More Thoughts on Rose of Fordham, Great Horned Owls, and the Collins Hall Nest

 

  Courtesy of http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130319/flatiron/death-of-red-tailed-hawk-caused-by-rat-poison-says-epa

 

Blog reader Linda Maslin, of Blue Bell, PA, emailed me a link, above, to a picture and article about the Red-tailed Hawk which died of secondary rat poison in Madison Square Park in mid-March of this year, asking if that hawk might indeed have been Rose.

Linda,  if the hawk in the photo is the hawk who was poisoned she is not Rose.   Rose's belly band was more like paint dripping as opposed to spots and she also was banded.  

 

Fordham is in the Bronx and Madison Square Park is in Manhattan so the distance is not impossible but unlikely, as in March as territorial lines are hardening up by then.

But once again thanks for sending it.
Best, D

 

       photo Donegal Browne-- Rose of Fordham in a happier season.

 

I'd also emailed Chris Lyons of Fordham, a major watcher of Rose and Vince, asking if he thought that their son, named Alpha Son, who joined Rose in Great Horned Owl baiting might also have met his end with Rose?  If  indeed, that is as suspected, she died in a battle  with the Great Horned Owl Dad.  Both Alpha Son and GHO Dad, are currently missing from the New York Botanical Garden.

Chris wrote-

 

I'm not clear about this whole Alpha Son thing, but I doubt Junior [Great Horned Owl Dad at NYBG,  DB] could take both of them out at the same time. 

 I haven't seen Vince in the last week either, but that doesn't mean anything, with breeding disrupted.  I would assume I'll see him with a new mate at some point, but normally the Fordham Hawks are well into nesting by now, so maybe it's too late for this year.  

 

I hope the Collins nest won't be abandoned, but that'll be up to the new missus, whenever she comes along.  Always possible, I guess, that an established pair could show up and claim the territory.   It's too good a territory to stay vacant, that's for sure--more worried about the owl mother finding a mate.   We know a lot less about how many unattached GHO's are in NYC.   

Photo Donegal Browne
The Collins Hall Red-tailed Hawk nest at Fordham University

Chris,

I'm leaning more toward Alpha Son hitting the thermals for  the RTH adolescent migration.  Though as its now been proven that Red-tails do have a tendency to return to their natal territory for breeding,  we may not have seen the last of him.  I like that thought very much.

I would think that unattached GHO's in NYC would be rare.  They technically don't migrate.  Though Central Park does tend to get a GHO visitor in the winter, probably on a little winter vacation from another borough.  Or even from the NYBG.

The Garden's Great Horned Owl Mom and her single owlette are going to be going it alone this season I'm afraid.  I don't know that a male GHO would pitch in like T2 did last season at the Franklin Institute.  But one never knows as no one had ever seen a Red-Tailed Hawk stepfather before either. :)

Just got a pic from a blog reader of the hawk that was poisoned in Madison Square Park in mid March of this year asking if it may have been Rose.   It would have been very unlikely to have been her due to distance at this time of year but the hawk in the photo had a definite spotted belly band as opposed to Rose's more streaked model.

As to the Collins nest site, if things work like Pale Male and 927,  and  Isolde at the Cathedral,  the remaining hawk holds the territory until another mate is chosen. In fact Vince may have "disappeared" to go looking.   James O'Brien believes he saw Isolde leave and go get Storm'n Norman not long after Tristan's death.

 Of course Vince's new mate would technically have the choice of nest site being the female, but she'd have to be a bit off to choose another spot.

 In actuality Collins hall is arguably the best RTH building nest site for fledging and branching in the city.  As far as I know, in no other building nest site in NYC are the young able to move back and forth to the nest at will, and easily do true branching in the adjacent trees as they do in tree nests in non-urban territories.

I'm still holding out hope for Vince finding a mate for this season.  When Charlotte and Pale Male Jr. successfully double clutched it was even later in the year.

Please do keep me updated.  Fingers crossed!

Best, D

Happy Hawking
Donegal Browne

John Blakeman Gets a Once in a Lifetime Valentine-Zephyr Comes Back!!! And Great Horned Owls in the Window Box

 Photo courtesy of John Blakeman
Last fall after deciding that his falconry days were over and his current falconry bird, Zephyr was up to making her own way in the world, John Blakeman our Red-tailed Hawk Answer Man for lo these many years, released Zephyr back to the wild.
And quess what just happened! 

