Shhhhhh! Don't Tell Annie

We are on Montana Public Radio's Pea Green Boat this afternoon, and I am giving host and pal Annie Garde this framed photo as a present. It's a snapshot of Sibley a few weeks ago with the Rocky Mountain Front as a backdrop. The temperature hovered around zero and she protested by perching on a pole and pulling up a foot. Every year we give Annie a little gift, a few years ago the contents of a dissected owl pellet. The mouse bones were carefully glued into place on cardboard and labelled, ready for display. I thought she might scream to see a skeleton in the studio, but she loved it and it may still hang on her refrigerator door. Check it out, 4 pm today on KUFM in Missoula 89.1 and across the state on translator stations.

What Is Wrong With This Picture?

The answer is, a Southwest desert bird flying in the snow: Chesty the Harris's Hawk cruising the Raptor Ranch today. A frosty Bitterroot scene and more photos on the way.

Evidence of an Eclipse-Watcher:

1.) Bleary eyes from staying up all night. 2.) A stiff neck from looking straight up for hours 3.) This snapshot of the moon at about 1 :30 am. And even hand held, just braced on the fence in the backyard, kneeling in the snow. Well worth the effort.

Somebody Loves the Snow

Rudy the dog and Ansel the Gyrfalcon do, but probably not Tom who is currently shoveling. We received a reported 9 inches of the fluffy stuff in the last few days, very Christmasy indeed. Deja the Harris's Hawk was enjoying the snow for several days flying around the yard. She finally realized that it's a lot toastier under her red lamp in her building, returning just before dark last night.

Helena Gyrfalcon

I got this snapshot Thursday morning near the shores of Lake Helena, a miracle bird for me and only the second wild Gyrfalcon I have ever seen in my life. Jay and I were visiting Gregg Doney of Padre Island fame, at his rural home complete with a slough running behind. Sibley had gotten a mallard (with Rio the English Setter's help) and was chowing down when Jay and I were driving back to the house and a light bird flew by for a split second. Gregg had been telling us that a Gyrfalcon had been a winter resident the year before, so I had Gyrs on the brain. Sure enough, and I kept my finger on the camera shutter button as I approached to get this shot before he took off. What a day!

Shot 'O the Day

I was over at fellow rehabber and educator Judy Hoy's house today picking up much-needed mice and a Northern Goshawk flew into a row of trees in her front yard while we were chatting. I managed to sneak around and catch a few frames before he split. This is a male, young of the year, and I'll bet he figured out that the Hoys have a similar row of bird feeders in their back yard!

The Frigid Front

Jay and I paid another visit to our friend Skip Tubbs in Choteau, taking advantage of a break in programs and weather. Sibley is pictured here trying to figure out what happened to that pheasant she knocked into the cattails just before dark, with the Rocky Mountain Front in the backdrop. Yesterday she voted that 1 degree is just too cold to fly, and she kept landing and pulling up a foot. Jay's bird did much better getting high after it had warmed up to 5 degrees! My friend Mindy Palmer was driving in Missoula yesterday afternoon and wrote: "There's a green Subaru in front of me, and all of a sudden I see a Falcon's Head "pop up" out of the back seat! Caught me off guard until I realized it was our own Kate Davis, obviously on her way home after a presentation! Wanted to honk and wave, and thought better of it. Gotta love living in a small city!"

Raptor Round-Up 36: View it Here First!

I had hoped to have this printed and in the mail this week, but the big blizzard kept us at home, tending to birds all over the house. So check your mail next Tuesday or Wednesday for a copy for the coffee table. Better yet, see it here in color.

In This Issue: Padre Island Peregrine Project, new book update, Zortman Program, Raptor Research Foundation Symposium, Rough-legged Hawks, a farewell to dear friends, and much much more...

http://www.raptorsoftherockies.org/main.asp?id=newsletter

(Hey, we just plugged this last blog!)

