Monday, November 24, 2008

Another NYC Red-tailed Hawk Pair? Plus Cape Griffon Vultures


One of Tristan and Isolde's fledglings from their successful 2006 nest.
Here's hoping this season will be just as successful for all New York City's urban Red-tails.

And on that note of hope, a hopeful email came in from photographer and Saturday Night Owler, Francois Portmann--

I'm back in town and I spotted two adult hawks (possibly a pair) in the east village near my house, they seem to be hanging around the hood!
The one I could see clearly is not banded, looks big, may be the female,
though they were fluffed-up in the cold!

Francois

And keep in mind this would likely be a different territory, (and a different pair) than that used last season by the Houston pair.


A colony of nesting Cape Griffon Vultures
Photograph by Francois Portmann

As you can see, Francois wasn't just out of town lolling on the beach somewhere. He went off to South Africa and took some spectacular photographs of the wildlife.


Two Cape Griffons fly in tandem. Photo by Francois Portmann

What did I tell you?

You truly must see the rest so go to Francois' website--
http://www.fotoportmann.com/blog/

AND THE NOT-FOR-THE-FAINT-OF-HEART SECTION


Here is Catbird's latest tidbit.
Who's on President George W. Bush's latest pardon list?

Leslie Owen Collier of Charleston, Mo., who pleaded guilty in 1995 to unlawfully killing three bald eagles in southeast Missouri. He improperly used pesticide in hamburger meat to kill coyotes, [aka Prairie Wolves. D.B.] but ended up killing many other animals, including the bald eagles. Collier, who was convicted for unauthorized use of a pesticide and violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, was sentenced Feb. 2, 1996 in the Eastern District of Missouri.



(The local rehabber in this area of Wisconsin gets poisoned raptors one after another as folks do do exactly the same thing around here and as far as I know, no one has been prosecuted as yet.)



Yet again, in Wisconsin, as per most years, since wolves were reintroduced, during the deer gun hunting seasons yet another Grey Wolf was found dead, shot in the woods.



Grey Wolves are still on the Endangered Species List.



Some hunters during the bear hunting season, (yes, bear hunting season) in which hunters use dogs to hunt bears, there have been incidents in which dogs are injured or killed by wolves as the wolves are protecting areas where the females and young congregate. Therefore the hunters want a wolf hunting season beyond expecting to be reimbursed by the DNR if their dogs are injured by wolves even when the incident areas are publicized and hunters are told to avoid them.





It is not unknown for dogs to be killed or injured by bears during the bear season.


Donegal Browne

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