Donna,

I just looked out into a black oak in my backyard, 100 ft from my house, and Zephyr, my falconry Red-tail that I released here last September was sitting regally in the tree. I pulled out my digital telephoto, and got the photo.

Sure would be fun if she finds a tiercel, who would build her a nest nearby. The days are discernibly     lengthening and sex hormones are starting to flow.

I'll be watching all of this closely.

--John Blakeman

The email below is John's response to his daughter who emailed that she believed his ID that Zephyr was the above hawk in the first photograph....and then...

 Photo courtesy of John Blakeman    Zephyr at the window.

 Rachel,

You, nor anyone else would (or should) believe this. Zephyr flew up and tried to land on the window sill behind the dining room table. She saw me standing at the window, and wanted to fly over and see me.

So, I went to the basement and pulled out a frozen sparrow and quickly (5min) thawed it in some hot water. I put on a falconry glove and got my falconry whistle and stepped out of the basement door to see if the hawk was still around. She was, sitting on a cross arm of the clothes line. I lifted my glove, with the dead sparrow, blew the whistle, and the hawk flew instantly, 100 ft straight to my fist; just as she might have done a full year ago when still in captivity.

She landed and started to eat the sparrow, exactly as she would have done when she was my falconry hawk. She felt entirely comfortable on my fist --- but she was not tethered. She had no jesses or leash. She was completely free, but elected to spend about 5 minutes pulling apart the sparrow and eating it on my glove. She even allowed me to feel the ends of her talons. I wanted to see if they had gotten sharper. They were needle-sharp.

She dropped a few pieces of sparrow flesh on the ground while eating, and then dropped down to retrieve the after eating the main course. She then elected to fly right back up onto my fist, to finish her short repast.

Fortunately ---- no one would otherwise believe me ---- I was able to snap digital photos of her eating on my fist.

Then, when finished, she was still hungry. I tried to toss her off, but without the sling action of the missing jesses, I couldn't fling her. She just gently flew a few feet and landed on the ground. I turned around and started walking under the deck to the back basement door. She flew ahead of me and landed on the hose reel next to the door. I think I could have enticed her inside, just as she had done hundreds of times before.

I'll have a nice piece of turkey neck thawed for tomorrow afternoon, when  I will attempt to replicate this remarkable episode.

I got photos of her main big front talon, which was missing a big gap. She's caught a squirrel, which bit out a dry chunk of her talon --- no harm to her.

Stunning. I released Zephyr about Sep 12 last fall, and have seen her flying or perched in the area no more than 6 to 10 times, never once as close to the house.

This will be fun.

Love,

--Dad

 Photo courtesy of John Blakeman
John Blakeman and the visiting Zephyr on his fist of her own accord, having a snack.

John, I cannot wait to see how this turns out.  And indeed, this is going to be grand fun!  

You don't suppose that as it is mating season that Zephyr hasn't returned to see if you're available?

 It was Valentine's Day after all!

As many of you know my internet connection has been intermittent therefore I've been missing many of your emails....keep your fingers crossed about my connection and I'll keep catching up!
 
 And just in from Robin of Illinois, the Great Horned Owl Window Box Nest!

http://www.hancockwildlife.org/index.php?topic=VictoriaGHOwl#camera1

Pale Male, Ginger, Quicksilver, and NYBG Great Horned Owls

Photo courtesy of PaleMale.com For a hawk of some years Pale Male is showing no signs whatsoever of slowing down when it comes to any number of copulations per day, and over a longer period of time than usual besides. And yes, last time anyone looked it's still Ginger he is copulating with.

AND FROM WILD NYC JEFF,

Ms Browne,

As Mr Blakeman implied in his recent post on Marie Winn's site, Pale Beauty must be deceased. I would think Pale Male has actual knowledge of this fact and has taken Ginger back as his mate, since his character traits have heretofore been total devotion and loyalty to his chosen nest partner. The strength of spirit and determination Red Tails exhibit as a matter of daily living make me ashamed that I complain about anything in my own life.

Quicksilver's occupation of the refrigerator nook is heartwarming. Your compassion in allowing him to do this is commendable, since I'm sure he is denying you access to the freezer door. Carry on bravely !!!

