Indian Ford Dam Bald Eagles, Bobby and Violet of Washington Square Park, Crow Bath in Freezing River, and the Belted Kingfisher

A juvenile Bald Eagle bides her time watching for prey after she has just disengaged her head from out of a sleeping tuck. I can completely understand why she'd decided a nap was the better part of valor.

Last night I'd gotten word that there were seven Bald Eagles currently fishing in the open water near the Indian Forge Dam on the Rock River in Wisconsin.

I couldn't wait to go take a look.

Unfortunately the weather was completely dismal. Temps in the teens and a frozen mist coming down which brought visibility to a near white out.

Well, if the Eagles can persevere I thought, so can I. Fortunately for them they are far better suited to the weather.

Something plunges into the rushing water of the river that has just come over the dam. In a moment the plungee, a male Belted Kingfisher is back on his perch waiting to spot another fish for the next course of his lunch.

(Correction: Thanks to Francois Portmann for correcting by inadvertent male Kingfisher into its proper sex, a female. Forget that avian males have the flashy colors, in Kingfishers it is the female who has the rusty orange belt second belt. The male has the gray belt only.)

See the juvenile on the left (note that suddenly there are three Eagles on the branch) is doing the beak in the air look that we most often see from young Red-tails on the nest or from a sitting formel when something passes far overhead.

In this case a family of American Crows has decided that mobbing Eagles is their Crow responsibility of the moment.

Suddenly the cawing and fly-bys over the Eagles stops and upon closer inspection of some large black things moving on the far edge of the river it appears that perhaps the Crows are having a conference in their quieter en familia Crow language.

It went on for awhile.

Crows have one language, quiet and melodious, they are technically song birds, for use in discussions with their extended family and another, their famous caw sequences, that we hear them using when signalling long distances to each other or mobbing unwanted company.

Eventually the largest Crow watches the other members of his family stride away.

After a few plops of his bottom in the water, Crow just went ahead and upended himself in the freezing stuff and then wallowed in it.

When Crow finished his bath, he gave me a look and then everyone in the Crow contingent went back to mobbing Bald Eagles.

I'm going back come sunrise to see if the visibility is any better.

Next up-- PonDove, Washington Square Park hawkwatcher and a moderator of the NYT Livestream Hawk Cam Chat Room, contributes to a Canadian Broadcasting Company podcast about people's interactions with wild animals in cities.

http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/podcasts/dnto_20120121_75997.mp3

A Far Coast Thank You to the Horvaths and a Hope That Violet's Suffering Will Bring Immediate Help for Other Hawks

Courtesy of The New York Times Hawk Cam
May 13, 2011- 5:15PM
Violet feeds Pip

Tonight, in my email box was a note from the Uptons of Washington State-

Thank you so much for posting news on Violet. Please pass along to the Horvaths that folks from as far as Olympia WA are watching, have been touched, give thanks and have the utmost regard for them.
Thanks,
Mark Upton

Thank you, Mark. Be assured I will let the Horvaths know. It will mean a lot to them. Though Bobby and Cathy have comforted the passing of many wild creatures over time, the passing of Violet has, without doubt, been extremely hard.

The Horvaths always put the hawk first but it appears that those who made the arguments to withdraw permission to allow them to treat Violet early-on did not think of her first. Other concerns seem to have gotten in the way. Was it politics or personal bias or red tape, fear of bad publicity, lack of judgment, too many "cooks", endless second guessing, or whatever kept help from reaching her, it took precedence before Violet.

In actuality though, whatever the arguments were, they all would have fallen away to nothing if the decision makers had simply remembered to put Violet first.

Let us hope that in the future when people with the power to decide are tempted to convince themselves that to do nothing for a hawk in need is for the best, when they do not listen to those who have the hands with long experience, the eyes that have watched for years, who give voice on the hawk's behalf for the help that is needed, that Violet's name will be as a standard, that it will recall her indomitable spirit to soar once again across the sky with a Red-tail's screaming battle cry merged with the voices of those she enlightened, with those who loved her, and help those who would be timid and tempted by other arguments, to remember how long Violet suffered, and think of that dear wild mother hawk in the heart of the city landscape who was lost, and in her memory fresh remembered, think of the urban Red-tailed Hawk currently in need... first.

Best regards,

Donegal Browne

Remembering Violet of Washington Square Park's Nightly Vigils with Pip

During hawk season, I'm often in the field during daylight hours watching nests that have no cameras or nearly as many watchers to report events either for that matter therefore the time I spent with Violet and Pip was mostly after dark.

And Violet was illuminating.


Courtesy of NYTHawkCam
Once Pip became mobile she was sometimes very active during the night.

More active than when I'd watched sleeping hawk moms and their broods on other hawk cams. Pip had a tendency to wriggle away from Violet at times.

This particular evening Violet's foot had been very swollen and she appeared exhausted. Yes, she had slumped into sleep but instead of giving into weariness and not keeping tabs on this very active eyass, she clamped a wing down on her to make sure she didn't get herself into trouble and kept it there.

Courtesy of NYT HawkCam
I've watched a lot of nests from the ground and never seen a mother Red-tail preen an eyass. I'd asked other hawkwatchers if they had seen it. Nope. Of course most of them watched live not by camera.

Therefore just because no one I asked had seen something or heard something, didn't mean it didn't happen. But it didn't mean that it did either. Likely I hadn't talked to the right person yet.

The particular evening above when Pip was older, he kept waking up, scuttling around, wallowing, sticking his legs out, having a heck of a night. He looked really uncomfortable and ...well... itchy. Violet kept up with him always making sure she had body contact. And in this case it was body contact with her head.

If you look closely at him, above, you'll notice that there are dark spots in his white feathers. Those are his new "pin feathers" coming in. The dark sheaths are the beginnings of his darker fledgling feathers. Anyone who's had close contact with a bird knows that pin feathers drive them crazy. They're not only "itchy" but they are tender as well. A maddening combination. An adult bird will scratch them and then set to on them during a molt with their beak and break the sheath as soon as the tenderness allows. But a young bird hasn't the coordination so parents help out in some species. Hence my question as to what Red-tails did.

Courtesy of NYT HawkCam
Pip had another of his compulsive open eyed, leg kicking scrambles and Violet did it. She preened his feathers. He went limp, eyes closed and slept. And each time she went into a discomfort spasm, Violet did it again! And again she went limp and slept.

Proof, that some Red-tail mothers do do more than feed, warm, and protect as I'd always suspected. But I had never seen such a blatant example before.

Violet showed me clearly that some Red-tails, if not all, comfort and soothe their young.

In the end Violet was comforted by the Horvaths. If only they had been allowed to comfort her seven months earlier.

From Robin of Illinois--

From WINORR, Cathy and Bobby Horvath posted:

"We are going to have a plaque made in honor and memory of Violet . We would like to bring her back to her park and place her at the tree where we were able to finally get her . We will let everyone know once we get all the details settled . We want to thank everyone with all our hearts for the amazing support and kind words . It has been very helpful to us . We are so heartbroken from all of this and it is comforting to know you all cared so much for Violet and for us . Thank you again ,Cathy and Bobby."

One of the commenters at the WINORR Facebook page, suggested a (bronze) sculpture of Violet be placed, along with the plaque. When the Norfolk Botanical Gardens female/mother eagle was killed by a small plane last spring, while she had young eaglets in her nest, funds were donated for a large sculpture of her "from a former VET/wildlife rehabber, who started doing sculpture." http://www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/gardens-horticulture/all-gardens/eagle-tribute-plaza

Thanks Robin, it is a beautiful idea.
Donegal Browne