WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2012

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2012

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

Nightowl - all so cute!

I figure you want a squirrel from our trip? Or a moose? OK, I hear you.....the moose!
carolyn

Three American Crows Released!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYevf5PBOkE

Three American Crows from Lindsay Wildlife Hospital passed their exit exams and were released on August 23. Because they are juveniles, it is important that they be released near an established group of Crows, where they will be accepted and taught how to survive. Nine more juveniles remain in the hospital, but they are not quite ready.

When they were very young, they needed to be hand fed. How sweet they were, their little beaks wide open while they begged for their meal. Looking forward to the release of the remaining nine. Perhaps it will be my privilege to release them, too.

Just in case you are wondering, they did fly in the general direction of a group of crows I heard in the distance.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

American Crows are familiar over much of the continent: large, intelligent, all-black birds with hoarse, cawing voices. They are common sights in treetops, fields, and roadsides, and in habitats ranging from open woods and empty beaches to town centers. They usually feed on the ground and eat almost anything -- typically earthworms, insects and other small animals, seeds, and fruit but also garbage, carrion, and chicks they rob from nests. Their flight style is unique, a patient, methodical flapping that is rarely broken up with glides.

American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos

SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2012

Hey Carolyn and beans!

Thanks for the photos Carolyn and beans, thanks for the video!

Even if squirrels are rodents, I think they're the cutest little thangs and so fun to watch. Carolyn, it looks like the one in your photo is about to get mischievious. There's a couple in the tree outside my patio doors that entertain the cats quite a bit. That's why I wanted the ground floor apartment with the tree there.

Ya know, I didn't realize how big a moose is until my parents went to Canada 25 years ago and brought back photos. (I requested they bring me back one,but they nixed that idea. ) Holy moly, those thangs are HUGE! I grew up thinking they were about the size of deer, cause Bullwinkle was.

Beans, that third crow didn't waste any time getting out of that box, did he? Until I was better educated, I always thought crows were a nuisance. I also didn't realize how smart they are! I hope you do get to release a few. That has to be such a great feeling returning a bird back into the wild.

A few years ago when the West Nile virus almost completely wiped them out here, I actually missed hearing them cawing and seeing the big ol' thangs in the yard. They're making a comeback but I still don't see them very often. Now when I hear one, it is such a thrill and I have to look around to see where it is.

I have a question for you. What is the difference between a crow and a raven?