Bleh.
Saturday found me at RAPTOR for a little owl parade. One of the curators? skinners?...well, I'm not sure of his exact title, but anyway....this guy from the Cincinnati Natural History and Science Museum, who collects all the bird bodies from our freezers came by to pick up what we had. A visiting family member of his is really into owls, so I perched a few out and gave a quickie talk about each one.
The nice man also said that any time I want to come and see the Museum's "collection"
(i.e. drawers and drawers of prepared bird specimens, like 41, 000 of them) to just give him a call and he could let me loose back there. I don't have the words to describe how cool that would be. They have ivory-billed woodpeckers, Carolina parakeets, Passenger pigeons and an Eskimo curlew. I think I might have just wet myself a little.
: )
A few photos of yummy birds:
(Sylvester)
It's photos like this one that make me yearn to know what our birds are thinking.
"I only put up with you because you feed me."
"I can crush your hand without batting an eye feather. Feeling lucky?"
"Yaaaawwwwwn...."
This could/should be a screensaver:
(Priscilla)
And how sisal perches work:
If you click on the photo and blow it up, you can see how those little fibers can gently and slowly wear away a bird's talons.
That's Sylvester's foot, btw.
A Sunday Sketch:
It's a harpy eagle.
Okay, stop laughing. I only had a green crayon and a blue one! And they were broken and blunt.
Everyone's a critic.
Tomorrow begins my Marathon Program Week, with three days of programs, seven programs a day. I like to talk...well, a lot...but 21 hours of talking is a challenge even for me.
Ugh.
13 comments:
That's really cool that you were able to get up close and take photos of the owls and all of their interesting details.
Have fun with the Collections too.
I love the first owl picture. There is something about an owls eyes that makes me smile. They really do look wise.
I like the photo. It's a lot better than I can do.
Good luck with your marathon.
I should post the terrible Robin I drew with my niece a few years back. It was horrific. At first, I thought your drawing was a tattoo. The background looked like skin at first.
O*M*G you will SOOOOO enjoy yourself in the back looking at all of those birds. Well, I always feel bad they're dead, but it's still very cool. Did I say I love working in a museum for the very fact of working in the back with the stuff?
Very cool bird photos!!!
It's not post-holiday let down. It's plain old exhaustion. Keep in mind you went into the holidays on the wings of a miserable case of flu.
Great photos. We've all done drawings like that!
Well for not feeling like blogging you put together a nice post!
some beautious photos
and a purdy drawing..
Well, even though it would be sort of sad to see those birds "no longer with us" it would be way cool to study them up close and personal!
I've often heard that said out owls, especially the bard owl, or it barn. They seem to have an active and wise inner life, ... but I wonder what they think about us on the opposite side of the coin.
I'm glad you got out for a little birding to bring in the New Year. And I love Priscilla- what an expression. Or lack there of. Hope Marathon Week is going well and not too exhausting. :-)
Like Patrick, I thought your harpy eagle was a tattoo also. I bet a good tattoo artist could create something very amazing with that drawing.
I hope your programs are going well and you get some well-deserved time off when it's all done (you're a better woman than I am!)
Your drawing is sooooo much better than I could do. I can barely scrawl out my own name, much less draw anything.
Neat photos--but I would be a little freaked out at the thought of all those ... skins. Eew. But to see an IBW... wow. I'd have to consider it.
I hear ya, girl. The words and ideas aren't coming here, either.
But, you always delight. Who gets to see owl faces everyday like you do?
Enjoy your talking. Then, take a rest.
Mare
Hey susan, sure looks like you are busy. Your little girl looks so sweet in the above post. Hey, when you get a chance, Oh master raptor expert, could you pop over to my blog and read the account I've written and tell me what you think? Hawk or falcon? Any insight? Thanks!
Hey, I like your Harpy Eagle but shouldn't it be eating a giant sloth?
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