Dec 26, 2016
Season’s greetings from the birds
Glen Loyd's Christmas video is full of wonderful birds, and the music is Carol of the Bells. Wikipedia says Carol of the Bells is based on Ukrainian folk chants...a swallow files into a home proclaiming the family will have bountiful new year.
Dec 18, 2016
Decorah eagles poisoned and electrocuted
The eggs and eaglets will be monitored closely because only one in 10 eagles survives to adulthood. At least 5 Decorah eagles have been electrocuted on power lines.
And this year, only two of the five hatched survived. One juvenile was hit by a car while going after road kill. And a mother and her eaglet were unintentionally poisoned by the insecticide Methomyl. The Resource Raptor Project (RRP) is doing public information programs about Methomyl and is working with power companies to make their lines safer for birds.
Dec 12, 2016
See the attack of the giant two-headed bird!
You will see a two-headed bird in my video, but it really features movie star Kerwin Mathews from Wisconsin. Turner Classic Movies recently had a Mathews film festival. In addition to acting in plays in Janesville, Beloit and Milton, he performed with Paul Newman at Lake Geneva, WI. Later in the movies, Mathews worked with Spencer Tracey and Frank Sinatra on The Devil at 4 O’Clock and Ernest Borgnine and Colleen Dewhurst on Man on a String. His TV appearances include Space Patrol, Playhouse 90, and The Ford Playhouse Theater.
Dec 11, 2016
Dec 5, 2016
Eagles, coots, goldeneye ducks and the Monterey Dam
The Rock River is an international flyway for birds. Local eagles in Janesville are happy when small diving birds drop by during winter. But I'm among local residents concerned about how the removal of the damaged Monterey dam might effect the bird and fishing habitats and the river's beauty and depth.