Jeff (Wild NY)

Thanks Jeff, I'll try.

You are very astute when it comes to Quicksilver. You're the first person to note that I might have access issues with the freezer door. And yes, I did eventually.

At first he was amiable enough and would step up on my hand so I could open it, get what I wanted, then put him back up, no muss no fuss. But the last time I tried it, he didn't want to get on my hand and looked rather surly, so I carefully opened the freezer door with him on it. He rode the few feet out and then jumped rather strongly onto my head.

At which point I realized it was probably a good thing that I was leaving for NYC and he was going to stay for the week at my step-son's house. That is until I arrived at his house and realized they have a cavity between their refrigerator and cupboard too. :-)

As to the Ginger, Pale Beauty, Pale Male threesome , there appears to be something very unusual going on. Remember that Pale Male was courting Ginger when Pale Beauty suddenly appeared and Ginger disappeared, then the reverse occurred. Pale Beauty disappeared and Ginger was back in place. As I've said, ordinarily Pale Male would double team with Lola to run other females out of the territory.

I think that he may have been letting Ginger and Pale Beauty duke it out between themselves without taking sides. Unless he did take sides with Pale Beauty and Ginger won anyway, by injuring Pale Beauty or worse. Then with the breeding imperative being the priority right now, Pale Male took Ginger back. It is getting later every day in the season to start afresh.

For whatever reason this situation appears to be atypical in Pale Male's history. Perhaps a more seasoned and hawk socialized female would have bowed out by now. Or there may be something else going on that we haven't even gotten a glimmer of yet.

I do hope we find out what is happening very soon.

Spare females often attempt to invade Peregrine nests. There are a number of cases when it comes to eagles as well. So far no one has sent in a single RTH case, though.

Did something serious happen to Pale Beauty? If so, what?

We just have to keep our eyes open and try to accept what nature, through the hawks, brings us.

Friends: Earlier today, I saw two, yes TWO fluffy white heads in the owl tree. I've attached a cropped image, but If you want to see the photo without the ridiculously large letters, click this link. http://flic.kr/p/9tLddK Here's video. I apologize for the shaky quality but at that far distance, the camera will move no matter how much I brace myself on the wooden fence. http://youtu.be/yOIvydcS0LI Pat Gonzalez Donegal Browne

Rose and Immature Red-tail vs the New York Botanical Great Horned Owls plus More on the Mystery Nest

Female Great Horned Owl of the NYBG
I received an email today from Carol Capobianco, the Editorial Content Manager at the New York Botanical Garden--

Debbie Becker, who leads bird walks here at The New York Botanical Garden, witnessed a face off between two red-tailed hawks and the great horned owl who is nesting in the Forest. She blogs about it on today’s Plant Talk.
http://www.nybg.org/wordpress/?p=5343

The Red-tails in question were Rose, former mate of Hawkeye of Fordham and the Library NYBG nests. And the Great Horned Owls were those who have nested in the NYBG for some years. The male in particular, I understand has been there at least a decade if not longer.

Male Great Horned Owl of the NYBG
It is interesting that though we try to observe this sort of possible life and death situation in an unbiased manner , the folks at the NYBG were definitely on the side of the owls and we, who have watched Rose raise her families for some years cannot help but fear for the Red-tailed Hawks.

Do read the first hand account at the link above and as I thought there might be some inconsistencies with my knowledge at that possibly espoused by the writer, I contacted John Blakeman for some of his experienced advice.

I don't see the interaction as a form of pack hunting but more in the vein of the typical double defense often seen in Red-tailed Hawks when they feel endangered. In this case it looked to me like a preventative strike. The Red-tails might well have reason to fear the Great Horned Owls.

I have read of incidents in which Great Horned Owls will predate the nest of Red-tailed Hawks and have the eyasses for a midnight snack if possible. They being nocturnal. A couple of years ago, a Red-tailed Hawk was found dead in the garden and the thought was he had been killed by the GHOs.

In researching this issue, I found one entry in which it said that Red-tails will also predate the young of GHO nests. Personally I'd think there were easier meals to forage for but perhaps that was also a preventative strike as might be the predation of RTH nests by GHOs.

As far as I can tell neither act is all that common, though there was more information on the GHO's being the predators available which would lead me to believe that as humans are less likely to be watching at night, and humans are reporting the events, that the predating of young Red-tails is more common act.

Ms. Becker feared that Rose and her immature friend were more dangerous to the Owls than the other way around because they had stronger beaks than did the Great Horned Owls. But as we know Red-tailed Hawks rarely use their beaks in attack, it is the talons that do the work. And as it turns out, the talons of a Great Horned Owl are far more dangerous than those of a Red-tailed Hawk.

I read a report concerning just this thing. Red-tailed Hawks rarely if ever go after house cats, they just haven't the strength in their feet to make successful kills whereas Great Horned Owls appear to have no trouble at all in removing tabbies from the landscape.

Ms. Becker and her fellow birdwatchers eventually disrupted the interaction for fear of the Owls being hurt. Perhaps Rose had concrete reasons for her preventative strike in that there had been forays from the owls during the night when humans weren't observing the interaction, I don't know. Or if the immature bird with her was not one of the previous year's young, but rather a very young mate (Pale Male first mated as a brown-tail), she might well fear that her mate was not yet up to doing his full share during a night raid, she felt it necessary to do a day raid to protect her future young.

On the other hand, a female owl sitting eggs makes a reasonably easy target if she is sitting tight and the male is not at hand to help in her defense, but in this case he was at hand

Of course the whole thing could also be put down to a display of strength on the RTHs part to let the owls know they just weren't a couple of push overs and that detente should be the order of the day.

Time may tell us just what they were hoping to accomplish. I'm hoping it was detente for everyone's sake, the birds and the humans who watch them included.

Re: The nest found near the Rock River in Beloit, WI featured on a previous blog.


Courtesy of http://www.illinoisraptorcenter.org/diaryphotoalbum6.html
And example of a Baltimore Oriole nest--it appears to be more of a drawstring like purse shape.


Whereas the Orchard Oriole nest appears to be rounded with a wider opening at the top. I saw some examples in which the nest actually rested in the crouch of several twigs.



Donegal Browne

Horvath and the Owlet, Blank and the Snapper, Sally's Red-tail Eyasses, and Owl Watching Gonzalez Asks a Question.

From wonderful wildlife rehabilitator Bobby Horwath---
This was an easy one this morning. Just got home from a night tour and was loading up the truck with birds for a show today in Riverside Park and got a call for a baby great horned owl at a park about 40 minutes away.


I flew out there and some great bird watchers who have been following this nest for weeks told me where it was . Luckily not too high at all and was offered a ladder from the parks people so back this little guy went

There were hundreds of people 20 feet away all day long since it was a Sunday and 80 degrees so no parents ever came by to check but they were close by.

(See Bobby's fingers placing the Owlet back in the nest?)

I’m sure they’ll return tonight and the watchers are there every day monitoring him so if it happens again we'll try another reunion as long as he doesn't injure himself. Wish they all turned out to be this easy.

Indeed!

And now for another save--James Blank and his six-year-old daughter Isabella were leading me to the turn off that led to Clear Lake, (The local folks are very good to me knowing my penchant for misplacing myself.) when suddenly their car pulled over and stopped on the mucky verge. I looked around.

There in the middle of the left lane was Mrs. Snapping Turtle, stopped dead. Another look around revealed a very large pond on the right hand side of the road. Undoubtedly where Mrs. Snapper was going before she froze.

I grabbed my camera and Mr. Blank the snapping turtle and he carried her to our side of the road. The one with the pond.

Jim laid her down and she didn't move. I said, "Is she alright?"
We stared. There she was with all the meaty bits curled up within or under her shell.

Jim then said, "She's fine, she's just mad." And to prove him right Mrs. Snapper made a lightning, thick muscled nab for his hand. She missed only due to his very good reflexes.

Having missed, she pulled her neck back in but kept her jaws at the ready. And note the already open mouth. It is faster if your mouth is already open if you're going to stealth bite someone---it's faster that way.

Screen captures of the Portland Red-tail nest courtesy of Sally of the Tulsa Hawk Nest Forum and
http://www.kgw.com/raptorcam/?nvid=226982&live=yes

Here is what Sally had to say--

Hi Donna!

I find watching the nest in Portland challenging through the bars on the fire escape, but the view of the babies is so great anyway! Watching the female on them, fussing with sticks and greenery just like Kay make me both happy and sad. But the two little fluff balls are just irresistible!

I have sent some captures. One has the chicks looking up at Mama's tail as she stand over them in apparent awe, one as they are feeding and one of the little one saying, "Easy Mom, don't squish me!" as she nestles on top.
http://www.kgw.com/raptorcam/?nvid=226982&live=yes

She does look just a trifle squished doesn't she?

Pat Gonzalez who has been following the Great Horned Owl Nest In the New York Botanical Gardens had a question--

Do you think it is possible for a great horned owl to feel someones' "vibe". Can they sense bad intentions from humans? Also, can they get "used" to a specific person like myself who visits their turf?

Absolutely Pat, raptors know individual people, as do pigeons, and many other birds. Without question they recognize us. If Pale Male drops part of his prey on the ground while eating in a tree by the Bench and it is just the people he sees day after day, he'll drop down in the middle of things, get it, and get back up in the tree and eat it. If there are strangers or those he doesn't trust near by he won't.

Sweet Tristan of the Cathedral nest had a Pale Male disposition and I always believed he was urban hatched as he was so very calm and even friendly with people. He'd sit in branches very near humans without the least distress while hunting rats. Also if I'd been coming to watch everyday and then was absent as I was out of town for some weeks, when I returned, Tristan, comfy and relaxed with one foot tucked, seemed to give me a long look when I first appeared again, as if to say, "Oh there you are. You're back."

I’m sure that by this time the Owls recognize you, but being of a species that tends toward a rather take-no-prisoners disposition, they may let you get closer than other people but be on your toes. Who knows, if you watched this particular pair for several seasons, what sort of relationship might develop amongst you and the Great Horned Owl pair as trust accrued over time.

In Bobby’s save today, he didn’t really have to worry that much about the parents because of the huge number of people around. Raptors don’t like to deal with more variables than they can keep their eyes on at the same time.

Donegal Browne

John Blakeman on White (Leucistic) Red-tailed Hawks, Betty Jo on Great Horned Owl Hunting, the Hunter's Moon, and Shooting Wolves From Planes

The Great Horned Owl Who Stayed (For awhile anyway)--
Central Park, 2006
(When this Owl was roosting in the Ramble, shortly before fly out Pale Male or Lola would often appear and give him a hard time before going off to roost.)


Remember I asked for suggestions as to just what species might have done in, and removed the head of the headless rabbit in the front yard? I received an email from savvy contributor Betty Jo of California with a subject line that said, "Owl."

And a brief sentence for the body, "Had to be with those clean cuts."

Alright! I sent a quick email back asking for more details, and this is what appeared next--

Donna,

Well, I think a Great Horned Owl could do this; perhaps something startled it before it ate the rabbit, but that really doesn't seem likely does it?

I think you would have lots of owls in an area like yours.

I followed owl cam like a religion. One story told of a strong skunk smell one night, and a decapitated skunk was draped over a tall fence. There had been GHOwls heard in the night. They do take large prey such as skunks and rabbits when available.

The other thing on owl cam was that on the recording the sound of the crunching of large bones could be heard, so they definitely have powerful beaks.

Early one morning while driving to work, I saw a Red Shouldered Hawk flying very low, dragging a rabbit-out of the street-to a sidewalk where ivy grew on a wall and there was a small tree. It was in an industrial area; I turned around as soon as I could, went back and parked around the corner and walked around,; when the hawk saw me it flew onto a branch about 6 feet off the ground and screamed at me; the rabbit was lying on the sidewalk, quite dead.


I left and when I came home later in the day, I checked the area and there was just some rabbit fur there to tell me I wasn't dreaming. I always wondered if the hawk killed the rabbit in the median (which is planted) or if a car hit the rabbit in the street and the Red Shouldered took advantage. (Such a beautiful hawk--there are a fair number of them in the local wild parks)

Betty Jo


Yes, for those who are wondering, hawks will sometimes eat freshly dead animals that they didn't kill themselves. They don't eat carrion. Though whether this hawk was taking advantage of a happy chance or taking a big chance hunting in the street is hard to tell.

Which reminds me--
As yet, I've not found any information on it, but I'm wondering if Owls stash prey like falcons and hawks do. The headless rabbit was lying under a very large spruce tree who's bottom branches had been cropped. At first I thought that perhaps if the predator was a bird that it had perched in the spruce and come down and nabbed the rabbit. Which is possible, but it also has now made me wonder if the (presumed) Great Horned Owl had put the left-overs up in the tree for later and they had fallen out. It was a day of intermittent wind and rain.

