Bird News - January

Here are this month's online bird news links ....

Pairs: - none yet

Sightings:
Nantucket tops local bird counts
Christmas bird count priceless gift to environment
'Tis the season to count the birds
Many species are noted during Ash Meadows bird count
Nature Notes: Counting the Birds
Peregrine falcon sets on-day flight record - point # 8
Rare Bird Alert - Peregrine Falcon
Mild weather aids area Christmas bird count
Migratory, resident birds topic of lessons
Bobolink sighting amazes Yuletime bird counters
Mist rises, and birds sing out to be counted
Bird count results rolling in
Rare falcon spotted in Chorley
Rare Bird Spotted
Wayward falcon lands in Hawaii
Finest dining room in the city
Wayward peregrine falcon under care in Honolulu Zoo
"Ecumenical" falcon preys in both cathedrals

Threats:
In-flight entertainment Ten questions the Senate should ask Lisa Jackson
Government calls for delay on LNG terminal
Sites where birds of prey poisoned shown on map
Over half of New York State's birds have seen dramatic population changes since 1980
Falcon capture may rise
Take action against the unprecedented onslaught on raptors in Lower Austria
Tejon Ranch seeks permit to harm California Condor
Kestrel becomes the latest victim of gun crime
Peregrines anger pigeon fanciers - and flood organ!
Falcons are ruthless killers of pigeons, so why protect them?
Lake Superior shoreline quarry goes to the Ontario Muncipal Board

Protection:
Haven for birds in war-ravaged Mannar
"We had to give one of the falcons oxygen to save it"
Sooty Falcon requires urgent action
Warning over wildlife
Campaign to stamp out persecution of birds of prey
Journalists get a peek at falcon hospital
Falcons monitored
Peregrine nest sites at BBNP to be closed to public
FWP seeks comment on peregrine proposal

Birds at Work & in Science:
Falcon found dead in St Albans
Fairchild uses falcons to save lives and planes
Plans in place for airport bird battle where eagles scare
They strike, but often cause no major damage to aircraft
Falcons to tackle bird menace at airport proposed
Falcons wing in to ward off gulls from Caernarfon landfill site
Falcons used to disrupt bird strikes (video)
Unusual employees are "money well spent"
Maureen Gorsen: Capitol weekly interview
Florida's environment is a good investment

General Interest:
Seing the Lord in Windhover
Bald eagle population makes comeback
Saving Grand Forks tower could be costly
- the 2008 nestsite of Terminator, a Manitoba-hatched female
Penny lives on as star on library nature series
Starlings perform aerial ballet

Snowy Owl

The Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) is the northernmost, heaviest, and most distinctively marked owl in North America. All young birds have dark markings but the males tend to get whiter as they get older, while females keep some of their markings all their lives. Dark males and light females may look alike, but birds the darkest markings will always be females, the whitest birds will always be male. Snowy Owls are 20-28 inches in length with a wingspan twice that length. They are heavy birds ranging in weight from 3.5 to 6.5 lbs. Their eyes are yellow, their bill is black and mostly covered with feathers while their feet are white and completely covered with feathers.




Snowy Owls are circumpolar nesters, they can be found in coastal regions in Alaska, across Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia and Russia. They nest on the open tundra in shallow scrapes in the ground. Clutch size ranges from 3 to 11 eggs and incubation lasts xx days. Snowy Owls will fiercely protect their nests against all predators, even wolves. Snowy Owls hunt from perches relying on sight or hearing to locate their prey, even under thick snow. Snowy Owls may spend the entire year on the breeding grounds or they may migrate south to southern Canada and the northern United States.




For anyone wanting to see a Snowy up close, the Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre will be releasing a rehabilitated Snowy Owl on February 1st at Oak Hammock Marsh as part of their World Wetlands Day. For more information, check out the OHM Website.

Thank you to Dennis Swayze for the wonderful photos of the snowies