, and now we no longer hear them. We thought of re-identifying our Barred into a Spotted to stop the development. I wee bit selfish, but for twenty five years we had no neighbors within sight....I preffered the birds.
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,787
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Post by adrian65 on Feb 17, 2008 7:43:12 GMT -5
Thank you for the beautifull pictures, they look like those from National Georaphic. Poor little Lucy, she seems to be so helpless!
Adrian
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 17, 2008 10:49:10 GMT -5
adrian: Actually Lucy does very well. She can find her food just fine and leads quite a pampered life.
Woody: Your comment about the elk carcass is interesting and brings to mind a problem that is becoming more and more acute all the time. Steadily larger numbers of our Eagles, Condors and Vultures are coming in with lead poisoning due to feeding activity on left over game animal carcasses. We're asking all hunters to please bury their gut piles and please track down their dying wounded prey. A single ingested piece of lead no larger than a piece of shotgun shot can and does kill eagles all the time and it's a long slow cruel death too. It is reversible if we get the bird in time but usually we don't get them till they've been down and starving for awhile and are too far gone to save. We lost a beautiful Golden eagle just the other day and that's sad because this sort of injury is preventable if hunters would just police up their kills....Mel
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2009
Posts: 1,900
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Post by SteveHolmes on Feb 17, 2008 10:54:40 GMT -5
Great pics Mel! That is really neat that you can be involved with these magnificent birds. The facts about the Peregrine are amazing. That is one beautiful bird...and it looks like a King of Kings! Steve
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Post by Tweetiepy on Feb 18, 2008 12:06:49 GMT -5
I love owls, the snowy owl being my very favorite - I know you wear gloves to protect your hands, but don't the talons go through those anyways? and can you feel the pressure from their grip?
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 18, 2008 12:38:53 GMT -5
Tweet: Yep, depending on the type of bird, the gauntlet provides only marginal protection. One of the reasons we work with the birds a lot is to get them used to sitting easy on the hand without serious footing ( naughty use of the talons *L*) Great Horned Owl talons go through anything but an eagle gauntlet with ease as Luna did the morning of this show. For eagles we wear a huge gauntlet that extends clear to the shoulder because they have a long reach and are heavy biters but even then I've heard tales of a savage footing breaking a handlers forearm. Raptors can exert terrific pressure! Rosie plays a game sometimes we call "kill the finger" where she attacks your finger if you move it in the glove. She only weighs a bit under four pounds but the game can be really unpleasant *L* It's also extremely important to watch your hand position as, if you drop your hand due to fatigue, the bird wants to climb to a higher position and they move fast. Last thing a handler wants is for a big bird to run off the glove onto the unprotected portion of the arm. If that happens, it's hard not to flinch at the pain and when you flinch, the bird thinks it's being dropped and really locks those talons in. The only choice then is to grin and bear it till the bird decides to release the grip because you can't pry them off. This happens a lot with the big birds and new trainee handlers because holding a big bird up for any period of time is difficult. We all have our scars and it's sort of an initiation to go to a meeting a have everyone show their latest wound *L* We are a goofy bunch!....Mel
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Post by MrP on Feb 18, 2008 20:17:49 GMT -5
The Red Tail is a Beautiful bird. We have some around here And I love to see them........MrP
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Post by Condor on Feb 19, 2008 8:51:53 GMT -5
Thank you for sharing those pictures. As rockhounds, I think I can speak for most when I say that most of us are also nature lovers. Those pictures show why.
Condor
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Post by Titania on Feb 19, 2008 11:39:52 GMT -5
Great pictures, Mel...thanks again so much for sharing these gorgeous birds with us. Horus is my favorite of this bunch...what a regal looking guy.
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