World Center for Birds of Prey…Boise, ID

The World Center for Birds of Prey is located on the outskirts of Boise, high on a hill.  My visit there, this morning, was very interesting, a photographic challenge, very informative for the general public, and well worth the time for a visit.  It is run by The Peregrine Fund which I believe originated in Ithaca, NY, in association with the Cornel Laboratory of Ornithology.  I think The Peregrine Fund was originally set up in the early 70’s to help reestablish the endangered Peregrine Falcon to our country, but has since branched out to help with other endangered species throughout the world.  I’m trying to pull that information from my brain cells from the time I lived near Ithaca in the 70’s and 80’s, so don’t quote me on that.  :)

Anyway, I’m not a big fan of zoos and such, but do understand the necessity of these captive breeding programs to ensure that these species will not become extinct.  So, it was with some uncomfortableness that I visited this center. 
The latest addition to this center is the California Condor outdoor viewing exhibit.  Through the efforts of the Peregrine Fund and other agencies, the number of California Condors has risen from a low of only 22 individuals, to a current population of around 390 in the US.  Through captive breeding activities, and reintroduction of the young in California and the Grand Canyon, the condor is slowly making a comeback.  One of the biggest problems is genetic diversity.  There were only 4 family strains left when the Fund began it’s work.  :(  I’m sure you’ve heard all the tales of when relatives breed.  :)  Another little bit of trivia for you…condors and vultures don’t have feathers on their heads because they are carrion eaters, and they are sticking their heads into nasty rotting animal cavities!  They would have one heck of a time trying to clean debris off of their heads if they had feathers.  :-P

The rest of the birds here are kept indoors, or in rather small enclosures with one wall facing the outdoors.  That poses two problems for someone trying to take pictures: lighting and fencing or bars, or glass windows to shoot through.  The use of a flash would also upset the birds, so I did not use one. 
Because of the cages and low lighting, I was pretty much limited to head shots.  What I wouldn’t give to get shots of the Peregrine Falcon (L), and Gyrfalcon (R) in the wild!  A volunteer led us on a tour of the facility, and told us about each of the species.
Luigi, the Harpy Eagle was a big part of the tour, and we watched a film about the plight of these eagles in Panama, and the work that is being done to educate the local people about this bird.  The Harpy Eagle is the national bird of Panama, is endangered, and besides destruction of habitat is most often killed by gunshot by folks that don’t understand it’s importance in the ecosystem.  Luigi is not blind in his left eye as it may appear in the center photo.  That is just his nictitating membrane (second eyelid) automatically protecting his eye.  My guess is that it covered his eye after detecting the little red light that goes out from my digital camera as it focuses.  In the wild, Luigi would eat monkeys, and things like that.
After the conclusion of the tour, I spent some more time visiting the enclosures outside.  It was feeding time for this Ornate Hawk-Eagle, and he was very interested and vocal about getting fed.  :)  I can’t remember where this bird lives, but it’s not in North America.
This Bald Eagle is from Wisconsin, and has a broken wing that did not heal properly, so is on exhibit here from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
What a fierce countenance it has!  Is it any wonder that it is our National Bird?  I just wish it could be flying free somewhere.  :(  Kind of makes me think of all of our elderly folks subsisting in nursing homes.  Dang!
And my favorite from today was this Bateleur Eagle from Africa.  It’s been in captivity for 27 years.  How sad is that?

Like I said, I understand the need for these facilities, but I just wish it wasn’t necessary.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

Working on a plan

I found it hard to believe that I had 29 visitors this morning!  Wow!  That’s quite a few people out here in the middle of the high desert of Oregon on a Tuesday morning in September.  I was busy enough that I couldn’t call the fix it place in Idaho until after lunch, but I’m all set up to get the levelers fixed next Tuesday.  At first the service department asked me to bring the rig in on Monday, and leave it for three days.  After I told them that I lived in it, they revised their plans and told me to come in on Tuesday.  I asked if I could pull in on Monday and stay in their parking lot for the night, and they said they had several spots for that with electrical hookups.  Alrighty then, I’ll be there fairly early on Monday since the sites are first come, first served.  :)  I haven’t decided yet if I’ll leave Malheur on Sunday or Monday.  We’ll see what the weather forecast is before I decide.

