Saturday, October 17, 2009

What I've been up to

Retro-fitting a mew for Priscilla, our Barred Owl.

BEFORE:
Cage Q before
Since she is non-flighted, she needed a mew with lower perches. She tends to be a bit jumpy and had bruised her wing, and we have kept her in a different cage until I could go in and finesse her regular mew. I went in with a hammer and a drill and whipped that mew into shape.
For perspective, the back perch is about 6 feet high.

AFTER:
(Lower perches and different angles...plus a platform perch, 'cause she likes them)
Priscilla Cage Q

It was fun tearing the old perches out. I couldn't get the old rusty screws out of the wall, so I just beat the crap out of them and pulled real hard. Very satisfying.
Sturdy branches for her to hop up and down on, and I even added a little floor perch next to her water bowl....so our fluffy Princess could sit and preen after baths.

:)


Covering every cage we have on the South side of the yard (where the little birds are) with hardware cloth...and that includes the roof.
Melinda and Andi on the roof

After playing at CSI for awhile, we came to the conclusion that it wasn't a mink that got in to kill our Angel. It was a raccoon. It climbed the outside of the cage and reached in and grabbed her off a perch.
NEVER EVEN GOT INTO THE MEW. (We found feathers outside the cage, and found scat near one of the traps. Dammit.)
Roof covered
Covered.

Peeking under the RAPTOR barn:
Crawlspace under the barn
The barn that RAPTOR leases from the Hamilton County Parks is over 100 years old. And there are the coolest nooks and crannies to explore....well, there were, until someone mortared it up today.
No one currently goes under the barn for any reason. I wonder how long that bottle has laid there? And what was in it?

Meeting a new bird:
Thirteen

This red morph screech owl has been with us since he/she was a nestling. (Eye injury)
Since the loss of Angel has created a space on our permit, we will be adding this cute, fierce thing to our education roster.
While meeting him/her, someone asked "which screech owl" we were talking about. Cindy said, "Thirteen", as in the thirteenth screech owl that had been admitted this year.
Turns out to be the perfect name. Everyone meet Thirteen. It works for some reason, doesn't it?
:)

10 comments:

Kathie Brown said...

Well, you have been busy! I must have missed the sorry about Angel getting killed. I don't know who that was, but I am so sorry.

Thirteen is beautiful! The name is appropos.

Dave Dorsey said...

Lucky Thirteen, at least becoming a Raptor education bird.

Beth said...

Aren't you a big "House" fan, Susan? That makes Thirteen a perfect name. And what a cutie pie Thirteen is. Now if you just had Hugh Laurie in a cage....

Beth
;)

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

If you get Hugh Laurie in a cage, I'll drive down!!

Thirteen is beautiful.

KGMom said...

Hello Thirteen--glad to meet you.

sarah in the woods said...

Your new mew looks great. I just saw a barred owl today in the woods.

littleorangeguy said...

Thirteen looks like a cool guy. Or chick. Whatever.

Mary said...

Good work, Susan. I just love Thirteen. Her name is unforgettable, therefore, so will she be unforgettable.

Chris Petrak said...

Just found your blog from Alecto's, I think. Fascinating! Raptors are fascinating birds. I do the Putney Mtn Hawk Watch in Vt in the fall and never tire of it.

dguzman said...

Way to get in there and tear it up, Susan. Priscilla looks so cute and tiny back there on her new perch!

And Thirteen is just perfect.

Darn those raccoons.