Answer: Short-eared Owl

We have some very knowledgeable followers!  The raptor eye is that of a short-eared owl.  Thank you for posting your thoughts.  We had fun sharing this with all of you!

Whose Eye is This?

This is the eye of a species of raptor.  Can you guess which one it is?   Go to our Facebook page and submit your guess!  We'll let you know at the end of the day today.

Midwest Peregrine 2011 Season Report

TRC would like to share our most recent report for 2011 on the Midwest Peregrine Reintroduction, an effort in which we are proud to have been a leader.  It’s not often that such a conservation success story can be told. 

A quick background on the project: (full text can be found here): Before WW II and the widespread use of DDT, there were about 40 pairs of peregrine falcons nesting on cliffs along the Mississippi River and the Shoreline of Lake Superior and about 300 pairs total in a region extending from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Coast. 

Peregrines were extirpated by about 1962 over much of North America, east of the Rocky Mountains and south of the Arctic by DDT poisoning, which was banned from further use by the EPA in 1972.

Starting in 1982, TRC’s co-founder Dr. Patrick Redig and Professor Harrison “Bud” Tordoff of the Bell Museum of Natural History began the work that would effectively bring the peregrine back to not only the historical cliff sites that were their homes, but also introduced the species to the urban sites such as skyscrapers, buildings and bridges that they can be found on today.  Dr Redig and The Raptor Center continue to coordinate the banding efforts of 13 Midwestern states and two Canadian provinces, monitoring the productivity of over 200 pairs in the Midwest alone.  A database of banded birds is here, at the midwestperegrine.org site.

Boreal owls

Boreas, the boreal owl at The Raptor Center

 Boreas is a boreal owl, and one of TRC's winged ambassadors.  Boreas was admitted to The Raptor Center’s clinic after being found in a parking ramp in downtown Duluth, Minn. The cause of his injury was unknown, but during his physical exam he was found to have substantial ocular damage (eye injuries). After two months of observation and visits with the ophthalmologist, it was determined that Boreas was un-releasable due to his sight deficiency.

Boreas

 

 

Boreal owl occurrence map for winter in Minnesota

This is the color legend from the MOU page

Other species of owls in winter in Minnesota

For the state of Minnesota, the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union website has a feature where you can look at the occurrence of bird species, by county, and by season. 





This is the occurrence map for boreal owls.



















Here are other species' occurrence maps for Minnesota in winter months.

Golden Eagle Travels January 4, 2013

Golden eagle 45

We received the latest maps and information on the golden eagles being tracked through a

joint effort of Audubon Minnesota (thank you as always from Mark Martell), the National Eagle Center, the Minnesota DNR Nongame Program and the Wisconsin DNR.

Eagle 45 “Jeanette” has been seen back at the farm where she was trapped last February! We are still having trouble with her radio but Peggy Reimer reported she saw him and was able to get some photos of the bird which show his backpack (see in this post). We also had a radio location about 1 mile from the release site on January 2, a few days after the initial sighting.
 

Golden eagle 45 flying with backpack transmitter seen.

Golden eagle 53

Eagle 53 “Jack” is now in southern Missouri. Since Christmas Eve he has been in Ozark County, Missouri about 10 miles north of the Arkansas border. This is as far south as we have tracked a Golden Eagle in the Midwest although they have been reported as far south as Mississippi in the winter time. He has traveled over 1,000 miles since he was caught at Hawk Ridge in Minnesota.


Eagle 46 “Had Wah’pe” is apparently very happy on his winter home in the Whitewater IBA in Winona County Minnesota. Like last year he is using a large stand of forest for his evening roost and wanders out (not very far) during the day.

You can read more on the project by going here.  

Introduction to Dr. Ling-Min Wang

Dr. Wang and Dr. Ponder in Taiwan. 
Story soon!

Dr. Ling-Min Wang, of the Wildlife First Aid Station in Jiji, Taiwan, will join TRC for a veterinary internship in the next few weeks. We met Dr. Wang in the spring of 2011, when she and a colleague attended our Avian Orthopedic and Basic Raptor Rehabilitation workshops. She then arranged for Dr. Ponder and Dr. Willette to present at the Avian Clinical Technique Workshop hosted by the Endemic Species Research Institute hosted the following spring (March 2012) in Taiwan.


In preparation for joining us, Dr. Wang has graciously agreed to share some thoughts about her upcoming journey. She starts this post out with the beginning of our relationship when she came to TRC for the workshops.

“I went to TRC with my boss (Dr. Fang Tse Chan) in May, 2011; it’s my maiden trip to the USA. I’d never flown such a long time. The indirect flight from Taiwan via San Francisco to Minneapolis took about 24 hours. My first impression of TRC was that it’s really a good building and there’re lots of displays and posters about raptors inside. We even saw exhibitions of raptor ambassadors which were similar to what we did in our working place, Wildlife First Aid Station, but TRC was much well-regulated.

Dr. Wang with a great horned owl,
during Basic Raptor Rehabilitation Workshop

We both registered “Basic Raptor Rehabilitation Workshop” and “Avian Orthopedic Workshop”. Our purpose was to learn more techniques and knowledge from the workshops, so we could make it better for clinical avian medicine in Taiwan in the future. Due to severe jet lag, I had to use all my willpower to study at the workshop. Because of the substantial content and practical courses, I was busy and fulfilled those days.

Dr. Fang Tse Chan with a red-tailed hawk,
during Basic Raptor Rehabilitation Workshop

After that learning trip in the US, I felt that I’d like to learn more! “May I have a chance to have a longer training in TRC?” I discussed with my boss and thought about many possible training programs. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to be asked for my leave longer than 1 month in WFAS. So, I could only put the idea in my mind until Mar, 2012…”  (Dr. Wang will send another post soon!)

Owl Pellets Interactive Activity

TRC would like to share a great link called KidWings.  This site was designed to teach young and old about the wonders of birds. It includes information on feathers, wings, beaks, eggs, nests and teachers’ materials.


The most interactive is a “virtual owl pellet dissection” activity. TRC does not want to responsible for work time lost to such an entertaining activity, so wait till you get home to share with family and friends!

TRC's education birds "produce" pellets for sale.  Owl pellets make a wonderful learning tool that can be used to introduce students to comparative skeletal anatomy, concepts of natural history, and ecology and predator/prey relationships.  You can order them for use in classrooms, etc.  They are $2.50 each / $25.00 per dozen.  Shipping charges additional.