Grown-Ups Are Artists Too

We held our second workshop for adults yesterday at the Missoula Art Museum, Birds And Art for Grown-Ups. Instructor Bev Glueckert and I have held classes for kids for about 15 years, and parents complained that they were left out. Sibley, Alisa, and Miles Davis were our models and we were honored to have a special guest from the Plein Air Painters, Mike Untiedt from Denver. He filled us in a bit about being an artist as a profession, and did some sketches of Alisa. He admitted that it would be nice to not have the pressure of making sales, no surprise. I guess that's me, with all of my metal sculptures in the yard and house, and none for sale! I covet A Michael Untiedt original, that's for sure. And, these workshops for adults will be on the schedule twice a year, so keep in touch.

En Plein Air With Dana Gallery

What does that mean, en plein air? It is painters from around the region landing here this morning at 8 am and spending the day painting our birds in the out-of-doors on perches in the yard and in their enclosures. This was a brainstorm three years ago after I ran into several folks with French easels set up at our local fishing access painting landscapes in Florence. I asked what they were doing and they were proud to say that they were with the Dana Gallery in Missoula. One gal came over here because she needed more painting panels which I could supply rather trying to get to an art store. As she pulled up, Chesty the Harris's Hawk was perched on the power pole in the driveway, and she exclaimed, "What IS this place?! Does he live here?" pointing at the bird. So we got this idea to do a workshop here, and Candice and Dudley from Dana had 9 painters, 5 writers, the Missoulian and Independent newspapers and 2 videographers here today. The photo is of Mike Untiedt of Denver, CO in with the eagles, and all of the paintings will be displayed at Dana Gallery for a month, but I'm buying this one so hands off! Check the video by Matt Riley at the Missoulian:

Video called Raptors En Plein Air

GUTS Girls Back Again

We were so happy to again host a visit from the GUTS Girls, or Girls Using Their Strengths. They informed me right away that if we had boys over instead it would be called BUTS and not very flattering. The day began with a visit to the pigeon loft, and ended with a discussion of why all of the eggs laid by our falcons, hawks and owls this spring won't hatch. Wish you could have been here for my explanations to this wonderful group of ten year olds.

Osprey Cam Is Up LIVE

Heiko Langner has spent hundreds of hours working out the glitches and has gotten the feed from the Osprey Cam live on his web site! Learn more about Project Osprey, check out the chicks, see their growth and feeding since the camera was installed, and great work, Heiko!

Just click on the link below the main photo called "Live peek into the nest." The babies are getting banded today!

http://www.umt.edu/geosciences/faculty/langner/EBL/Osprey/index.htm

Riverside Osprey Cam

We were happy to help out with Project Osprey when they put a digital video camera in the nest at Riverside Health Care on the Clark Fork River in Missoula last month. Project heads, Heiko Langner and Erick Greene at the University of Montana have been monitoring Ospreys in the area for four years, banding babies and taking blood and feather samples to check for toxins. They wondered what types of fish were being consumed, and thought about using a camera to see. Heiko came up with this impressive set-up, installed thanks to NorthWestern Energy (you can see us up in the bucket truck in the shadow in the grass.) Powered by the solar panel attached to the pole, Heiko calibrates his computer below, U of M Grizzly stadium in the background. NW Energy erected this platform at our urging in April of 2007, and only had an Osprey pair last year. We knew that the residents at Riverside Health Care would enjoy watching these "Fish Hawks" from their patio, often crowded with bird lovers, this year rooting for two babies and parents.

She's Back

Deja showed up this evening as I was returning from town. Three birds and I were on a live NPR radio show, the Pea Green Boat children's programming, which is broadcasted all over the state and on the web too. Dej was standing on her building, a big wound on her face as she must have had an interesting night out. She is now enjoying a meal and bath in her building. Whew.

Advice From the Man

Rob Palmer and I were swapping book photos yesterday, and I realized we needed a Harris's Hawk portrait. Deja was our subject, on a perch in the yard at high noon, and I sent an image to Rob. Right away he was on the phone telling me NEVER shoot birds in that harsh sun and light conditions. So 6:45 am this morning we tried again and got this shot. It's a keeper. However, right after this photograph, our hawk flew down to the river and I have a feeling she'll be out for a while. She flies around the yard every day, year 'round, and occasionally decides to go exploring on her own. Last year she came back after 2 months of eating Columbian Ground Squirrels at the end of our street, home when they estivated or disappeared underground in the extreme heat. Stay tuned.

