Birds and Squirrels

Last weekend I had the privilege of watching three swallow-tailed kites flying right over my house. If you’ve  been lucky enough to see these raptors in flight you already know how elegant and graceful they are. They seldom flap their 48″ to 50″ wings while flying, but will almost continuously rotate their tails to make sharp turns, keep their heading or just make large easy circles high above, as if out for a afternoon stroll. If you don’t happen to already have them in hand, these birds will usually stick around long enough for you go grab your binoculars for a closer look. Which is always well worth it!

Kites are unlike most other raptors in that their talons and bills are not as large or strong. For this reason their diet is made up of mostly smaller weaker prey such as insects, frogs, lizards, snakes and small birds. They circle the tree tops in search of prey and will swoop down take and it on the wing. These beautiful raptors are unlike any other species and to see them in flight with their forked tails soaring high above is shear pleasure and a bird watchers treat!

  Most, if not all of us have gotten in the habit of recycling. Especially if you’re into nature and birding they just naturally go together, well how about the bird houses and bird feeders in your own backyard? Did you know that there are many out there made of recycled wood or plastic? Two billion pounds of plastics such as milk jugs, water and soda bottles are collected each year! Products made out of these recycled materials help to prevent deforestation and keeps the waste out of the landfills.

  Also products made out of recycled plastics do not splinter, chip, rot, or discolor as easily. They are also easy to care for, you can scrub down nest boxes and feeders with a bleach solution, which also helps to prevent the spread of disease among the birds and other wildlife that uses them. So lets keep the world happy and healthy and Go Green!!

I received this message from “Defenders of Wildlife” and wanted to share it with others out there who also want to help wildlife.

Will Your Representative Help Sea Otters?

Once on the brink of extinction, California’s sea otters have been slowly recovering over the last seventy years. But recently, sea otter populations have stagnated, prompting concern among conservationists and scientists.

Biologists need to be able to study causes of sea otter deaths in order to help save these beloved animals — and the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act will provide vital funding to do just that.

Please ask your Representative to help sea otter recovery by cosponsoring the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act (H.R. 556). http://action.defenders.org/seaotterrecovery