Daily Archives: March 18, 2015

Announcement !

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Announcement !

Starting today I will be in Washington D.C. helping our lawmakers straighten things out. That means that I won’t be here then, running The Institute in the manner to which you’ve become accustomed, it being nearly impossible to be in two places at the same time. Things haven’t been going all that smoothly there in the Beltway lately and I received a call from one of the more important members of our leadership and his wife saying, “Director, we’re kind of lost here. We’ve lost our way and we need some guidance. We’ve been watching the good job you’ve been doing there at The Institute and feel you could be a big help in putting us back on the straight and narrow.”

Of course I was flattered and said I’d be right there, don’t do anything important until I get there. Just wait. There’s enough things screwed up already. If you want me to help just sit on your hands and don’t touch nothing until I show up. I thought I’d start with a little leadership right out of the chute by telling them where the bear crapped in the buckwheat so there wasn’t any misunderstandings when I began leading. I mean helping with the leading.

We’ve been having a little trouble getting our grants run through congress too, and this years funding doesn’t look that great either so I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone. So I’ve got meetings up the ying-yang the entire time I’m there. I was supposed to meet with our Colorado congress people but I couldn’t remember who they were and neither could they, and what with us legalizing pot and all I didn’t know how much use they’d be, so I arranged a meeting with the representatives from New Hampshire instead. They’ve got a great big website and were wearing vests, so I thought they’ve got mountains, that was almost as good.

While out there in the wilds of Washington D.C. I’ll be staying with some really special people who make up a large part of the taxpaying members of my personal family. They would be all the legitimate children of mine that I can locate and they’ve promised food and a warm bed and access to their touring expertise so I will avail myself of that. I think I can get Washington whipped into shape in a couple of weeks so I’ll be back around the first of April. I don’t know what the blogging is going to be like out there. I’m sure that Mr. & Mrs. You-Know-Who are going to be keeping me pretty darn busy just walking around the White, I mean the Big house and such, let alone formulating foreign policy. We’ve got a big job to do in getting those hammerheads in the mid-east to knock it off or else.

OK then, there it is. I’ll be gone, I’ll be back and between those two events who knows. Talk to you soon.

Incoming !

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For several years I was fortunate to be able to observe and photograph a Redtail  hawks nest here on The Institutes grounds. We keep breeding pairs of as many animals and birds as can be safely kept in close proximity so that we can pry into their personal lives and most intimate moments. This is done strictly for scientific reasons. We do not condone the flagrant exploitation of animals for profit here at the Institute unless it can make us some money, of course.

Having these birds under such close scrutiny produced many spectacular images such as this one where the parents, I assume they were the parents, OMG! wouldn’t that have been awful if they weren’t and they were like home invaders or something, there to steal the chick and sell it into bird slavery to some raptor center. But luckily that wasn’t the case. It was the parents. They both landed next to each other, startled that the other one was there, then the male, the smaller of the two, took off again as the female made it clear date time was over and he should get his feathered butt out there and catch dinner.

Redtails are excellent, attentive parents that pride themselves on creating a good home environment for their young. The nest is sparkling clean, the parents continually remove the odd bits of rabbits, voles, rattlesnake and other leftovers from the nest and bring in soft clean nesting material to replace the stuff that gets soiled and thrown over the side when the youngster is displaying his displeasure at being left alone too long.

Usually there is one parent on or near the nest at all times but occasionally they both leave to hunt together or just have a date night and time away from junior. That’s what was going on here I believe. I had arrived and set up and noticed that both parents were gone and the young one was Home Alone. Redtails can pull that off and not get a visit from Child Services. Eustace as the young bird came to be named, you can see him there as a bit of white fluff cowering at the bottom of the nest, had been staring over the edge of the nest at something behind me and as I turned to look to see what held his interest his two parents came swooping by directly over head to flare out and land simultaneously on the nest together.

This had the effect of testing both Eustace’s and my heart. Him because suddenly there were two very big birds flying right into his face at the same time, and me because I had the presence of mind to push the shutter button in time to capture the moment. In photography there is a phenomenon known as “Holy Jumping Crap on a Stick” where you realize you actually got the shot and it makes you break into your squeaky pinchy happy dance and you race around your tripod saying “Yes, yes, yes!” at the top of your lungs. This was one of those moments. Now you can just pack up your stuff and go home because this days work is done.

I shot that nest and it’s occupants from 2009 through 2011 until an incredible wind storm came through and literally blew the nest out of the tree and never did I see this dual landing thing happen again. This is what makes you stand out in the hot sun for hours at a time, vainly looking around for something to happen, anything, and then suddenly for a few seconds of heart stopping action all hell breaks loose and it is all worth it.

There are just a few remnants of the nest hanging in the tree now and for the last summer or two there have been no sign of the Redtails. Now, lately, I’ve noticed one hanging around the nest site again. It appears to be alone at the moment and I haven’t seen any nest-building activity, but being the eternal optimist I think maybe there will be. That would be cool.