Wild Raven Quilled by a Porcupine asked for Help

This is pretty cool. A wild raven got quilled by a porcupine. He couldn't get the quills out, so went to find a human to help. And he stood on a fence and let them pull out 3 quills. Pretty amazing. Shows how smart these birds are, because wild animals do not usually trust people and let them get this close, and this guy even put his head down to let her pull out the quills.

Parrots as Pets

Parrots are loud, messy, and quite a bit "wilder" than domesticated cats and dogs as pets. Many species aren't really good pets at all. But, on the plus side, a few of them talk, which is pretty cool. 

Keely is my snuggler, and would love to be on my shoulder 24/7, as long as we don't stay too far away from her cage for too many minutes. That being said, she often asks to be picked up and then doesn't actually come. She's had some issues with phobias that we've worked on (a solid 2 year period one time), and she does some feather picking - but she's better there than she's been in the past. Keely never got to learn to fly as a young bird, so doesn't have that ability now. She is my parrot with the biggest vocabulary, and is the most likely to use a phrase in context. Keely was an only pet for about a year, and to this day is disdainful of all other pets in our house, and orders them about. She is 16 years old, and I got her when she was about 3 months old.

One of my other parrots, Ginny, is always willing to come out and get snuggled. She almost always will step up if offered the opportunity. She's strong willed too, and always looking for an adventure. She's a wiggler, and can't stay still for long, so will not sit with you passively for more than a few minutes. Then she's off to find something to explore and probably chew. She goes through an amazing amount of cardboard boxes in her cage and reduces them to teeny tiny confetti. She'll work on her projects for hours each day. She is insanely jealous of Keely, and actively tries to take her out at all costs whenever the opportunity arises, in spite of the fact that Keely is bigger and meaner and would probably win in any battle. Even though Keely is the better talker, Ginny picks up many of the phrases that Keely says (and smartly figured out how to substitute her own name into the litany). They make a chorus back and forth once the talking starts - both basically trying to talk to me and outdo the other one. Ginny is about 14 years old, and she was handfed by my mom until she changed allegiance and bonded strongly to me on one of my trips home from college - to the point of viciously attacking all others.

My last parrot is a little cockatiel, Quiggly. Quiggly is off in his own world. He's not part of the battle between the "girls" for my attention. He's actually just as happy talking to his reflection in his bell or the doorknob. He's a fairly hands-off bird, and suffers through kisses and cuddles with many screeching protests. He's okay to occasionally come sit on your shoulder or the back of the chair - but on his own terms. Usually when he's wanting some attention he'll launch himself off his cage and onto the floor (he's very ungraceful and although he can fly when startled, makes little attempt to fly in his normal daily life). Then he'll walk over to me and get a step up. Quiggly loves to be the first bird to greet you when you come in the door, and will often repeat, "Hi, Quiggly" over and over again until I acknowledge him. He also loves it when you come near his cage to talk to him and/or attempt to whistle. Quiggly is my baby. He was born from my mom's birds and handfed by her. He was born spring 2009, so is 5 years old.

Help a Turtle Cross the Road

What to Do if You Find a Baby Bird

Don't Kidnap Baby Rabbits!

*Photo Credit to Lisa Fosco for nest identification photos*


I've seen this posted frequently from many of the wildlife rehabilitation groups. Share to spread info on how to deal with wild baby animals.


*Bunnies are one of the most frequently “kidnapped” mammal species.
*Mothers dig a very shallow nest in the ground that is easily uncovered when mowing or raking the yard. If you find a rabbit nest-leave it alone!!
*Mother rabbits only return to the nest two or three times a day, usually before dawn and right after dusk.
*To determine if they are orphaned, either place a string across the nest in a tic-tac-toe shape or circle the nest with flour. Check the nest the next day. If the string or flour is disturbed, the mother has returned. If not, take the bunnies to a rehabilitator.
* A bunny that is bright eyed and 4-5 inches long is fully independent and does NOT need to be rescued!
*If you find a bunny that does need to be rescued, put it in a dark, quiet location. Bunnies are a prey species and while they may look calm, they are actually very, very scared!

Student Quilts #2

The students really got into designing their quilt blocks.  I was amazed at the amount of creativity that went into this project, and how many fun blocks they created.  Students had the choice to work alone or in small groups.  While this was an optional project (students could do a different research project), the majority of all the classes chose to participate.  :)

Ebird and Citizen Science

Bird watching is a very popular hobby, and many people around the world participate.  There are varying levels of commitment.  Some people throw up a bird feeder in their yard and enjoy the birds that come to visit.  And some people spend hours of their lives traveling to distant places, so they can say they have seen a particular species in person.

I'm pretty new to bird watching.  I've been learning the native birds and taking bird walks for about a year now.  I have a lot of bird knowledge, but a lot of it focuses on evolutionary relationships, anatomy, reproductive rituals, conservation & breeding endangered species, and nonnative birds.  So I'm by no means an expert at the local birds that hang out in my own area or pass through during the year.

One of the tools that I was introduced to, and now use on a regular basis as part of my bird watching is www.ebird.com.  Ebird is a data base created from Citizen Science.  Citizen Science is when normal people all over the world are invited & encouraged to submit data on sightings and observations from their own areas.  It is a powerful thing.  No one scientist has the time or money to get to all of these places and see as many animals.  But by opening this up to the public, each day there may be hundreds of people around the world who submit a log of what birds they saw in their own area that day.  All of the sudden, there is a huge amount of data available on bird population numbers, migration dates and routes, and bird behavior.  

Ebird is not the only tool for Citizen Science.  There are other organizations that focus on amphibians (Frog Watch USA each spring) or butterflies (Monarch Watch).  Many areas of science are staring to open up data submissions to the general public, realizing that dedicated amateur hobbyists can provide a lot of information while they are out and out.

Basically, after you see some birds, you go to www.ebird.com and submit an observation.  If you want, you can set up an account, which will allow you to keep track of all your sightings, how many species you have seen, and create charts to show trends in the birds you see.

It is interesting to go back after you've been submitting data for awhile, and run some reports to see which months do you see which birds, and how to the bird population numbers go up and down through the year.  You can also compare to other regional data, and see what other cool birds other people are seeing.  There are map features to let you know where some of the birds are, if you want to go try to find them yourself.

I suppose I blend a little of both sides of the birding world.  I do most of bird watching at home.  I put up bird feeders, bird houses, and plant my yard to be hospitable to wildlife.  I enjoy seeing which birds come to visit.  I do count & document the birds - with a camera and on Ebird.  I also do local bird watching walks, alone or in groups, around my town and document those walks.  Perhaps as a scientist, I feel that I should do my part to help document which birds are around.  These numbers can help other scientist see if bird population numbers are going up or down, or if migration patterns are shifting.  In the overall global picture, it can help see if certain bird species are becoming extinct or if there are places where we can help.  

I guess for me, that is the main focus of my bird watching.  I enjoy getting to see new species that I've never seen before in the wild, but wherever I go I try to count all the birds I see.  Even, or especially, those plain drab birds, or the nonnative birds, or the feral birds.  After all, those birds are currently living in my ecosystem, and they will play a part in how well those fancier bird species will thrive as well.