Wildlife

[Harry Tuttle]

He's just a wannabe

https://www.denverpost.com/2021/10/1...neck-colorado/

[savemeasammy]

Please enjoy this action shot from early this Summer


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[Hopeless Sinner]

Live action from this morning.

ETA: I think the elk getting nursed is 1 1/2 yo based on it's size. I wonder if it's nursing and prego at the same time???

[Supermoon]

Sat and watched this otter in the kelp forest for a bit tonight.

[Angle Parking]

Had a cool stare down with this gentleman on Sunday morn.

[Flyoverland Captive]

Had a cool stare down with this gentleman on Sunday morn.

Majestic. Wow.

[billyk]

Elk stampede on the Estes Park Golf Course (not my video, from youtube).



I played there some years ago, and there were probably as many Elk on the course, but not stampeding then.

[KQ]

Meanwhile in Canada:

[liv2ski]

This kind of teared me up...



THE EAGLE
This is the kind of story you need when it seems like the world is spiraling out of control. Not many people get a picture of this proud bird snuggled up next to them!

Freedom and Jeff

Freedom and I have been together 11 years this summer.

She came in as a baby in 1998 with two broken wings.

Her left wing doesn't open all the way even after surgery, it was broken in 4 places. She's my baby.

When Freedom came in, she could not stand and both wings were broken. She was emaciated and covered in lice.

We made the decision to give her a chance at life, so I took her to the vet's office. From then on, I was always around her.

We had her in a huge dog carrier with the top off, and it was loaded up with shredded newspaper for her to lay in. I used to sit and talk to her, urging her to live, to fight and she would lay there looking at me with those big brown eyes. We also had to tube feed her for weeks.

This went on for 4-6 weeks, and by then she still couldn't stand. It got to the point where the decision was made to euthanize her if she couldn't stand in a week.

You know you don't want to cross that line between torture and rehab, and it looked like death.

She was going to be put down that Friday, and I was supposed to come in on that Thursday afternoon.. I didn't want to go to the center that Thursday, because I couldn't bear the thought of her being euthanized; but I went anyway, and when I walked in everyone was grinning from ear to ear.

I went immediately back to her cage; and there she was, standing on her own, a big beautiful eagle. She was ready to live. I was just about in tears by then. That was a very good day. We knew she could never fly, so the director asked me to glove train her.

I got her used to the glove, and then to jesses
jesses
1. a short leather strap that is fastened around each leg of a hawk, usually also having a ring or swivel to which a leash may be attached.
and we started doing education programs for schools in western Washington.

We wound up in the newspapers, radio (believe it or not) and some TV. Miracle Pets even did a show about us.

In the spring of 2000, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I had stage 3, which is not good (one major organ plus everywhere), so I wound up doing 8 months of chemo. Lost the hair - the whole bit. I missed a lot of work.

When I felt good enough, I would go to Sarvey and take Freedom out for walks. Freedom would also come to me in my dreams and help me fight the cancer. This happened time and time again.

Fast forward to November 2000. The day after Thanksgiving, I went in for my last checkup. I was told that if the cancer was not all gone after 8 rounds of chemo, then my last option was a stem cell transplant.

Anyway, they did the tests; and I had to come back on Monday for the results. I went in Monday, and I was told that all the cancer was gone.

So the first thing I did was get up to Sarvey and take the big girl out for a walk. It was misty and cold. I went to her flight and jessed her up, and we went out front to the top of the hill.

I hadn't said a word to Freedom, but somehow she knew. She looked at me and wrapped both her wings around me to where I could feel them pressing in on my back (I was engulfed in eagle wings), and she touched my nose with her beak and stared into my eyes, and we just stood there like that for I don't know how long.

That was a magic moment.. We have been soul mates ever since we came in. This is a very special bird.

On a side note: I have had people who were sick come up to us when we are out, and Freedom has some kind of hold on them.

I once had a guy who was terminal come up to us and I let him hold her. His knees just about buckled and he swore he could feel her power course through his body. I have so many stories like that.

I never forget the honor I have of being so close to such a magnificent spirit as Freedom!!

[John_B]

It's a bit dusty in here l2s. This fall I found a dead bald eagle and it was absolutely unbelievable looking at it's talons. They are a beautiful and majestic critter and I'd love to be that close to a live one.

[The AD]

I had a sharp-shinned hawk crash into my window this morning. I brought him inside and kept him in a warm, dark area for two hours, but he didn't revive. At that point I brought him to the local wildlife rehab center, but I'm not optimistic. The bird was alive, but not showing any signs of recovery.

[Timberridge]

I wish Big Steve was here to comment on this...
https://www.sciencealert.com/spectac...-massachusetts

[old goat]

He's just looking for some tush.

[hutash]

Very cool. Stellar Sea eagles are very impressive birds that I would love to see in the wild.

I treated a few bald eagles back in vet school (along with many other raptors), and having had one on my arm is an amazing experience. I have worked with a lot of birds, but having that eagle sit there and look me in the eye is an experience I still remember vividly all these years later.

[babybear]

I came home the other night and noticed a bunch of bird footprints in the snow on my walkway (magpies I think)
and then noticed this cool wing imprint next to the deck

I wish Big Steve was here to comment on this...
https://www.sciencealert.com/spectac...-massachusetts

thanks for sharing that- the big birds are so cool
I wonder how Big Bird Steve is doing too?

[hutash]

A couple of Jackson locals I saw on my evening run tonight.

Boy, you Jackson Boys have some big heuvos

[hutash]

Damn, sheep are sure footed on steep terrain.

[rudy]

Last owl is a saw-whet which I thought was a baby owl until I got educated from a friend. The thing was the size of two stacked fists. So damn cool and he just stared at me as I got to within 5 feet of it

[Angle Parking]

^^^^ Saw-whet's are cool. The one below was in my barn. And I also had another encounter with one where it let me get super close to it like you. Wonder if it is a defensive tactic, staying still?

Owls are so cool. Do you know what kind is the one in the first pic.

[old goat]

I was listening to two owls hooting back and forth for about an hour the other night. Didn't see them. I made sure to keep the cockapoo inside.

[rudy]

Owls are so cool. Do you know what kind is the one in the first pic.

Great horned owl

[old goat]

Last owl is a saw-whet which I thought was a baby owl until I got educated from a friend. The thing was the size of two stacked fists. So damn cool and he just stared at me as I got to within 5 feet of it

Looks like the great horned owl is about to try and carry off the moose. Seems ambitious.

[Angle Parking]

Looks like the great horned owl is about to try and carry off the moose. Seems ambitious.

I noticed that too. The great horned could have settled for a mouse but decided today was the day go for it's stretch goal!

[Powder Ho]

He's been feeding a couple times a day for about a month. Last week he figured out how to grab the edge of the feeder to knock seeds to the ground.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

I was going to post that we see a Saw Whet owl out by our chicken coop about once a year and what did we see this morning when wifey got the girls up? Smart bird, heated coop and fat mice for the taking.