Eww wet sleeves would get me. I hate that clingy sensation. ๐
They've earned it though. You can't be mad at an animal for it doing its job, or even eyes, just for existing.
I'm sure it feels better now with the wing reset, and it will get some nice rest and free food for a bit.
Soon it will be back where it belongs though, good as new and at peak health!
I'm looking forward to seeing more Sooties coming up in the tournament, but they are up against GHO, so I'm a little sad to see one of them get bumped right away. Sooties are awesome.
I swear I'm not peeking! ๐
I feel a bit less odd about Ian than you, but I can't deny I've had a little trouble after seeing some of his interviews and his fireside chats about YouTube policy.
Forgotten Weapons and also C&Rsenal are such wonderful sources of historical information, but their total avoidance of any direct stance leaves me assuming the worst when I get those potential dog whistles you mentioned.
I still watch them occasionally, but not near as much as before, and not anything off topic. I hope they're not shitty people, but if they leave me guessing, it's realistic to not trust them in certain areas.
Karl from InRange is more openly liberal and was just on again with the Behind the Bastards crew talking about do's and dont's about arming yourself if you are worried about the next few years. His channel seems to be more quirky stuff and less historical though, so not as much of what I'm looking for.
Learning about weaponry and some of these less talked about wars can definitely attract a lot of people I don't want to deal with. I don't need a liberal twist on it, but I definitely don't want conservative opinions on the side.
Owls would be amazing spies!
Please refrain from eating the owls ๐
Ooo that's a good one! ๐
The "Sparred" owls are the ones I'm most familiar with. Being territorial animals, I don't think the occasion arises too much between species, but now that Barred territory is overtaking the Spotteds', that's opened them up for hybrids.
They seeeeem to be able to reproduce, but that makes some people a little less happy, as they are trying to save the actual Spotted Owl species, and hybrids interfere with keeping them being actual Spotteds.
There was also some German guy that played with making Snowy / Eagle Owl hybrids with limited success.
Birds are a larger and more genetically diverse group than something like dogs we think of as being different species, but really aren't. They've had tens of millions of years to diversify if they were going to do it. What we have now is the natural limits of genetic compatibility,. range, and behaviors.
We're still learning much about owl genetics, as they've traditionally been difficult animals to study. New data still comes out about which owls are related to which others, so we're essentially looking backwards at the cross breeding at this point. We're seeing the results of what has worked and what hasn't.
I'm far from a geneticist, but that's my understanding of it.
I can only imagine he is more amazing in person!
I love the unusual ones.
I haven't done any reading to see if melanism has any side effects like leucism does. I'll have to read up on that...
Some of the Masked Owls have nice colorations somewhat like this guy. We'll have to feature some of those soon too.
Meet Ember - a touch of magic to the skies. Ember is the same species as other barn owls seen in the UK, but he has extra melanin (pigmentation) in his feathers which makes him that gorgeous charcoal and orange! We think Ember is gorgeous!
From Center for Wildlife
Since the start of November, we have admitted 33 owls to our Wildlife Medical Clinic (see below to learn why). A vast majority of these have been barred owls, our most common owl species found in our region, but we have also admitted a couple of our smallest regional owls.
Pictured here are the two smallest of our regional owls, the Eastern Screech Owl and the Northern Saw-whet Owl. The Northern Saw-whet Owl is the smallest of our regional species and maxes out at about 7-8 inches tall and typically weighs under 150 grams. These secretive little owls usually prefer well-forested habitats and are most commonly found in the shelter of densely foliated conifer trees. The Eastern Screech Owl comes in at a whopping 6-10 inches tall and is a cavity dweller that loves to nest in the cavities of old growth trees in mixed -forest habitats.
The Northern Saw-whet Owl pictured here came to us after a window strike. The Eastern Screech Owl, along with the vast majority of the other owls admitted this month came to us after being hit by cars. This time of year, sunset lines up perfectly with evening rush hour traffic. As the favorite hunting time of many of our owls overlaps with increased cars on the road, we regularly see increases in instances of owls being hit by cars. Rubbish that collects along roadways attracts small mammals which then attract owls on the hunt. When swooping down in pursuit of prey, owls commonly must pass in front of cars traveling on busy roadways.
Here are some things you can do to help owls:
Keep roadways clean by never disposing things from your car (including biodegradable items), leaving your trash in a covered receptacle, or by conducting roadside cleanups!
Slow down! Drive slow and stay vigilant when driving through heavily wooded areas.
If you see an owl in the roadway, give them a hand. Sometimes birds are stunned and may take off from a safe area or if injured, wrap them in a towel and transport them to your nearest licensed care facility.
Looking for more tips for wildlife rescue, head to our website!
Raptor persecution is still well and alive.
This Great Horned Owl is one of the few success stories after a raptor is shot. In the first image of the x- ray, you can see the white spots in her left wing affecting the radius/ulna to her metacarpals. These spots indicate bullet fragments.
