Snow Day

We got a lot of snow in Ithaca last night and today, and Skua finally got to go out and enjoy it off of her leash this afternoon. Of course she wore herself out and is now asleep on my bed, but she has more fun in snow than any dog I know.

Harris' Hawk

This is Ike, a Harris' Hawk. Native to the American Southwest...I'm not really feeling like writing anything so just enjoy the photo.

Weird...more birds

The combination of some new models and a beautiful Saturday morning didn't leave me with much of a choice. I had to shoot some more at the raptor center. This handsome gentleman is the juvenile northern harrier that we got early on last semester. I know he has a stupid monkey face, but don't hold that against him.

TUVU

So this semester I switched birds at the raptor center. Eleanor is helping one of the newer hand feeders get the hang of things, and I have the lovely assignment of working with the beautiful young boy you see here. He's a turkey vulture, probably just in his second year of life. I think he's at the center due to multiple wing and leg injuries that were probably inflicted by a car. When he showed up he was a wild bird, no previous contact with humans. Things are going very well: he's getting used to me, allowing me to approach him, and eating off of my glove. The most impressive part is that I've only been working with him for a few weeks so if we can continue to progress at this rate he will be a great bird for education. I wish this was a testament to my skill with the birds, but I'm sure it has more to do with his personality (particularly his curiosity) than anything I'm doing. He still doesn't have a name, so any suggestions on that front would be most welcome. Please no plays on any nasty vulture habits (like vomiting). I refuse to call him Chuck or Ralph.