Tug-O-War

On June 7, 2011, Pip & Violet had a game of "Tug-O-War" over some squirrel guts! We're all anxiously watching her survival skills in preparation for the day that she fledges ... after all, we want our Precious Girl to have the BEST chance ... yet, here she is, just two short weeks away from her anticipated fledge date, and she STILL has Mommie cutting up her meat for her!

 

The Art of Slicing

Parakeet poop is tiny and dries within minutes for easy clean-up! It consists of a dark, outer rim of firm fecal material and a creamy, whitish center which is the urine portion. In a health parakeet, the droppings are always round. A healthy parakeet will poop every 15-20 minutes while awake ... that's about 3-4 times per hour!

Did you know that a Canadian Goose can poop up to 92 times per day? Rumor has it that a Canadian Goose can poop up to 10 times per hour totaling up to 1 pound per day! However, according to Dr. Bruce Manny, research fishery biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, the average Canada goose only excretes 5.49 ounces per day. No matter how you look at it -- and I really try not to -- that's a lot of poop! Especially when it's all over the side walk ... or playground ... or golf course ... or beach! YUCK.

What can you say about Pigeon Poop? It's everywhere! Did you know that an average pigeon excretes 25 pounds of droppings per year? Pigeon poop clean-up creates significant problems for cities. There is a health risk to cleaning humans as well as repair of damages caused. Pigeons reproduce all year around, so populations grow rapidly further increasing the problems!

 When it comes to the Red-tailed Hawk, you just can't call it "poop"  because the RT makes excreting waste an art form! There is no "dropping" of a solid waste mass like the Canadian Goose, the pigeon, the parakeet or any other bird. Why? Because the RT is a strict carnivore (meat eater) and therefore, has a unique digestive system which allows the hawk to digest its food which, depending on size, she can usually swallow whole.
The protein waste generated by the RT's diet is excreted as uric acid, which makes the slicing appear white.
The RT then forcefully expels the uric acid proteins, called "slicing" from her body. This action is known as "slice" and is a remarkable fete to observe!

 The RT eyass begins the illustrious art of "slice" at approximately two weeks of age ... as soon as she is strong enough to stand on her own feet and back her little tush up to the edge of the nest in order to propel the slicing out of the nest. This is a genetic instinct that keeps them from filling the bowl of the nest with accumulated slicing. This is particularly important when a full clutch (approx 3 eggs) all successfully hatch.
RTs slice with a great deal of velocity, as evidenced by looking at the walls and windows surrounding the nest area ... and can be attested to by the unsuspecting human who just happens to walk beneath the nest just as the eyass or haggard slices! What a wonderful blessing to have a slicing bestowed on one's head!

Pip's slicing should be made into a wall panel and sold at auction to raise money to continue the nest cams and provide new learning opportunities at the NYU/NYT "Live From the Nest" web site. There is so much to be learned about the Urbanization of the Red-tailed Hawk. Pip and her parents, Bobby & Violet, gave us a unique in site to just how much possibility there is to create an entire graduate program with researching the RT behavior through the unique Night Cam provided by NYT. What a unique opportunity for children, college students and adults to learn in a 24 hour observation environment. 

Each year, a new panel could be placed on the wall outside of Dr. Sexton's 12th floor window to collect that particular years "slicing" which, in turn, could be auctioned off to pay for the following years cameras and personnel ... as well as fund educational publications and school projects for interested people around the world! 

Thank You from the "Live From the Nest" Chat Room Gang

I am having the above Photo Collage made into an 11 oz. coffee mug.  This will be a gift to send to Andy, Emily, John Blakeman & Dr. Sexton as a way to say "Thank You" from all of us who have come together through our wonderful experiences with our Hawk family, Particularly since this is the inaugural nesting of Bobby & Violet. This is a simple way to thank four very special people for putting up with our endless questions and concerns and to thank them for generously giving of their time, knowledge, and office window! .

If you would like to contribute to the cost of the mugs ($10  each plus$3.95 shipping & tax) please feel free to do so through the PayPal Donation button on the right. Any donation will be welcome since I am donating my paintings. If you do not have a PayPal account, you can contact me directly at: Cheryl Kingston, 730 Central Drive NW, Concord, NC  28027-6022

If you, personally, would like a mug for yourself, you may also order it through the Donation link or contact me directly. Cost is $13.95. Just be sure to include your name, address and Chat name!

I am NOT making any money off this mug. The price I gave you is the same price Walmart is charging me.  Well, they charge $10.97 each plus tax  ***For a bit of fun - next up in Pip paintings will be "The Art of Slicing"

The "Post Prandial Stupor"

The first time I actually observed the face first flop that followed a full crop, was on May 20th when Pip was just two weeks old. It wasn't long after that that John Blakeman explained to us that the "face flop" was actually known as "Post Prandial Stupor" and this is an actual biological term!

Pip would flop down (sometimes, her crop was so full, she couldn't quite pull off her "face plant") and Violet would finally get some much needed "me" time -- which she used to continue to try to incubate the unhatched eggs.

Bobby was always such a good provider! He brought mice, voles, rats, squirrels and even the occasional squab!

Rain or shine, Violet was always there for her darling baby girl! Even in the midst of a "Post Prandial Stupor" when she was unable to crawl under Violet for protection from the rain, Violet was ever the vigilent, protective, and nurturing mother!

Once Pip fell into her Stupor/Slumber, Violet was finally able to get a little flight time away from the nest. However, while Violet was away, Bobby was always close by watching over Pip!

Who can ever forget the day when Bobby got mad and smashed a hole in Dudley #1? We all speculated that he was tired of Violet continuing to try to hatch the eggs ... but Pip took it as a sign that the eggs were there for her exclusive use ... as furniture!

At just over three weeks old, Pip was starting to look a little shabby with new flight feather growth ... but she was still our little darling girl! And she could still do those awesome face plants!

The bigger Pip got, the more Violet would take her naps standing up on the edge of the nest. We all dreaded the day when she would no longer sleep with Pip ...

Bobby was real good at getting rid of leftovers and scraps of unedible prey! He'd often carry it off and we would all try to guess who would get the leftovers dropped on their head! We all thought it was funny -- of course, we were watching it from a computer screen, so we knew it wouldn't be dropped on our heads!

It broke our hearts when Pip turned one month old because that, it seems, was her signal to begin taking her meals al-fresco, on the ledge, out of camera range. If she was still doing her "Post Prandial Stupor" act, we weren't able to see it ... of course, we were very glad that she didn't decide to do a face plant off the edge of the ledge ... but there were a few times that she actually had us worried!

But that's another part of the story!

A Month of Attitude

In "A Month of Attitude" I wanted to give a glimpse of the many "faces" our Pip showed us during her first month in the nest! Yes, sir, that's our baby --- and ain't she grand!?! This was painted as six separate paintings and then put into this chronological collage! Talk about memories! WOW

The Ultimate Defender

Bobby defends the nest against any perceived threats while Pip naps and Violet takes a much needed break.

***I felt that Bobby was too monotone in the original post, so, I completely repainted him adding feather distinctions and colour variations. Hope you like this one better!

I Love You, Mommy

Of all the screen shots I've taken over these many weeks, this one is still my favorite. May 19, 2011, Pip was 13 days old. Notice how her wings are already beginning to change colour and just the wee bit of tail is beginning to come in.

I must confess, I left a lot of the nest "decor" out of this painting as I didn't want it to detract from the moment of maternal love and bonding between Violet and Pip.