Remember the "white" Red-tailed Hawks? What should I find next in my box but an email from Red-tail and prairie expert John Blakeman, with information not only on the Red-tails but also a few words on the predator of the rabbit.

It's great to have Mr. Blakeman back with us! He's been doing quite a bit of work on his prairie projects and speaking program of late and I've missed his input. Here's what he had to say--

Donna,

Albinism (or at least the mild form of it with some normally-colored feathers, properly called leucisticism) is uncommon but well known among red-tails. This big and common species is more prone to leucisticism than any other North American raptor.

I studied a nesting leucistic red-tail here in Ohio. It produced a normally-colored eyass (which we banded). The white bird was the female.

But in the summer following, I had reports that the big white bird was being targets by local poachers, so I trapped it (with proper permits) and we held it for two years at Bowling Green State University, observing it's curious molt patterns. At the time (early 70s), only one or two other white red-tails had ever been trapped and studied alive.

Interestingly, the pattern of pigmentation (or lack thereof) changed with each molt. In one year, a certain tail feather was completely white. But when molted, is came down with normal red pigmentation in a diagonal slash across the feather.

And as noted by others who have attempted to trap white red-tails, my Ohio bird was exceptionally wary. I've trapped probably a hundred red-tails for banding along northern Ohio roads in 40 years, and never was a bird so difficult to trap as this one. I won't detail how I did it, but in the end (quite humanely, with no harm whatsoever to the hawk or the trap lure animal), I was able to take this bird into captivity -- for her own good.

She was eventually released in a state to the West, with the hope that no one there would take pot shots at her.

From my considered estimations, based upon the two or three white red-tails seen nesting or occupying Ohio sites each summer, it appears that on red-tail in about 3 to 5 thousand ends up white. Ohio has about 10,000 summer-resident red-tails.

White red-tails are seen each year at all the famous hawk migration spotting stations, from Hawk Mountain to Cape May, NJ, and all of those inland.

I believe that there is a good chance that leucisticism in red-tails is related to age, in the manner of gray-headedness in humans. It appears that the white morphology appears in later years.

The headless rabbit. You are quite right. This is not a feeding pattern of most red-tails. It is a quite common feeding pattern of great-horned owls. They are famous for plucking off heads or wings or other big body appendages.

--John Blakeman

(Ta Da! D. B.)


And what else happened today? Not much in the yard. White-belly here was brave enough to come by for a snack, but between the Cooper's Hawk and possibly the predator of the bunny, the wildlife has been laying low.

As I hadn't checked out Thresherman's Park in a while, I take off to try for a quick look around before sunset.


I counted 6 flocks of Geese, and five Cranes going north.

It is getting to be that time of year. The maples have begun to show their spectacular underlying pigments.

As it gr0ws dark, I see a very bright "star" and so turn the scope on it. Upon inspection it turns out to be the planet Jupiter.

It's oblong because it is moving and we on the earth are moving too. It's obviously dark so I had to use a long "exposure". Therefore it moved enough during the shot to create an oblong image.

If you look closely you will also see the trails of four moons. They are named after the mythical lovers of the god Jupiter-- Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

We've discovered 63 moons around Jupiter so far. The ladies up there are the four largest and are called the Galilean Moons as it was Galileo who first discovered them.

The moon is starting to get that Halloween creepy look.

October's full moon is called The Hunter's Moon.

Why?

September's full moon is the Harvest Moon. By October the harvest is over and the game has fewer places to hide so traditionally people used the light of the big October moon to hunt. Also to reeve cattle if you happened to be on the border between Scotland and England.

Photo courtesy of the Michigan DNR.

This wolf is protected . Too bad about the ones in Alaska

This in from R. of Illinois
CALL OF THE WILD
September 24, 2008
Updated: September 26, 2008
A wildlife group's ad attacks Palin for supporting the shooting of wolves from airplanes. She does, but there's more to it than that.

(Personally I'm always very interested in what Factcheck has to say, but I did not watch the video and neither did R. of Illinois. The images are described. It's up to you. )

Donegal Browne

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/call_of_the_wild.html