THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE TIERCEL IS MISSING!!! Do Pale Male and Zena Have a Hatch?

                                       Photo courtesy of    http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/

The Franklin Institute tiercel was last seen on Friday.  He has gone missing leaving his formel with three very young eyasses on the nest.


The formel left the nest today to hunt.  She was gone two hours but did return with a large rat. Unfortunately it will be very difficult if not impossible for her to feed and care for three eyasses on her own.  

I have suggested that the local Hawkwatchers institute a supplemental food program similar to the one rehabber Bobby Horvath and the Riverside Park Hawkwatchers used when Riverside Dad was poisoned leaving Intrepid, the Riverside Mom with eyasses on the nest. Previously frozen rats and Quail were left where she could see them.  She took to the program without missing a beat. It worked very well and no eyass starved on the nest.


If memory serves, The Franklin Institute Nest overlooks a highway which will possibly make leaving visible and easily obtainable food for the formel to take to the nest somewhat more difficult.  Perhaps there is an adjacent window ledge where food could be left discretely for her to find.  This would also keep her closer to the eyasses in case they needed to be protected from predators.

The Franklin Hawk Cam was turned off for a short while after the tiercel went missing but then began broadcasting again.  It is currently off again. ???  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-franklin-institute-haw-cam

Fingers crossed.

Donegal Browne

 P.S.  Word began to circulate today that feeding behavior may have been observed on the part of Zena on the 927 nest.  No confirmation yet from long time Fifth Avenue Hawkwatchers. 
                           

A Turkey Perspective, Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrel, Brewer's Blackbird Rides Hawk, Dr. Irene Pepperberg Coming to NYC

A Turkey Perspective-photo by Bob McCargar

I asked photographer Bob McCargar just what kind of neighborhood the Berkley urban turkeys were foraging in, and here's the answer. The vegetation looks quit lush and I'm betting there are many turkey tasty tidbits amongst the vegetation.

I looked out under the feeder today as I was passing by, and thought, "Oh there's Chewy." Then, "No it's NOT. That's no Chipmunk, that's a Thirteen lined Ground Squirrel. A first for the Rainbow Drive feeder. What's he doing here?"

Not that Wisconsin isn't full of Spermophilus tridecemlineatus. There are no worries about their conservation status, but one just doesn't usually see them browsing on the patio. Here is their scientific classification courtesy of Wikipedia.

Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Rodentia
Family:
Sciuridae
Genus:
Spermophilus
Species:
S. tridecemlineatus

The answer to the question, "How do you tell the difference between a Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrel and a Chipmunk?", is often answered around here with--"Chipmunks climb trees and Ground Squirrels don't". Well, yeah, but with that ID you have to wait around for somebody to clumb a tree. Personally, I don't really think they look alike at all. The GS has clear multiple stripes, while the Chipmunk doesn't. Not only do their ears look totally different but most everything else as well looks different.


See? Now of course they're both little rodenty guys, but the Chipmunk runs with his tail up, the Ground Squirrel doesn't. Okay, they both have rather slanted ovid eyes, they're small and reddish brown but that's about it.

Note he's stuffing his pouches. According to the literature, this time of year is when they start fattening themselves up for hibernation in a big way and also stash a little food in their burrows for possible snacking.

By the way, this guy can run at 8MPH, which is a good many rodent steps per minute. There also seems to be quite the difference between a small member of the species and the larger ones.

Biological statistics
Length
6¾–11⅝ inches (170–297 mm)
Tail
2⅜–5¼ inches (60–132 mm)
Head
1–1⅝ inches (27–41 mm)
Weight
3⅞–9½ oz (110–270 g)

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Some GS's weigh three times more than others do.

I decided that his name was Pancake, for obvious reasons. Look how he flattens himself as he forages. Their home range is 2 to 4 acres. They live and hibernate in extensive burrows and eat weed seeds, grass, insects, grasshoppers, and caterpillars. Plus they might also eat the errant shrew or mouse plus possibly bird flesh when it's handy. ( And here I thought they were straight grainivores.)

I noticed that The Genome Project had finished the genomes of Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrels. First question, "Why them?"


Here's the answer--"Although rodents represent nearly half of all mammal species, their genomic diversity is represented by only two relatively closely related species - mouse and rat. The genome of the thirteen-lined ground squirrel will expand rodent sequence diversity to another family within the suborder sciurognathi. The other distant branch of the rodent tree, the suborder hystricognathi, will be represented by the guinea pig, Cavia porcellus, genome sequencing project. "

They were chosen as a representative. Here's the lineage courtesy of The Genome Project.
Eukaryota;
Metazoa;
Chordata;
Craniata;
Vertebrata;
Euteleostomi;
Mammalia;
Eutheria;
Euarchontoglires;
Glires;
Rodentia;
Sciurognathi;
Sciuridae;
Xerinae;
Marmotini;
Spermophilus;
Spermophilus tridecemlineatus

And as one might intuit, they're distantly related to the mouse and the rat.


Pancake wasn't particularly cooperative about giving me a view in which you could count the stripes. Here's the best effort.

A head's up from long time Hawkwatcher Katherine Herzog: Dr. Irene Pepperberg, of The Alex Foundation, one of the giants in animal intelligence and communication will be speaking at the 92nd Street Y at 7:30, on November 2nd.

Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle

(Brewer's Blackbird harasses hawk much the same way the Red-wings do it here in Wisconsin.)

Sky Surfing on a Hawk Above Golden Gate Park

http://sfcitizen.com/blog/tag/red-tail-hawk/
Thanks to R. of Illinois for the link.

Donegal Browne