Whooping Crane migration

For the current status, check here .

Saturday morning brunch

Carlos Avery sunset

Now that deer hunting is over, I felt safe returning to Carlos Avery . However, this was the only shot I brought back that, in my opinion, deserved posting.

few birds?

What do you do when you can't find birds to shoot? 

Find squirrels.

Besides -- they're Aww! CUTE!

This one, with the dark, almost black, coat was interesting. The ears looked sort of bat-like!
Did you know that the black squirrel is a symbol of Kent State University?

Downy

Other than the feeder birds & Kira, this Downy Woodpecker was the only bird in the "wild" I saw at Wargo.

Ghost Bird -- the movie

Check out the trailer for this movie about the Ivory-bill.
Thanks to John Trapp .

back to Wargo Nature Center

I hadn't been to Wargo Nature Center since late summer -- it was time to return.

The lake is totally covered with ice. Only the usual feeder birds frequent the several stations near the Center's headquarters. 

So, I spent some time with Kira.

Kira is a beautiful female Red-tailed Hawk. 

Although born free, her right wing was severely injured in 2001, limiting her flight and ability to survive in the wild. She lived four years at the Iowa State Wildlife Clinic ; since 2005 she has been at Wargo entertaining visitors.

She lives in a fair-sized cage and is able to flutter from one perch to another. Be sure to stop by for a chat if you visit Wargo.

the rest from Monticello

The neighbor's dog was helping me watch the ducks.

still more from Monticello

Bombs away!!

where the owls are

Thanks to Mike Hendrickson :
Great Grays & Snowy & Northern Hawk 

more from Monticello

you can read about the scarecrow in yesterday's post

but he didn't scare the ducks (they were imitating him)

although none of the swans landed

they're not that attractive head-on
more from Monticello will follow

what I found - and didn't find - at Monticello

Between the tree trunks you can see one of the two scarecrows placed in the river to discourage swans from landing.
The above pictures were taken with my iPhone camera; of course, it isn't a DSLR, but I'm rather pleased with the results from this cell phone camera.

Monticello swans?

With a clear sky and temps to hit over 40, I thought this would be a good day to check out the swans at Monticello. I did look at the chamber of commerce web site to see if there was anything new - nada!
Arriving at sunrise, about 7:30a, I noted a strange quiet -- walking toward the river I discovered no swans, but only about 100-150 mallards. A fellow from the neighborhood pointed out the above sign to me and gave me a brief explanation. Sheila Lawrence, who has been feeding the birds for over 10 years, started thinking about who is going to continue the effort when she is gone. Also, she underwrites about $10,000 of the cost each year. (About $4000 comes in from donations.) Consequently, in order to encourage migration by the swans, she has postponed feeding until January 1.
You won't find the explanation by going to the site on the sign; I never did find the press release, but located this from the council minutes (click here ).
I'm emailing the chamber and asking them to place a notice on their site that feeding will not start until January 1 and to consider funding this tourist attraction.
A number of swans did fly by while I was there and I will be posting pictures later.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

... and Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be our national bird!

Crex Eagle

eagles & lead

see the StarTrib article about the effect of lead bullets used by hunters

another Crex eagle

close-ups to follow

2009 Sax Zim Bog Winter Bird Festival

It's not too early to start planning. Read Mike Henderson's blog and the Festival's web site .

sunflower seed prices

According to prices posted by the National Sunflower Association, sunflower seeds should be nearly 50% less that what they were in September. I haven't seen any decline in prices, have you?
Granted, this is in a different scenario than the retail prices through bird stores, but shouldn't there have been some decline? 
Thanks for the link, James!