Hi Jewill :hello:

So sorry I'm late and worst of all I'm in bad shape and can't type much!! So in short I can't imagine missing a chance to do a release! and secondly I also can't imagine calling the people who shot a wee owl "hunters", a few other names come to mind though, none of which I can put here. Just to pipe in, I love Debs idea of Hunter, I think that's great and I like Winchester too but not if it gets shortened.

Maybe when I can move without screaming I'll add more here. Good luck with your coming weather and ohhhhhh I sure hope you get to release Horton and I'll see if any names strike my thoughts and add that too if it does. Button is adorable!

(can you tell them to cash my last cheque please?)

Oh Lori...I really hope you feel better soon. At the very least I will be talking to OWL tomorrow morning 'cause if I don't go in I have to let them know I'm OK and not upside down in some ditch, so I'll mention your cheque.
The snow has just started falling here in Surrey and 1 weather report says it's supposed to turn to rain by 3 am and another says not until after noon, so I'll make a decision in the morning as to whether or not to attempt to drive in it. If not then Rob will just have to manage without me; I don't know how he'll do it though :p.
OK, everyone who lives East of here can stop laughing now. I fully admit that I am hopeless when it comes to driving in snow. I love to look at it on the mountains but hate it when it accumulates in the city.

Oh my, oh my...I just got back from taking the dog over to the park and that's as far as I'm going today. There's about 8 inches of snow around here and the roads are a mess. There will probably be more in Delta and the biggest fear of all is attempting to go down 72nd Street which is the only way in to the OWL property. It rarely gets plowed and there are ditches on either side, so nope, I'm staying put today.
Please offer a little prayer for Goldie our Golden eagle. At last report she was going in for surgery on her badly infected foot this afternoon, but for all I know that may have been cancelled due to the snow. At any rate she will be getting the surgery sooner rather than later and she needs all of our best wishes.
I'm off to make myself another cup of tea and I'll be watching several of the cams today...cheers to all!


ETA: just took a look at the wide angle cam and while 72nd does appear to have been plowed the wind is just howling and it's an all around miserable day. So Rob, you're just going to have to do without me.

:hello:Good morning Judy.....a wise decision:nod: You're much safer where you are. At least Bev and Ralph don't have to go far

I just turned on the Sidney cams and the WA cam has shifted in the high winds last night; I posted a s'cap. Although we had snow last night it has almost all melted and there is no wind here in Victoria. However the wind is still howling out at Pat Bay

I will indeed keep Goldie in my thoughts and say a prayer for her; I hope they can do the surgery soon and she will recover with no permanent damage

Jewill,

I pop over from EA to read your reports also. Been with OWL ever since Bandit. I find all the stories and pictures so interesting. Thanks for everything.

Candy

Where to start? I made it to OWL today because the snow is long gone. It was the typical “wet” coast day – pouring rain, then clear, then sun, and then pouring rain again, then sun!
First of all, Goldie is OK. She survived her surgery but I’m told she was looped on the anaesthesia for a long time probably because she’s an old bird so she doesn’t metabolize it as well. They cleaned out a lot of the infection and found that it had not spread to the tendons in her foot which is great news. When Rob changed her dressing today I got to look at it and while it is still swollen it looks so much better than before. She’s still not “cured” but things are definitely looking up for her.
Then there’s Horton…he’s been banded and is ready to go! He weighed 1795 grams at banding which is about as close to double as you can get (remember he came in at 900 grams). His keel (breastbone) is nice and round with muscle, he’s flying well and he’s got an attitude – all this in only 5 weeks. The only thing left is to “live” test him on a mouse and then it’s back to Hope he’ll go. I’m still hoping to be the one to drive him up there and I’ll let you know as soon as I find out anything.
There has been quite a commotion lately around the Front Education area. An intruder has been hanging around for a couple of days and the resident birds are going nuts. I was looking after that section today and saw it on the roof of the Turkey Vultures cage eating something. When he saw me he took off and landed on a pole where he stayed for most of the day. During a tour I was doing another eagle swooped overhead (it could’ve been Ma Delta OWL) which caused yet another uproar. There’s not much we can do about it but I hope he moves on soon because he’s being very disruptive to the resident birds.
You can see how close he is to the Front Education area, almost as if he's taunting everyone there.


He stayed on the pole for most of the afternoon.


The Short-eared owl still has Winchester as a name so it appears that it's going to stick. She's doing really well and was out on a volunteers glove again today. She's going to be a valuable addition to the education program at OWL.
That's all I can think of..."hi" to all who visit here from EA.
How you doing Lori?

Hey Jewill! what great news about Goldie!! yahoooo I hope she heals up ok now. And more awesome news on Horton, oh man you better get to release him! Imagine the change in 5 short weeks huh? amazing stuff if you ask me.

Man that's a naughty intruder you have there and he does seem to be taunting staying that close all day. Who knows maybe that's exactly what he's doing. :lol:

Ohhh goodie I like Winchester and I hope nobody shortens it. That's so great that she's going to be a good addition and have some action in her life and be well cared for.

I'm not so good Jewill but thanks for asking. Less than a month to go now to see the surgeon so there's hope yet. See you Wednesday my friend and thanks for the great update and pics

:hello:Judy, its been the typical wet coast here in Victoria, but at least we don't have to shovel it

I'm happy to hear that Goldie is doing so well:nod: I hope her condition continues to improve. I know what you mean about being looped on anaesthesia; I've had it a few times Horton is a lucky owl to have been living at OWL and getting the food he needs to get better and gain some weight so he can be released. I'm still hoping for you that you will get the honours

The nerve of that cheeky intruder I hope it moves on soon; probably looking for a mate:nod:

Thanks for another great report