A Falcon Nesting In A Tree!

[Folks]

[QUOTE=" There was a big round of 'high fives' for his skills, but as they looked for the best route to get down to it, a cow strolled up to in and started chewing on his wing. Five grown men screaming at a cow a half mile away...hilarious!

Pretty sure the area where they flew is all condos now. What a shame, great place to fly.[/QUOTE]
Sod or grass farms are ideal places to fly as long as the cars are parked off the grass and the owner is accommodating and rules are followed. We had powered winches that would put you at 700 or so feet of altitude to start your flights with. If only one or 2 club members showed we use the high starts you mentioned instead. Speaking of high starts. We had a new member present just as I was going up on a high start. I noticed a couple of buzzard circling and gradually moving our way. I decided to play with his head. I pointed to the 2 buzzards moving our way and I said to the new guy, "watch this. I'm going to put my Oly II right up into a formation with those buzzards. Surprise surprize!!!! I actually move high enough to get right in formation with them for as least a minute or two before they went to parts unknown. I couldn't have done that again in a million years. Not to mention the awed admiration from the new guy. LOL I must admit the only thing that held the club together was friendly AMA competions 8 to 9 times a year.

 

[BilgeRat]

The most amazing thing I have watched in my forty years on the rivers has been the return of bald eagles to the Illinois River. It started in the late seventies, with a few migratory birds showing up below Beardstown in the winter. Over the eighties, the birds gradually moved north, but they were still a "winter only" phenomenon; everybody left when the weather warmed up.

When I left the Illinois in the early nineties, the birds were as far north as Morris (fairly close to Chicago), but still leaving in the spring.

Fast forward to 2009, and I'm back on the Illinois. The birds now nest along the full length of the river. We see nests as far north as Channahon, Illinois, and we spot new nests every spring. I grew up along this river, as did my wife. When we were in high school, if someone had told us that bald eagles would be nesting here within our lifetimes, they would have been dismissed out of hand, but here we are, and it's a great thing! The visitor's center at Starved Rock Lock & Dam reported 125 eagles on Plum Island during the coldest days of January 2014, and the island just isn't that big! You haven't lived until you've seen six eagles in a circle on the ice around a fish, giving each other the stinkeye and each one daring the others to make the first move... :-)

 

[Buckeyejake]

I can tell spring has arrived. Caught my first raccoon. Yep, those pesky critters can destroy and feed for birds.

Up on Lake Erie we have an abundance of large feathered friends. Bald eagles , hawks and owls nest near by.

For those who own small pets. Don't let them out alone. When a bald eagle nest blew down a few years ago there were 16 small
pet collars in the nest. Yikes.

As I sit at my desk now, one of the local bald eagles has taken perch at the top of a dead ash tree. Pretty majestic animal.

 

[goofyone]

Living 1/4 mile from a very large reservoir lake, Lake Lanier, and with several hundred acres of woodland adjoining our property we have many large birds living near us nearly year round as it does not get too cold here for long. We routinely get to enjoy a good number of large birds such as bald eagles, hawks, falcons, ospreys, owls, and wood storks. The great horned owls and bald eagles are my favorite large birds.

 

[BilgeRat]

G1, I used to camp at Lake Lanier when I worked The Runoffs in the eighties. Didn't realize you were so close.

 

[goofyone]

G1, I used to camp at Lake Lanier when I worked The Runoffs in the eighties. Didn't realize you were so close.

Yup, nice and close to the lake without paying too much. The street my house is near actually dead ends into an abandoned park on a small peninsula and I regularly walk my dogs down there so they can run around on the wooded peninsula and swim in the lake. It is just over 1/2 mile from the end of my driveway to the abandoned sandy beach at the end of the peninsula.

 

[Norahsbed]

Lots of Falcons here in metro Denver as well as other birds of prey. Someone had the idea to bring them (Falcons) into the city to help control the pigeon population downtown. Seems to be working as there are not as many pigeons downtown as there once was.

I live a block from a 20+ acre city park with a creek running through it, which attracts a lot of wildlife. Raccoons, rabbits, skunks, geese and an occational deer or two. One year we got a reverse 911 call at 10:30 PM saying there was a bear in the neighborhood. It warned us to bring all pets indoors and secure all garbage inside. There are always Hawks hanging out in the area looking for rabbits and mice.

We have had a nesting pair of Bald Eagles on our farm in northern Minnesota for the past 2 years. I haven't seen them but my brother has several times. Hope their back this year and I'll get a look at them.

 

[wheaters]

We don't get bald eagles this side of the Atlantic and for about fifty years it was unusual to see any bird of prey. The use of DDT insecticide caused a major decrease in their populations.

However, many are now making a comeback. Red kites were reintroduced north of London and they are gaining ground fast. Buzzards have done incredibly well, too I noticed one sitting alongside our hangar only last week, the first time ever.

 

[Folks]

Did anyone catch the story about the guy put on trial for killing a Condor in California?

 

[NSTG8R]

Did anyone catch the story about the guy put on trial for killing a Condor in California?

Haven't heard of that one, but he better be glad he doesn't live in Ecuador!

http://www.ecuadortimes.net/2013/05...h-penalty-for-responsible-of-a-condors-death/