I saw everything BUT a snowy owl

Well, I wasted about a zillion gallons of gas and a good portion of my sanity searching for that damn owl. And no dice.

I think I saw everything but the owl.

In the three hours I was driving and looking, I saw:

American kestrels (15)

Red-tailed hawks (10)

Cooper's hawks (2)

Great blue herons (2)

American crows (25)

Starlings (3000)

Pigs (50)

Sheep (30)

Cows (1,000,000)

Alpaca (10)

While investigating yet another white grocery bag in the distance, I realized there was a great blue heron right in front of me.
You'd think that a big white bird would be pretty noticeable in this kind of habitat...
A female kestrel


A few pics from yesterday, before my trek into the belly button of Ohio

A red-tailed hawk at a cemetery near the Oxbow

Our first towhee of the season
I love this one...

We don't get too many squirrels around the feeders, although there are numerous nests in our trees. I guess all my native planting and "judicious laziness" when it comes to cleaning up the edges of our property lets the squirrels get their fill without having to resort to our feeders. I caught this one is mid-hop.

At the Oxbow: A pied billed grebe. (Thanks, Julie!)

And a great blue heron at the Oxbow, tossing a fish around.

And we have two sleepover guests tonight: Lucy the Peregrine and also our great horned owl. The Boar's Head festival is running this weekend, and our former director did the performances today, and brought the birds to me so he wouldn't have to go all the way back to RAPTOR. And I get to be dressed up like a 14th century falconer tomorrow and parade down the center aisle of Christ cathedral with a bird on my arm. And you know I will have to share THOSE pics with you!

I wish I could have shown you some snowy owl pics, but the birding gods did not smile on me today. And neither did the parenting gods...oh, no! I better get the kids out of the trunk!

The middle of Ohio is where it's at

A fresh faced post from Circleville, Ohio. Hey, I am halfway to Whipple! Julie and Bill, come on down and we will jazz up Circleville's nightlife.

The middle of Ohio is a little creepy. I passed through lots of small towns on the way, and it looked like no one was home in any of the houses...like everyone is at a Klan meeting.
And not much to do out here. Well, maybe cow-tipping. Or snipe-hunting.

I drove 80 miles, and I think I made maybe four turns. ZZZZZZZZ.

"Oh, Birding gods, smile on me tomorrow, and bring this rare, beautiful owl within photo distance."
"Oh, Parenting gods, help me refrain from locking the kids in the trunk on the way home."

A SNOWY OWL IN OHIO?

I just read the sightings log at Cincinnati Birds, and there is a snowy owl near Circleville, Ohio.
Hmmm....do I risk driving with two crazy little girls for two hours to maybe see a snowy?

Two kids***two birding trips

Before my Mom brought Isabelle back today, I took Lorelei birding with me. I'm here to tell ya: Hanging out with one child when you are used to two is like a vacation. We had a blast today.

My little birder...at least today she was looking through the right end.
Geoff found a new nature preserve for me so Lorelei and I went to explore. Magrish Riverlands something-or-other. Lots of different habitat here: River, forest, prairie, pond and swamp.
Some pancake fungus for Pam.
Me and my shaaaaaaa-dow...
Not too many birds there today, but I bet it rocks during Fall and Spring migrations.

This is the swamp. Very cool. Can't wait to see it green.

After trading the girls with Mom (Isabelle came home, Lorelei went to sleep over at Mom's) I took Isabelle birding.

Lake Isabella is chock full of really old, awesome sycamores. This one reminds me of a star-nosed mole. Or a hand. Or an octopus.

Here's it's badge. Tree #1955. I would love to know how old it is. Anyone know if parks will let you look through its tree records?

I heard and saw a kinglet. This is a picture of where it had been. I'm not sure if it was a ruby or golden-crowned. Hard to ID a bird the size of a hummingbird in thick underbrush.

I also saw the first tree sparrow of the year. And yes, Julie...I KNOW this was a tree sparrow.
:)

Dropped off a kid, gained a lifer

Isabelle is having a sleep over with my Mom tonight, and on the way to drop her off, we stopped at the Oxbow. What is usually a paradise of water birds was oddly, weirdly silent today. One lone kingfisher, and one lone great blue heron...