In the meantime, I’ve been trying to decide what route I’ll take from Boise to Houston.  It could be anywhere from 2500-3000 miles to get there depending on which way I go.  I put it on the GPS, and it routed me through Wyoming and Nebraska, but I’m thinking I might like to go through Nevada so I could maybe still stop at Death Valley NP on the way.  The GPS kept me on a lot of Interstates, but I’m wondering how US 95 or US93 might be through Nevada instead.  Have any of you traveled those roads?
I didn’t have very many opportunities to get out of the VC for photos today, but I had a few.  The resident fawn has just about lost it’s spots, and I’m wondering if maybe it is a male since I can sort of see those buttons on it’s forehead.?
I did get another chance at a pic of the black-throated gray warbler today in a more natural setting than the plant cage of  yesterday.  Man, those little warblers barely sit still for a second!
The white-crowned sparrows have arrived from the North, and really take advantage of the seeds from the bird feeder that get spilled on the ground.
I’m still filling the bird baths daily, and this robin stopped by for a dunk.  I haven’t filled the hummingbird feeders this week since they all seem to have headed for warmer climes. 

I’ve got one last day to work the VC tomorrow, and then I’ll have a couple of free days to explore and get things packed up.  I may try to do the Steen Mountain drive and hit the farmer’s market for one last haul of home grown tomatoes.  :)
                                                                    THE END!

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

License Plates, the continuing saga

So, here it is, getting close to three months since I bought my new to me rig, and still no license plates.  Since I have cell phone service now that I left Red Rock, I did have a message from the Minnehaha Treasurer’s office that there was a problem with sending my plates.  Okay, so this morning I gave them a call.  They told me that I needed to have a notarized affidavit  of non-residency sent to them, and also a weight ticket.  After asking what a weight ticket was, I figured out I could do that.  Seems to me Universal RV in Minnesota could have provided that!  After telling the woman that I am a South Dakota resident, and have a SD driver’s license, she told me I still had to have the affidavit, and that I should just go to their website, print one off, and take care of it.  She also told me I was lucky she still had my paperwork on her desk.  Normally, she would have already returned it to I don’t know where.  Ugh!

I went to the website and viewed the form.  What jumped out at me was that it said if you had a SD driver’s license, you didn’t have to do this form!  It also made you swear before a notary that you didn’t have a SD driver’s license or a license anywhere in the US.  OMG!  So, I called the lady back in  Minnehaha County, and told her what I found out about the form.  She said, “oh, I thought you didn’t have a SD driver’s license.”   Duh!!  Didn’t you listen to what I said???  I must say that she was not the most friendly person to work with.  She also made some disparaging remarks about folks that register their rigs in SD, but don’t actually live there.  Get over it lady!  Anyway, I sent her the weight ticket today via snail mail, so I’m hopeful that I’ll finally have plates by the time I make it to Malheur NWR.  We’ll see.  :(

On a more positive note, when I visit a National Park or Refuge, I usually buy a tee shirt to commemorate my visit.  Well, I think the folks at Craters of the Moon National Monument need a new tee shirt designer.  :)   So, instead I bought this book…
Luckily, I’ve been to quite a few of the places listed, so I won’t have 1000 of them to try to squeeze in!  :)  It’s fun choosing a state, and seeing what this author thinks is worthwhile to see.  She also suggests the best time to be at each place.  Malheur NWR is listed with September and October being among the best months to visit.  Alrighty then, I guess I’ll be checking that one off!  I got the maps and campground guides out again this evening, and I think when I leave here I’ll spend a week in the Boise, ID, area to see some things and take care of getting a tall enough ladder at Camping World.

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy