The 7th annual Adams County Bird Symposium*

*I will never do it justice. It's just awesome.

This weekend brought the 7th annual Adams County Bird Symposium, which I have blogged about here. It's probably the most unusual symposium I've attended, smack dab in the middle of Amish country.

As usual, I picked up my birds the night before and stayed at a hotel near the event. I usually enjoy this time to myself, to hang with the birds, watch TV and listen to the woodcocks in the field behind the hotel. Now, I don't know if it was the change of seasons, the sodium levels in the McDonald's food, or the bleach odor coming from the pillow cases and sheets....but I got a migraine. A migraine that kept me awake all night long.
Six o'clock rolled into view and I was able to make it to an open gas station for ibuprofen. I'm not trying to whine about this but to set the stage. I performed my RAPTOR duties with NO SLEEP.
The closest Starbucks is an hour away from the event.
Thankfully, I had previously set up a coffee rendezvous, in the form of Les, my Yoda (this post and this post).

Les came blowing into town with his "winning" personality (first thing he said to me was "What's up, dork?") and a bucketful of Starbucks coffee for me. thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou

This revved my engine enough for the day to begin.


Vendors at the symposium range from Ann Geise, artist and field naturalist, to Ron Austing to the Ohio Ornithological Society to some Amish folks selling Leica optics.

I have to say that my little RAPTOR table was pretty popular. Every break brought huge crowds back to my corner to photograph the birds, ask questions and general oohing and ahhing.



Didn't realize that part of the Amish birdhouse/garden art table was in this shot.
I think the "Sweet Tweets" thing was a bench. Cute, huh?


This was Storm's second annual appearance at the symposium, since he's a local boy.
(He was found there in 2007,just a few miles from where the event is held)

He spent a good bit of time on the floor, instead of his perch (he hates perches)...



...and at one point, he fell asleep:

Go to this post to read about Storm's "Golden T".



He also spent a lot time on TOP of his carrier, which is unusual.
I don't usually let the birds sit there, but it made him happy and kept him from
a. Being underfoot and attacking my shins, and
b. Jumping around and irritating his legs by yanking on his jesses.


Thirteen the Screech Owl did his best Animatronic impression, to the delight of the crowd:

I am always careful to bring birds that will be a good fit for the venue where we will be presenting. A large, quiet room is a good place to bring our Red-tailed Hawks, our Barred Owl and Kestrels or Earl the Turkey Vulture, while a noisy, constantly moving crowd would suit Lucy and the rest of our owls.
Part of being an animal presenter is knowing the limits of your animal. This was a noisy crowd with an overnight stay involved.
I overnighted our Red-tails once.
That won't be happening again.



But I can't stand it anymore and have to tell you about the day's highlight.

I was holding Lucy the Peregrine Falcon and answering questions during a break. My energy was flagging and I wondered how I would be able to stay awake for the rest of the afternoon.
(I vaguely remember Les calling me "a Princess", but I didn't smack him because
a. I didn't have the energy, and
b. He brought me coffee so I owed him my soul.)

Out of the crowd a man appears and asks if I would bring Lucy up during his talk.
I looked up at him...and it was Thane Maynard.

Being from Cincinnati, I was born knowing who he was, but if you don't know, here's a quickie bio:
He is the director of the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens.
He does a daily show on NPR called "The Ninety-Second Naturalist".
He has appeared on Good Morning America, the Today Show, CBS This Morning, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
He has co-authored a book with Jane Goodall.

Okay? He's kind of a big deal.

I knew he was going to be a speaker, and I was in full-on Geek-Out mode, but when he just materialized, I felt my knees go a little weak.
He knew Lucy's name and how she came to be at RAPTOR. I don't know how he knew that.
So he wanted me to bring Lucy up during his talk about conservation success stories, etc.

I tried to be cool as I said, "Sure. I'd love to."


After he walked away, I looked around at some of my friends near the table and the squealing began.

I somehow got through those two minutes of standing up there with him. My face was on FIRE and my voice was shaky, but everyone said I did okay.

So, anyhoo: Here's a photo of me, Lucy and Thane Maynard!!

(Photo by my awesome sister-in-law Rachel, who was as geeked out as I was)

Queen City Birding Festival

Saturday was the day for the first annual Queen City Birding Festival. This event was geared more toward kids, but there were plenty of old timers there, too.

Speaking of old timers, let me tell you a story:
I had the birds perched out for this program, with a table, chairs and the carriers blocking the public from getting too close to the birds. The red screech owl was perched on the table, as far from "petting" hands as possible. I have a sign that I printed up telling folks how to enjoy our birds; Don't yell, don't touch, ask lots of questions, feel free to take pictures, etc.
Well, this 203-year-old man came over and was getting a bit too close to the SO (the SO is a nervous bird anyway, and he was starting to show signs of stress). I stepped up to block the man from getting any closer. The old geezer was standing right in front of my instruction sign, and decided the SO needed shade (it was sunny, but the bird was fine) and he started to place a piece of paper over the screech owl. I gently put my hand on the man's hand and said, "Please don't do that." The old fart turned and said nastily, "I don't LIKE that." And I said, "Well, I don't either. My birds, my rules." And off he went, grumbling and geezering. I didn't see him again.
I mean, HELLO? Wild birds of prey? The person in charge of protecting said wild birds of prey, telling you not to do something? THAT gives you the right to be a &%$@?

The best part of the festival...this guy:

This is David Russell. He teaches ornithology at Miami University. He bands. He's fun. He's a walking encyclopedia of bird knowledge. He made me wanna go to school and get a degree in ornithology.
I saw him first at the OOS Owl Symposium last year, but didn't get to officially meet him until this Saturday. What a hoot.
Aside from bird walks, me with the raptors, etc, there was also a banding demo.


"Even at this angle, you still look like an ***hole."

This next photo is bad if you want to look at the birds (an orchard oriole), but it's the people I want you to look at:


The woman wasn't nearly as disgusted as she looks. She was just a random person helping with the data entry. Her son, to the left, looks like he's about to puke or sneeze.


Female Eastern Towhee. Subtle colors, but still that evil red eye....


...and a perky little brood patch.


Male orchard oriole...just drink that in. The rich, dried-blood color and the glossy black. The two-tone bill of black and silver. *shivers*


And as usual, Sylvester disapproves. Of everything and everyone.

Come on down!

I just got off the phone with one of the coordinators of the first annual Queen City Bird Festival at the College of Mount St. Joe here in Cincinnati, on May 3rd. They asked if RAPTOR would like to be a part of it, and I responded with a resounding, "Heck Yeah!". It started out as a small event to sort of coincide with International Migratory Bird Day, but it has grown substantially. Some of the events are bird walks, a blessing of the Clifford Bird Observatory, bird banding demonstrations and of course me and the raptors.
There will also be food, music, vendors...a very fun time, if you ask me.

We talked a good long time, and it turns out that it is this guy:

David Russell, a professor of ornithology I saw at the Ohio Ornithological Society Owl Symposium last year. The bird he is holding is Larri. That's Larri with an I (a female)...a very old education great horned owl at Houston Woods.
The birding world in Ohio is very, very small. ( A story about just how small in a later post)
What a funny guy. His wife is an associate professor at Mt. St. Joe, and is also a bander. Now that's an interesting couple.
So if you are in the area, and want to come have a good time please come on by!
May 3rd, 2008
College of Mount St. Joe and the Motherhouse
5701 and 5900 Delhi Road
Cincinnati, OH

And if you haven't met any of RAPTOR's birds yet, I will have them perched out for the public. Come and learn some cool stuff, get some great pictures of live birds of prey.

(You can come by and meet me, too....)

: )

By the way, the Owl Prowl at the Spring Grove Cemetery will be that night. A full day of birds.

Adams County Birding Symposium

I am getting to really dig these bird symposiums (symposia?). Lots of smart people as keynote speakers, and room full of birders who just want to learn more about their passion: BIRDS.

How cool would it be for 300 people (most of them strangers) to sing "Happy Birthday" to you?
Bill of the Birds got that today.

The next three pictures by Kathi (aka katdoc)



The kestrel and Lucy the Peregrine did a great job today, as ambassadors for RAPTOR, Inc.



Lucy really enjoyed the new perch. (Marc, make me some more of these!!!)
At one point, Lucy made a jump toward the perch as I was holding her. I wondered if she could be relaxed in this environment (We were in a shed off the main room and it was a little crowded) but she took to that perch like a duck to water. (Don't you love bird analogies?)

That's Julie up there in the dark. We were in Amish country, and the only electricity was I assume batteries or generators to run the PowerPoint show and the microphone.
While I look forward to these events where I get to see Julie and Bill, it's not like we are all hanging around with nothing to do but socialize. They were there for Julie's talk, and I was there with my birds, so we were two ships passing in the night. Oh, well.

Birding get-togethers are great for finding fun license plates.

I love Amish country. Kevin, my brother-in-law, syndicates a cooking/slice of life column written by an Old World Amish woman, who took the column over for her mother when she died. If you like cookbooks and would like to support members of my family, go here and buy a book from Kevin.
When Geoff and I were just starting our relationship, we got the chance to go visit Elizabeth (the original Amish Cook) and her family. I knew some basic stuff about the Amish, but I was not prepared for them in person. They are not quaint, cutesy people out of the Dark Ages. They are devout, hardworking people who just happen to take parts of the Bible literally. They have a familiar sense of humor that I enjoyed immensely, they cook wonderful food that many of us would be loathe to eat, just because the Amish don't really give a hoot about things like calories and fat grams. That first meeting, my face actually hurt from smiling and laughing with them.
Yes, they eschew technology, from electricity to zippers, they tell stories by candlelight in the evenings, they use horses instead of fume-belching tractors. But they are loyal tax-paying citizens of this country, they love their families, they laugh and cry the same as us. What makes them special, in my humble opinion, is that they have what they want, and want what they have. Simplicity is their way, and by simplicity I do not mean that they are simple. Theirs is a beautiful way of life.
*this ends my public service announcement on the Amish*
A few fun pictures from this week:

Hey, Chet! Looks like this is for you!


Oh. My. Lord.
This is a real sign in a nearby town. This is a doctor, and his last name is Krapp.
Now, just imagine being the receptionist for this office:
"Good afternoon, Dr. Krapp's office."
As my Mom would say...
"I would rather have a number."
That reminds me of some other names that are hilarious, especially considering the professions:
Dr. Youngpeters, pediatrician. TRUE. I kid you not.
Dr. Zitful ( I think that is the spelling), dermatology.

And THAT reminds me of some names that friends and I came across back in high school, that our favorite bands used when they were staying in hotels and wanted to be incognito:
Justin Case
Bill Fold.
Harry Paratestes
Rosie Palmer

Oh, I have gone way beyond the scope of this blog...time to catch up with other blogs.