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Owls in Towels

owlsintowels.org

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Re: Owls in Towels

#81

Post by pfdietz »

fallinghawks wrote: post #77
pfdietz wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went to a presentation on the reintroduction of the bald eagle to New York state. When handling young eagles, the presenter (then much younger) found the best way to immobilize them was stuff them into the leg of her pants (not when she was wearing the pants, mind you.) She had to constantly do this as they fledged, since they couldn't get back up to the platform where the nest was. In the wild, the parents would c…

The Cooper's hawk is known to falconers and rehabbers as fitting perfectly inside a (clean) Pringles can. ;) I must correct you on hacking, though. This process starts with just-fledged raptors, already grown to full size, fully feathered, but raised in closed quarters. They are put in a shelter surrounded by plenty of space for flying where they can see the outdoors, and they are fed daily for a few days to acclimat…

I stand corrected, or at least clarified!

Back in the day of this eagle effort, some four decades ago, she had to track them by eye in the swamps of Montezuma Wildlife Refuge and wade out to retrieve them. Not fun, but hey that's what grad students are for.

Her book: https://www.amazon.com/Return-Sky-Surprising-Eaglets-Restore...

The last effort to reintroduce bald eagles in the US was wound down in Tennessee in 2003. Today they're everywhere and are off the endangered species list. I see them quite often when out birding in the Finger Lakes of New York.

Re: Owls in Towels

#82

Post by rkagerer »

pierrec wrote: post #7

That's something I've done a few times! Mostly from having lived in a wildlife shelter (LPO Ile Grande) for 2 months, since they have quarters for volunteers who wish to stay. Out of all the birds that collide and are unable to fly, you'd be surprised at how many recover, and I mean it's not as grim as some people make it out to be. That shelter was especially interesting because it's near the nesting grounds of mari…

What's a bird drying station? (It conjures up a vision of a 60's blow dry salon...)

Re: Owls in Towels

#85

Post by SAI_Peregrinus »

thyristan wrote: post #40
f4c39012 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One brand of UK dish soap, Fairy Liquid, bears the label "H412 - Harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects"

https://www.newhall.co.uk/media/7440_msds.pdf The H412 comes from sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) which is contained (in large amounts, like 20 to 70% by weight) in practically every kind of liquid soapy detergent, shampoo, liquid hand soap and what not. The only reason you know of that one product is that they seem to sell to professionals as well, which is why they need a material safety data sheet. Your shampoo does…

It's in all sorts of crap, not just soap. Hand lotion, toothpaste, etc. I'm unlucky enough to be allergic to it, my skin blisters & peels off after touching even rather small quantities. Finding safe cleaning & hygiene products (especially toothpaste) was difficult, but thankfully there are some brands that started producing sulfate-free products for the new-age free-range organic everything crowd, so it's been getting easier.

Re: Owls in Towels

#86

Post by julian_t »

pierrec wrote: post #7

That's something I've done a few times! Mostly from having lived in a wildlife shelter (LPO Ile Grande) for 2 months, since they have quarters for volunteers who wish to stay. Out of all the birds that collide and are unable to fly, you'd be surprised at how many recover, and I mean it's not as grim as some people make it out to be. That shelter was especially interesting because it's near the nesting grounds of mari…

Years ago we found a large heron with a broken wing on the road outside our house in Wales. It had probably hit a power cable, and was hopping around dragging its wing. It was basically a homicidal needle beak, obviously not in the best of moods.

An elderly lady come out to see what the fuss was about, saw the bird, went back inside and then reappeared holding a block of polystyrene foam. She marched up to the bird, which very soon after found itself with a lump of foam on the end of its beak. That gave others the opportunity to wrap it in a blanket (bit big for a towel) and take it to the vet.

Those old ladies are tough!

Re: Owls in Towels

#87

Post by fallinghawks »

pfdietz wrote: post #81
fallinghawks wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Cooper's hawk is known to falconers and rehabbers as fitting perfectly inside a (clean) Pringles can. ;) I must correct you on hacking, though. This process starts with just-fledged raptors, already grown to full size, fully feathered, but raised in closed quarters. They are put in a shelter surrounded by plenty of space for flying where they can see the outdoors, and they are fed daily for a few days to acclimat…

I stand corrected, or at least clarified! Back in the day of this eagle effort, some four decades ago, she had to track them by eye in the swamps of Montezuma Wildlife Refuge and wade out to retrieve them. Not fun, but hey that's what grad students are for. Her book: https://www.amazon.com/Return-Sky-Surprising-Eaglets-Restore... The last effort to reintroduce bald eagles in the US was wound down in Tennessee in 2003…

I was driving from Albany to Binghamton last week and spotted my first BE in the wild over 88. Fully mature, bright white head and tail. I'm into hawks and falcons and don't go out of my way to look for BEs, so it was lucky, and pretty neat.

In the Bay Area where I normally live we've had bald eagles nesting in at least 2 locations -- Crystal Springs reservoir, and next to a middle school in Milpitas, which is rather surprising considering how suburban Milpitas is.

Re: Owls in Towels

#88

Post by mortenjorck »

This is the kind of project that always used to be its own website, but these days largely exists only on a social media platform where it's stuffed between other content and the usual barrage of ads.

Which is a roundabout way of saying: I love that this is a website.

Re: Owls in Towels

#89

Post by pierrec »

rkagerer wrote: post #82
pierrec wrote: post #7

That's something I've done a few times! Mostly from having lived in a wildlife shelter (LPO Ile Grande) for 2 months, since they have quarters for volunteers who wish to stay. Out of all the birds that collide and are unable to fly, you'd be surprised at how many recover, and I mean it's not as grim as some people make it out to be. That shelter was especially interesting because it's near the nesting grounds of mari…

What's a bird drying station? (It conjures up a vision of a 60's blow dry salon...)

Modular cages through which air could flow freely, with heater fans pointed at them at the right temperature. After being exposed to soap, birds lose their vital layer of insulation (until they're dried) so you have to artificially maintain their body temperature.

Re: Owls in Towels

#90

Post by ahazred8ta »

jxf wrote: post #19
roughly wrote: post #3

This is a delight! This site is a great reminder that almost everyone visiting Hacker News has a set of skills which can be put to beneficial use for causes you care about - this is a small, simple, cheap site (and I mean that in a good way!) that attracts attention, awareness, and donations to something the author cares about. It’s easy for us, but it’s magic for most people. Don’t let your tech industry imposter sy…

This is a beautiful demonstration of how technology can be simple and powerful for amplifying a message at the same time -- no matter the silliness or seriousness of the message. Very "Old Web" vibes. Anyone who's worked on random enterprise CRUD REST apps earlier in their career (myself included) knows the pain of wishing that you were doing something a little more helpful or positive for humanity.

Dovetails nicely with the Superb Owl enthusiasts.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%22superb+owl%22&ia=images&iax=ima...

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