Back From Fort Collins, Colorado

What a perfect Raptor Research Foundation conference, the best since Scotland last year and Missoula in 2008 (!) and hosted by our friends at the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program. Three days of scientific papers concluded with our Raptors In Education Symposium. New and old friends galore, a turnout of 250 attendees from around the globe, representing 15 countries and Nebraska (a comment by Rick Harness, co-host who is from that state.) More news on the way, and I had to post this shot of our favorite photographer Rob Palmer, who displayed his fine art along with Nick Dunlop, "hawking" their images for all of us. Rob and I had a duck hunt with his Peregrine Sunday morning before I headed out on the plane, duck in Rob's game bag.

Think I'll Try Oil Painting

With a tiny break in the action, I decided to finally bust out the oil paints that I've had tucked away for years and give it a try. After the plein air painters were here in August, I was truly inspired, and encouraged by friend and painter extaordinaire, Janet McGahan. She and husband Jerry showed me around their studios, with tips and ideas. So I stuck Sib on her perch in the living room and made my first oil painting. I'm using canola oil and cleaning brushes outside, suggestions from the McGahans. My other mentors are Julie Chapman and of course, Bill Ohrmann. I've started a Golden Eagle, but it's still in the "ugly"

stage, and we don't need Max perched in the living room for this one.

I'll be at the Raptor Research Foundation Conference in Fort Collins, so back in a week with lots of stories and photos!

Shot 'O The Day

A big weekend of falconry and today a visit to the Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge down the road with my pal Sharon Fuller and Dad Steve to get this shot of a Belted Kingfisher. What a bird! The females wear the pants in this family.

Get Out Your Favorite Field Guide

This photo from yesterday and I kept thinking it looked familiar in some way. It was a young Red-tailed Hawk and I only wished it had been an adult and then it would be pretty close to the cover painting by David Sibley for his Field Guide to Birds. A must for everyone out there that loves avian life as much as we do. I have three copies, one in the office, one in the car, and one in the library. I made this in to new cards for Rockin' Rudy's in Missoula along with lots of photos, so check 'em out.

A Peregrine, This Time

Yesterday's flight of Sibley brought a young Peregrine from out of nowhere within minutes, up on a huge open hillside in the Sapphires. I got these shots of the interaction then realized I should be more concerned with my bird's safety. No problem as she just flew back to the Subaru and landed on the roof! This sport can be a bit unnerving at times.

Prairie Falcons are Persistent

I started flying Sibley the Peregrine last week, and so far in about half our trips to the Bitterroot and Sapphire Mountains we have been joined by Prairie Falcons. This shot was this morning after a little scrap between the two, equal in size but this fledgling Prairie was definitely in better shape. Sib was waiting on a fence post back at the car!

Farewell to a Friend

In a memorial filled with tears, humor, poetry and music, 400 plus friends and family of Byron Weber bid farewell to man who touched more lives than we will ever know. He tragically died of progressive lymphoma and was honored at the Florence Carlton School, where he taught from 1984 until his retirement this June. After the service, Sam Manno released 3000 ladybugs at an outdoor classroom named for Byron. We were friends for about twenty years, meeting through a mutual friend who introduced the "Bird Lady" to the "Bug Guy." He appeared every month on Montana Public Radio's Pea Green Boat children's' program, cigar boxes of pinned butterflies and jars of insects under one arm. He shared his zest and appreciation of the natural world with thousands of avid fans for over twenty years. We had been doing bird programs for his students, and the last time in his classroom I commented on his menagerie of insects in aquariums and jars, first and second graders in a big circle at our feet. Byron said, sure, but one of his favorite spiders had escaped, and took a few steps to stomp at something on the floor. I figured the kids would jump a foot, but apparently they had seen that routine before. Byron gave me a smile I'll never forget. He loved life, all life, and we all love him. He is very much missed.

6th Annual Sculpture Show

I have two pieces in the annual Sculpture Show at Caras Nursery in Missoula, including this Golden Retriever. Just kidding - it's the big Ring-necked Pheasant. The show runs through the month with an artists' reception and "Caras Bucks" this Saturday. Buy some plants and peruse the dozens of sculptures created by artists from the area. I am anxious to get back at the welding, which seems like a colder weather sport to me, and have started a giant Peregrine.

New Raptor Round-Up is Up

In the mail over the weekend and now on our web site, check out the latest issue with even more photos than ever before. I still send a few hundred of these out the old-fashioned way, and webmaster Steve Palmer always says, "How twentieth." In this issue we have the trip to Chicago, new Raptors of the West book, iPod the new Pygmy-Owl, Painting Workshop, Osprey web cam, Bill Ohrmann...so much more!

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

Have You Ever Seen So Many Grasshoppers?

This year seems especially bad, or good depending on your perspective. Birds are loving this near plague of grasshoppers, zillions jumping in waves as we walk through the grass. Even Sibley the falcon has been chasing them on foot in her building. A bunch of Eastern Kingbirds have been using the sculptures in the lawn to launch attacks, this one off the Great Horned Owl. We had our first frost here last night and before you know it, the insect smorgasbord will be gone. And then...falconry season!

What's the Ruckus?

First Chesty the Harris's Hawk started screaming, then she was joined by the falcons and finally barking dogs. So I grabbed my camera and got this photo just now of the front yard. That's One Horse Creek they're flying over, Prairie and Peregrine nests up there somewhere. It looks like that heron flying by wasn't at all alarmed.

Raptors of the West Completed

The new book is at Mountain Press Publishers, finished! Raptors of the West took a year longer than planned, but in that time our photographers got unbelievable images that wouldn't have made it had we been on time. Plus we have some guests appearing including BT Lubinski, Gerald Romanchuk, and Miguel Lasa. So the breakdown - 224 pages, 7 chapters, 43 species, and 430 photographs! That's how many captions I wrote, and just since the shoulder surgery last month. Rob Palmer has about 244 of those, Nick Dunlop nearly 100, including his image here of a Spotted Owl that will grace the back cover. I have 66, give or take. So editing now, and we are hoping that we can have it back from the printers in time for the holidays, but that might be pushing our luck. I'll let you know. Now, the Raptor Round-Up Newsletter as promised.

Japanese Visit

We hosted students from Japan, a return engagement for the English Language Institute at the University of Montana with Samantha on the left. We got to release some pigeons, had a tour of the ranch, a flight by Chesty the Harris's Hawk, and this photo by the Osprey sculpture, a species that also lives in Japan. We realized that half of the students were exactly the same age as Max the Golden Eagle (21) and the other half were born the year I started this program (1988.) We finished with a chant of "Go Griz!" just to get them ready for football season.

Another Rainy Night

For last night's trip to the beach behind the house, I got this snapshot when a Bald Eagle landed right across the river. I had just said one minute earlier, "Would't that tree look great with a bird perched in the limbs?" And voila, enter eagle. More rain storms and even a winter weather advisory!