Mother Nature Delivers as Promised

We thought it to be an idle threat, but yesterday's arctic blast/snow/wind was right on time. We currently have the Pygmy and Saw-whet Owls, Kestrel, Peregrine and Chesty the Harris's Hawk inside the house. That's along with two dogs, two cats, and us, a menagerie until it warms up. And another memorable event, Jay's Peregrine took off from the sloughs of West Mullan Road near Missoula the day before and spent the night out near my house of all places, 25 miles distant. First thing in the morning we were calling her down out of a tree and heard a man driving his kids to school shout, "Hey Kate! What are you doing?" Remember that Raptor Round-Up Newsletter from a few years ago where the little girl dressed as Kate Davis for Halloween? Jay's bird was in their yard! What are the chances? I remember that her brother went as Jacque Cousteau so an out-doorsey family. We had a tiny show-and-tell with the falcon, and the kids told their dad that it was a okay to be late to school, just this one time.

It's Newsletter # 26, page 6: http://www.raptorsoftherockies.org/main.asp?id=newsletter

Thousands Descend Upon the Bitterroot

On Wednesday night when I was out feeding the owls, I heard a huge flock of geese flying overhead in the dark, heading south. The sound seemed to go on and on and I finally went back inside. My friend Tad Lubinski also heard the ruckus, and was ready with his camera the next morning. It turns out that an estimated 8000 Snow Geese descended upon Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge in Stevensville, pushed into migration just ahead of the arctic cold front. What a scene, but it didn't last as the bulk of them pushed on that day. Winter has officially arrived, with snow, wind and dropping temperatures today. Our hawks are hunkerin' down, mice heated by the wood stove.

See Tad's web site: http://www.btlubinski.com/

Saint Joseph's Assembly

If you aren't already keyed in, tomorrow is the big football game rivalry of the season, U of M Grizzlies versus the MSU Bobcats of Bozeman. The kids at Saint Joseph's School in Missoula sure were, as we held an assembly for the students, rarin' to go in their Griz regalia. The 200-plus students had four of our raptors visit the school, and when asked, "What do raptors eat?" the resounding answer was "MEAT," to which I responded, "Yes, BOBCATS!" Remind me to never say that again, with a tumultuous response in the bleachers that went on and on... Our friend Rick Paris took this photo of the kids meeting Jillian the Great Horned Owl, a bird that was actually recovered by a teacher at St. Joe's five years earlier on Highway 93 in the Bitterroot after being hit by a car! What a coincidence and a happy reunion all these years later.

Rough-legs Are Back

On a quick overnight trip up north and program for Flathead Audubon in Kalispell, we were greeted along the way by myriads of Rough-legged Hawks. Migrating down from their arctic breeding territories, they seek wintering ground that reminds them of home: open-country grasslands and marshes. Years ago, Rough-legs near Ronan were found to share "communal roosts" with up to 250 individuals sleeping in one area. Research suggests that these serve as "information centers" allowing hawks to find food locally by following successful hunters. They often perch on these tiny limbs and twigs, impossible-looking perches for such big birds and a way to tell them from Red-tails, who prefer a more substantial substrate.

Montana Youth Challenge Academy

Thanks for the opportunity to speak to our new friends in Dillon, a program at the college for 75 cadets at the Challenge Academy. Jay and I tag-teamed with PowerPoints and Peregrines, discussing their biology, recovery and falconry. We stayed with Jack and Brenda Kirkley and hunted in the area, even getting lost on the way home and a white-knuckle drive on ice, high in the mountains over the Big Hole Valley. That will teach Jay to leave me in charge of reading the map!

Halloween Hunt

Jay Sumner and I were dressed as falconers yesterday for Halloween, and here Marlis the Peregrine is trying to spot a duck that she had stooped upon. It disappeared underwater in the slough, hiding in a ancient root wad up against the bank and breathing a sigh of relief. Sibley and Marlis flew a total of four hours, getting high on thermals and chasing game, but only one duck for dinner tonight. I remember John Craighead telling me ten years back, "If we relied on this sport to feed our families, we would have starved long ago."