This owl required a long stent in rehab and was in care for 280 days (Rescued Feb 10 this year). While she healed from the injuries within a few months, her flight feathers were sheared off, and we had to wait for her to molt. We tried imping (a feather implant), but she chewed the imped feathers out.
Getting this beauty where she belongs was worth the time and resources. She was finally released back to the wild on Nov 15th.
We want to thank Chloe and lsacc for rescuing this owl and becoming dedicated volunteers who helped us quickly rescue injured raptors in the Bitterroot Valley.
We are grateful that Julie Lue with MT FWP published an article on this widespread threat in raptor conservation-link to the latest issue of Montana Outdoors with an article about raptor persecution. (Starts on page 37, warning: dead bird images)
From NM Wildlife Center
Whooooo was in that x-ray we posted this morning? That would be one of our current hospital patients, Western Screech-Owl 24-963. This owl arrived with a fractured ulna, which we were able to feel during the owl's intake exam. At the end of the exam, we took a "plop" x-ray - a quick snapshot taken while the patient is conscious but immobilized under carefully placed towels - to check on the placement of the fracture.
What we saw in the x-ray was a mid-shaft fracture, which generally has a better prognosis than one close to a joint. However, the broken ends of the ulna were resting against the nearby radius. If the fracture were allowed to heal in that position, the two bones would likely fuse together (synostosis) and the owl would never be able to use that wing correctly.
As soon as 24-963 was stable enough for general anesthesia, she was able to undergo surgery right here at NMWC to have her fracture pinned. We are very fortunate to have a full-time staff veterinarian as well as a team of highly skilled wildlife rehabilitators to assist during surgery! The pin in the owl's ulna - which you can see in the third picture here- will remain there until the bone has healed enough to be stable on its own.
In the meantime, every few days, our hospital team checks and cleans the surgical site and performs physical therapy on 24-963's wing to make sure she is maintaining full range of motion. All of that is done with the owl under sedation, since those procedures would otherwise be very stressful and painful for her. She receives daily medications to control her pain and prevent infection, and she's eating mice on her own like a champ!
X-ray Images
During surgery
The plop
From Ken Grille
The beautiful and majestic Snowy Owl, 11/22/24 Eastern Massachusetts.
This amazing creature migrates to our area from far far away in the Arctic. I would see some in Eastern Long lsland where we used to live and saw a few the first winter (2022) we were here in Eastern Massachusetts. And then for two years (for various reasons) few if any migrated South.
The experts weren't hopeful that we would see Snowies this year as well. But about 7-10 days ago a few started to arrive in their usual spots and yesterday saw my first one in over two years. I am always stunned by their beauty and gracefulness.
These photos were taken from quite a distance so as not to disturb the Owl. I was on a road, saw him on a shoreline, and never got closer than that. Photos were shot with my long zoom lens (at 900mm) and are heavily cropped.
While will not be frequently searching to take multiple photos of the Snowy Owls (they need to rest and not be on high alert all the time), on the occasion that do this winter it will be quietly, from afar, and for short durations of time. Good advice for everyone to practice on all wildlife.
Lastly, please do not ask me for locations of any Owls or wildlife. I never give that out to protect these precious animals. Thank you.
From Hunter Welsh
My first encounter photographing a Screech Owl!
From Iowa Raptor Project
Tonight we banded our 21st Northern Saw-whet Owl of the season, one month to the day after we banded our first. Here it is held by IRP Raptor Research intern Aaron Petrie with volunteer Ben Conrads looking on.
Many people are surprised by the number of owls we're encountering with such limited effort that we've invested. We are finding the lowa River valley at the Macbride Nature Recreation Area to be quite productive. We're most interested this year in discovering how long their fall migration season lasts. Looks like we will be back out for more cold nights ahead!
From Jesse Hermanson
Great Horned Owl
From Brian Welch
Working on the assumption with the previous nights' falling snow that my local barn owl would have had limited success at hunting so it may come out early and in the hope that the lying snow on the fellside would reflect some light (normally comes out when too little light for photos) stood waiting in the fell road edge for it to appear from the farm. I was not disappointed.
It appeared at 3.30 p.m. and did a 20 minutes display over the lower fell before moving off up the fellside. Light interesting but not brilliant. Its mate even appeared briefly. Some good close passes photos below not cropped.
From Mike Lentz
Last light of the day hitting this beautiful Northern Hawk Owl! If you look closely, you can see the sunset in the owls eyes. The background was afield of willows which set off this bird in a great way!
From AARK
Next patient highlight for our #givingtuesday series is 24-4976, an Eastern Screech Owl that was hit by a car a little over a week ago and suffered mild head trauma. With supportive care and pain management, this little owl is feeling much better and is now quite feisty.
Consider donating today to their care and the care of other Pennsylvania wildlife!
(Or your own local rescue!)
From Ebrahim Akbarzadeh
Love the late afternoon side lighting on this Barred Owl. November 2024.
It does, but do not bite it, no matter how tempting. It bites back and is pointier than you are.