Ever seen an Osprey nest?

Happy for lunch! Nest near Merrickville

I drive by quite a few, here in Lanark County.

human-made stand, with nest

Natural nest location, northern Ontario

I spotted this nest (right) on our trip home from Lake Superior Park, June, 2010.

 Fabulous video! The view into an osprey nest.
Brian went up in the bucket of an ENMAX truck today, to clean out some garbage in the osprey nest that was a threat to the egg incubation. Here's Kevin Strange, the Head of Conservation at the ZOO, holding some of the curious bits of garbage we cleaned out of the nest! Have a look at the nest cleaning.

Owl chicks have hatched!

On a dark, cold April afternoon (5 C.!), after 6 p.m., I headed out to attempt photos of the chicks.

It is tricky, between the tree buds, and the height, to get them in focus.

Trial and error. A tripod might have helped, but hindsight is 20/20, and I wear progressives!

Alida, at Murphy's Point Park tells me they are called owlets!

At this point, a car approached and instead of scowling at me,
she turned to look at the car!

 I chatted with the car occupants, neighbours I'd never met! He and I have the same camera!
Momma took off to find prey, figuring we were babysitting, or something!
The chicks sat and peeped. The one opened its beak widely from time to time.
FEED ME. I'M YOURS!

 Here was Mama in March!

Danger in the world

There are babies everywhere.
Calves in the fields.


The lilacs are close to blooming.

Sadly, one bird chose to make a nest in the tree house.

It's not really the best place. Oliver loves it in there, as much as our granddaughters.

I had put up the plantcam on the tree house balcony. Lousy shots some days, but gives date and time stamp.
 The nest was gone. Sometime last night something dragged the nest down.

I found that the nest has been pulled down and the wee eggs smashed on the floor.

Sady and one of her 'mice friends'

Then, Sady went outside and grabbed a phoebe. We bribed her with cat treats, and she dropped the panting, twitching bird.

 It was so sad. I picked it up and held it for awhile.
Here is Sady with one of her mice friends.

phoebe

Isn't the phoebe beautiful? It sat in my hand for a long time.

she had breathing issues

She had some bleeding. I was quite worried. I know this is nature, she was seeking a great spot for a nest under our deck where Sady and Oliver patrol.

I decided to place it in the nest, up in the flower box on the shed. She had calmed down some, and was breathing a little less frantically.

 As I stood there about to walk away, the sweet thing flew off. A happy ending.

The jury is out - volunteer week

frog pond wakes up

No one can identify my bird song! I'll keep plugging at that.

 I arose at 6:40 this a.m. to see if I could grab a photo as the sun rose. The frog pond is half melted, where the sun shines! Some of the pond grasses are green, and there is much activity.


 I did spot a lovely bird nest. It looks like a chickadee or small bird like that. But it is empty. I'll keep watching it.

In the meantime, things are hopping in Perth. Two helicopters, one red, one yellow. Great excitement!





This upcoming week is National Volunteer Week. (April 10 - 16th.)

Our local Community Home Support has put a series of three articles in our EMC newspaper. I praise our local papers for covering local activities!

Hospice volunteering for Community Home Support - Lanark County a personal experience

Posted Mar 31, 2011By Barbara Carroll
EMC Lifestyle - Editor's note: This article is first in the series of a three part segment leading up to National Volunteer Week: April 10 to 16, 2011 from Community Home Support Hospice Volunteers).

Other Perth, ON, activities, Empty Bowls at Foodsmiths grocery store. A fab store, they have all manner of local and organic foods, just right for a locavore.

In addition, even though some of us have donor fatigue, this is a small part of what we can do to help others locally. Lanark County has been hard hit by the recession. It is good to know that many are giving a helping hand.

 Foodsmiths Annual Empty Bowls fundraiser will celebrate its 10th year on Saturday, April 9th, 2011.  The Lanark County Food for Thought program will be the recipient of this year’s fundraising event proceeds.  Foodsmiths customers can purchase a beautiful hand-crafted pottery bowl for a $20 donation and fill it with delicious Quinoa Grain Salad.  

My bowl, in blue!

Last year the Empty Bowls program distributed over $17,000 to local food distribution programs like the Perth & District Foodbank, YAK Youth Centre and the Food for Thought Breakfast and Snack programs in Lanark County Schools.