I was ready to leave in disgust when I saw "ducks" far off, beyond a chained-off section of the road (most of the Oxbow is flooded right now, due to all of our Christmas rain).

As soon as I saw the profile, I knew they were Northern Shovelers. (check out that link...my photos are not great)

Long bill, with a sloping forehead, told me what they were. Life bird number 111.
And at Mom's later, her wild turkeys were out and about. We used to see 4 or 5 hens with 13 or so poults, but now, the poults that have survived are at adult size and the flock is at about 10.
Their favorite past time, it seems, is to take years off our lives by crossing the road in front of speeding cars.

There they are, in the distance, ready to scare the hell out of us.

Pretty blue truck: My brother's. And he got it on eBay for a steal...just had to fly to Pennsylvania, pick it up and drive it home. I want one.

This old gray mare just ain't what she used to be

I'm posting a bit late tonight, because I had to color my hair and wipe out the grays that want to peek out at my temples. Why is it that men look so distinguished with gray hair, and we just look tired?

I got my first gray hair when I was 22, and I seriously thought it was just due to stress, or just a quirky thing that would resolve itself. Young people are stupid.

Pictures from the past few days:

Our tree Christmas morning.

The girls were so cute when they came down at 7 am. Isabelle said, "My gosh! What's happening here?"

Christmas Eve at Swami's yurt. That's Rachel (sorta-maybe-a-sister-in-law-someday) with Roxy, Swami and Swamette's Shetland Sheepdog. Or maybe we should call her a Shetland Yakdog?
I couldn't get all of the presents in frame for this shot. Let's just say that my in-laws are very, very generous at Christmastime...and all year round, come to think of it.
I took the "long way" on Christmas Eve (Geoff and I took seperate cars so he could take the girls to visit their Great-great-great aunt Francis.
This is for Birdchick. She has mentioned to me that when she was still a Hoosier, she used to visit King's Island. A very cool place, and if you are ever in the area, come see me and we will go ride some rollercoasters. Sharon, next time you are in Ohio, we will go ride the Beast!

Birds don't have Christmas. I found this female house finch at my feeders. I noticed that as I approached to fill them, she didn't fly away. She is suffering from mycoplasmal conjunctivitis. I was even able to put my finger under her belly and she stepped up like a parrot. She is effectively blind. I placed her back on the feeder and wished her the best. And then I cleaned my feeders.

Before everyone yells at me for not taking her in and treating her: It is possible to treat conjunctivitis, but you have to be a licensed rehabber, and it is thought that treating birds with this disease with antibiotics may cause strains to become resistant and then we would really be in trouble.

If you notice birds at your feeders that have swollen or crusty eyes, consider joining the House Finch Eye Disease Survey at Cornell.

A Christmas to remember

I have alot of images to show you, and stories to tell.

But for now, I want to brag and gloat for a minute.

My in-laws, Swami and Swamette (Jim and Rita) are awesome. They presented me with this today:

My very own Julie Zickefoose painting.

They asked Julie if she had any raptors (hawks, owls, etc.) and told her to choose one for me. And this is what I got...a beautiful red-tailed hawk: perched and in flight. And a touching inscription:

"A Red tail for Susan, because your spirits seem to match. J Zickefoose Christmas '06"

I will now pause for you to give me a "HELL YEAH!".

It's not often my in-laws make me cry. But they did today. All I could say for quite a while was, "Th-an-an-ank you".

A final bit for now:

We noticed a definite "Yak" theme this year.

I searched for yak-related products, and one of the items I knew Jim had to have was a nice big chunk of yak cheese. From Tibet.

Kickin' off the holiday season

Our first of many Christmas parties with family this year. My Mom hosted as always, and the food, company and gifts were great. The girls MADE OUT LIKE BANDITS. My Mom loves to give gifts, and her precious little granddaughters can only have the best.

I only wish that these toys came with economy-sized ibuprofen. Isabelle received an electric

guitar and piano. Lorelei got a baby grand (pink!) piano. God help me.

My niece Heather, aka Ched. Story behind her nickname: Michael, her little brother, couldn't say "Heather" when he was a baby...it came out as "Hedder", which rythmed with "Cheddar" and then was shortened to "Ched". She is beautiful, smart, talented and a little sh*t. It's basically my attitude in a taller, smarter package. She's 5 foot 8, can dance, sing, she's on the cheerleading squad at her college, and she just made the Dean's list for this semester. Smarty-Pants.

That is my brother on the right. Yet again, here is another man who forcibly reminds me of my Dad. Ever heard the phrase, "The apple didn't fall far from the tree"? Well, in this case, the apple NEVER FELL OFF THE TREE. He is a clone of my Dad, just with more hair. He's the Great White Hunter of the family, drives a Dodge Ram 1500 Diesel (Susan is drooling...), can fix anything, and is one of those guys about which you say, "he's good people".

Geoff went out shopping AGAIN tonight. The man needs help.

I love him for wanting the girls to have a truly stellar Christmas, but we are on the border of OBSCENE.

Postscript:

M & M's have alot more caffeine in them than you think.

Isabelle and Lorelei loaded up on them before we left Mom's house. Lorelei, bless her heart, passed out before we could even hit the highway, but Isabelle was wired for sound. It is a 45-minute drive home, and she didn't shut up the whole time.

Sample of our dialogue:

Isabelle: Why do we have hands?

Susan: So we can pick things up.

I: What would happen if we didn't have brains?

S: We wouldn't be alive.

I: Oh. Yar. Yar. Yar. Yar. Yar. Yar.

2 minutes later:

I: Yar. Yar. Yar. Mommy, these lights look familar. Are we on our exit?

S: Not yet.

I: That looks like a hotel.

S: It is.

I: Why do they have hotels in INDIANA???

S: We are in Ohio now.

I: Ohio. OOOOO HIIIIIII OOOOO. Ohio, Ohio.

S: *sigh*

I: Frosty, the Snowman, was a jolly, happy soul....

I: Why do we have noses?

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I saw this on The Egret's Nest, and I had to do it...my title made me laugh out loud!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Honourable Lady Susan the Excited of Goosnargh Leering Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Someone stop my husband so we will be able to eat next month!

Geoff has gone bonkers.

You'd think he was buying gifts for the Grand Duchesses of Russia. He has come home two days in a row with the car filled with toys. These girls had better appreciate us someday. These girls had better write glowing reviews of us in their memoirs.

Junior:
I asked the opinion of RAPTOR's president and also Karla Kinstler (who lives with a GHO...you can read her owl blog here) about Junior's behavior. The general concensus is that he is probably imprinted (which was the concern when he was released in January) and may very well be courting me. Laura off-handedly said a while back that I had better start wearing a hard hat at RAPTOR, but she didn't know how right she was! Karla said, and I quote:

"While imprints often can and do hunt, they get themselves and people into serious trouble when their hormones kick in. A male will attempt to copulate with its chosen mate (which means landing on that person's head repeatedly.) The bigger problem is that once a mate is chosen, all other humans can be viewed as rivals and are viciously attacked."
Holy sh*t!
If he does consider me a hot chick, he may also start to bring me food. Like rabbit heads, etc.

Looks like we will need to figure out what to do with Mr. Studly-Muffin.

It is rather serious, though. He may need to be recaptured and either given to another rescue group to be an education bird (we already have a GHO) or he may be put down. That just sucks out loud.
I won't be feeding him anymore, and definitely keeping my distance. Oh, and Laura? Know where I can get a good hard hat?

Links to videos

Bummer that some of you can't view my videos.

Here are the links, so you can click on them and view them that way. Maybe I will do this, instead of embedding it, so there won't be any more problems.

Junior Hooting and Tweeting

Junior Hooting and Tweeting.wmv


Junior in Flight

JUNIOR IN FLIGHT.wmv

Earl

Earl.wmv

Turn up your speakers and listen to Junior "TWEET", a video of EARL and Junior in flight

If I never see a second-grader again, I will be happy

Today was a marathon program day for me. A local school has "hired" RAPTOR to present 21 programs over 3 days. That's seven programs a day. I did the first day today, and thank goodness I will have help for the other two.

I talked from 9 am until 3:45 pm, with a lunch break in the middle.

I'm one tired puppy.

But let's move onto other things:

Laura requested video of Junior flying. I didn't get any video of that, but I will try. But I did get a few still shots of him flying yesterday.

I set my camera to the "Sports" setting, which lets you fire away and take as many back to back pictures as the memory card can hold. (Have I mentioned LATELY that I love my camera?)
Junior is just so cute. I have to keep reminding myself that he is one of the fiercest avian predators and not a big stuffed animal.
Look at his pretty feathered feet. Owls have feathers down to their talons to help keep their feet warm in cold weather. Other birds have "naked" legs. If Blogger lets you, you can enlarge the picture and look at the leg on the left...you can just barely see his lovely accessory: A band.

This was a fourth-grade science club I presented to yesterday. They were well-behaved, and asked some great questions. Aren't they cute?
Random:

I stopped on the way home at a gas station, and saw a cemetary right next to it.

Is it me, or is that just a little creepy?

(Maybe it's a really VIOLENT car wash?)

P.S. Please welcome my brother-in-law, Kevin, and his wonderful blog and website, Oasis Newsfeatures. Want to learn more about Amish culture? You will love this.

He has been syndicating a newspaper column written by an Old Order Amish woman for 15 years. I could go on and on about the Amish and the respect I have for them, but instead, I suggest you visit his blog and website. I will post another time about my experiences with the Amish.

Someday I will get tired of making these videos, but until that day...

My first attempt at making a video from stills

How about a quickie?

No, no, you dirty-minded fools....
Just a quick post tonight:

Geoff and I went to see The Pursuit of Happyness today, after dropping the girls off at the Swami and Swamette's house. My recommendation: Go see this movie.

The only really, really cool thing that happened tonight was that we got to see the Space Shuttle fly over at 6:48 pm. It was so awesome...a bright orange dot travelling almost twice as fast as a plane flies over, and then, as it got to the terminator (the line between daylight and darkness), it just disappeared. Very cool.

I need to get back to wrapping.
Susan's order of the day: You WILL have a wonderful day tomorrow! I insist!

Loveland Christmas Festival

Check out this picture...a male cardinal, and I got so close you can actually see his tongue...

...and the gleam in his eye.


Now, I am all for vanity plates (I have been trying to come up with something clever) but this just goes too far:I mean, that is just gross. Does this guy really want to advertise that he has a mucus affliction?



I am embarrassed to say that we have lived in Loveland for 6 years, and this is the first time we went to the Christmas Festival.

They do it up right, with lights everywhere, a brass band performing traditional holiday songs, a live nativity, carriage rides, kettle corn, crafts...it's nice.

Our illustrious city hall, in lovely downtown Loveland.

We met Santa on the bike trail. Little bit of history of the bike trail: It was once a railroad, and was turned into a trail that is over 70 miles long. It's a nice ride, since there are only gentle grades (since it was a railroad track, it sticks to the low land). And this dog was very eager to meet Santa.

"Dude! Dude! I want a Nylabone, and a squeaky toy shaped like a cat, and a new bed...."

Dinner was consumed at The Works, which is an excellent pizza place. The pizza is baked in a big open fire oven, and the crust is not-too-thick, not-too-thin, and crispy on the bottom and soft in the middle. Yum. The building that now houses the restaurant was once the water works, and the clock bells sing a song every hour. All the tables feature art from local artists, and we love it. Loveland is good at recycling, isn't it? We are also a Tree City with the Arbor Day Foundation. I love Loveland.

Lorelei was not impressed.

She fell asleep in the middle of dinner, sitting up.

Loveland straddles the Little Miami River. Good birding, and good canoeing, too. The Loveland Canoe Rental place has this cute little canoe outside their place.

The outing had the desired effect. I am feeling rather Christmasy.

Miscellany from Friday

First, a picture from yesterday: A cooper's hawk has been hanging around the yard, systematically picking off smaller birds. I've never been able to get a good picture of it, but last night, at least you can sort of see it flying away. Or maybe you can't.

We got together with friends tonight, Mike and Kim. They have two kids that are very close in age to Isabelle and Lorelei.
Aidan, surrounded by his harem.

Sweet Maura...16 months old. Very tiny for her age. And super cute.
And here you will observe what happens when your kids are being very quiet in the next room:

They use permanent marker on themselves, and then smile about it.

I couldn't even get mad. It was too cute. I really can't talk, anyway. I have a tattoo.