Hey, I've Seen That Photo Somewhere

The latest Flyer from the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators just arrived, and I thought that shot looked familiar! I'm getting some mileage out of that image. I've been working non-stop (practically) on the new book with Rob Palmer and Nick Dunlop, nearly 400 photographs so far and few guests, to be announced. This is so much fun!

Hurricane Florence

Even growing up in the Midwest and tornado-land, I have never seen a storm like Tuesday night! The ominous black clouds appeared over the Bitterroots to the west at dusk, bringing a wallop of a show for nearly an hour. Tom and I watched from the driveway, then retreated to the dark house as the power was out. Literally thousands of lightning bolts in every direction and winds up to 100 mph, reported from a friend's home weather station. Florence was Ground Zero, and it whirled around the Raptor Ranch, sounding like the old cliche of a jet engine. No, louder. Luckily the buildings withstood the onslaught of wind, rain and lightning, and Max the eagle was restored to his high perch by flashlight, soaking wet and looking very bedraggled. Our backyard and street didn't fare so well, and these trees were sawed out of the middle of the road at 2:30 am by the rural fire department (thanks guys!), only to spring back up into place by the weight of the root wads. Nice trick. Thanks also to Northwestern Energy for restoring our power, a quiet day with no computer and stereo. The storm was a microburst, and no more, thank-you.

Sandhills Cranes in the Front Yard

A snapshot 'o the day, when parent birds were escorting their two youngsters around the property here in Florence hunting bugs. Unfortunately, my sneaking up on the family only resulted in the dad photograph, as female and kids were hiding expertly. I left them all alone after a short time and hope to see them again.

The Smallest Avian Resident

This Black-chinned Hummingbird has been buzzing the backyard for a month now, and I got this shot while standing on a ladder, Nikon at the ready. Shutter speed was 4000th of a second, and looks great blown up big if you want a print, and on our photography web site: http://www.raptorsoftherockies.com/

Wild Shot Filmmakers

Ron Scholl and I have been helping kids make films for years, starting back with the International Wildlife Film Festival workshops at the old Raptor Ranch in Clinton in the '90's. One of the first projects won an award at IWFF that year, a cool documentary about our Great Horned Owls complete with narration in a BBC-type British accent. "They eat everything...raw." Today it was with MCAT (Missoula Community Access Television) and seven youngsters shot the footage for four films, to be broadcasted for the big debut Friday night. The students filmed an eagle movie, and one on falconry birds (Ron, kids, and Sibley eating a quail pictured here.) Popular were the owls, especially the little guys, and I even had to pretend that the circus was in town, don't ask me why, and we'll see when the movie is complete. At the end we let Chesty the Harris's Hawk fly around the yard, video cameras blazing, but she wouldn't do her trick of catching tidbits thrown into the air. We found that she had two eggs back in her building and was perhaps distracted. When I asked a young filmmaker if I should pull the eggs, he said, "No, let her have some fun with those for a while more." Perfect answer and day!

Blackfoot Aerobatics

Jay Sumner and I spent the day on the Blackfoot River and shot several hundred images of Peregrines going about their business of raising young. We watched a few flights at emerging aquatic insect stoneflies right away, but couldn't get a good shot. Instead, every time we had a food delivery or exchange, the sound of camera shutters was deafening. Here, the female flies upside down to try to take a plucked bird from her mate. A closer look at the sequence shows that it looks like he wanted it back after he handed it over, with a quick chase to the nest ledge.

Even a Hesperornis

Our week at the Art Museum resulted in a variety of birds to decorate bedrooms, and one that will be a surprise Father's Day gift. Yesterday, the paper mache sculptures were decorated with paint and feathers, pipe cleaner feet and beaks, googley-eyes installed. My new friend Allan (age 8) made our first ever extinct flightless diving bird, a Hesperornis. We also had a family of Saw-whet Owls and lots of Sibley the Peregrines and Miles the Great Horned Owls. A perfect group of youngsters that promised to keep in touch and have a great summer. And get jobs to support their parents. Unfortunately our post-workshop trip to look at Peregrines was cancelled due to rain, or postponed actually. We'll wait for better weather.