2002 Breeding Season Highlights!
~ Dedicated to Captive Breeding as an insurance policy against extinction. ~
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Skip to the listing of photos of some of 2002's young.
(Charitable Registration # 89891 4452 RR0001)
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"The Full Monty"
"Monty" is one of this years Montana Great Horned Owls.
This photo of Monty at 13-1/2 weeks of age was snapped by our Curator on June 28, 2002, at feeding time.
Monty is already showing prominent signs of the infamous Great Horned Owl "Attitude".
This photo was produced by opening the Aviary door for a second instead of through a peep hole.
As a result, Monty was captured by the camera shutter full in the face (no flash of course!).
He seems to be saying: "Hey! you're not one of us! Exactly WHAT is the meaning of THIS ?"
Note his still partially downy plumage, with immature feathers, and the distinct lack of prominent adult ear tufts.
A meager "Ear Fluft" barely sticks out on the top of his head to our left.
"Monty" is one of this years Montana Great Horned Owls.
This photo of Monty at 13-1/2 weeks of age was snapped by our Curator on June 28, 2002, at feeding time.
Monty is already showing prominent signs of the infamous Great Horned Owl "Attitude".
This photo was produced by opening the Aviary door for a second instead of through a peep hole.
As a result, Monty was captured by the camera shutter full in the face (no flash of course!).
He seems to be saying: "Hey! you're not one of us! Exactly WHAT is the meaning of THIS ?"
Note his still partially downy plumage, with immature feathers, and the distinct lack of prominent adult ear tufts.
A meager "Ear Fluft" barely sticks out on the top of his head to our left.
"The Class of 2002"
(Or rather, what photos we do have of them from the 2002 Breeding Season)
Well, another breeding season has begun, and actually by the time I have managed to post some photos, it has progressed almost to the end. And we didn't get the chance to take anywhere near the number of photos we would have liked to. Below is a listing of links to the photos that we do have of this years young. There are about 27 decent photos from only 5 of the species that bred. In many cases the quality could be better, but considering that all we had was a Nikon Coolpix 900 digital camera on loan for an hour and a half, which had no telephoto lens, and we were in most cases shooting across a 20 to 40 foot long aviary, we are happy that at least some of the photos turned out as well as they have. Does anyone in the Peterborough Ontario Canada Area have a Digital Video camera with a telephoto lens that we could borrow? If so please e-mail us. (We have access to a scanner if its not digital too.)
You see, all of the Birds in the Aviaries are "Wild" in temperment. It is vitally important to maintain their natural untamed state of affairs if they are going to be successful breeders. This makes it possible for them to hatch and raise their young exactly as they would in the wild. It is equally important that they receive as little disturbance as possible while they are doing so.
As a result, many of the photos we could get before the camera had to go back with its visiting benefactor, were taken through peep holes measuring 3/4" in diameter, with the focus set to infinity. Also you will notice fairly quickly that many of the breeding aviaries are quite a mess from the droppings of the hatchlings and their parents. Just think back to what your kitchen, den, or living room looked like while your children were 3 to 4 years of age. Remember how tough picking up after them was? Now forget about having hands to pick up the mess with in the first place. Starting to get the picture? We make it a strict policy to wait until the breeding season is fully over before we venture in for the first time to do a cleaning. This involves capturing and removing the family to another temporary aviary, while the walls are scraped, and scrubbed, and things are mended or replaced. And all of this is done slowly by hand with no assistance from any sort of power tool. We must keep our desire to express our disgust quietly to ourselves. All Hawks for example instead of making "a little doggie do do" make what is referred to by Falconers as a "Slice". This means that they let go like a firehose at the nearest wall, and spray it horizontally through the air.
Please rest assured that there is very little danger to the young, who have evolved to be acclimatized to these conditions. Believe it or not, the parents go "to the facilities" over the side of the nest, and the young do the same as soon as they are able. For us, going in to clean the nest or walls while a breeding season is underway, would be the equivalent of washing a litter of puppies or kittens in cold water, only many many times worse. The parents would probably consume their young the moment things were put back. That is if we survived the attempt in the first place... ;-)
Simply stated, a mid breeding season cleaning cannot even be considered.
Ok, I think I made my point. Truth is we don't mind all these hassles in the least little bit. We are just glad and excited to see the first signs that a pair of birds (or other animals) is looking like their young are on the way. And we are delighted to be able to share a few glimpses of this year's breeding season with you. We just wish we had the time and a camera here when we need one, to really do justice for this site, as we have skipped over quite a large quantity of births, in terms of documenting them photographically on the internet.
(Or rather, what photos we do have of them from the 2002 Breeding Season)
You see, all of the Birds in the Aviaries are "Wild" in temperment. It is vitally important to maintain their natural untamed state of affairs if they are going to be successful breeders. This makes it possible for them to hatch and raise their young exactly as they would in the wild. It is equally important that they receive as little disturbance as possible while they are doing so.
As a result, many of the photos we could get before the camera had to go back with its visiting benefactor, were taken through peep holes measuring 3/4" in diameter, with the focus set to infinity. Also you will notice fairly quickly that many of the breeding aviaries are quite a mess from the droppings of the hatchlings and their parents. Just think back to what your kitchen, den, or living room looked like while your children were 3 to 4 years of age. Remember how tough picking up after them was? Now forget about having hands to pick up the mess with in the first place. Starting to get the picture? We make it a strict policy to wait until the breeding season is fully over before we venture in for the first time to do a cleaning. This involves capturing and removing the family to another temporary aviary, while the walls are scraped, and scrubbed, and things are mended or replaced. And all of this is done slowly by hand with no assistance from any sort of power tool. We must keep our desire to express our disgust quietly to ourselves. All Hawks for example instead of making "a little doggie do do" make what is referred to by Falconers as a "Slice". This means that they let go like a firehose at the nearest wall, and spray it horizontally through the air.
Please rest assured that there is very little danger to the young, who have evolved to be acclimatized to these conditions. Believe it or not, the parents go "to the facilities" over the side of the nest, and the young do the same as soon as they are able. For us, going in to clean the nest or walls while a breeding season is underway, would be the equivalent of washing a litter of puppies or kittens in cold water, only many many times worse. The parents would probably consume their young the moment things were put back. That is if we survived the attempt in the first place... ;-)
Simply stated, a mid breeding season cleaning cannot even be considered.
Species
(and Baby Pictures Link)
Quantity of Young
(at posting of Photos)
Approx. Birth Date
Latin Name
-Ferruginous Hawk
2
End of May, 2002
Buteo regalis
-Swainson's Hawk
4
Beginning of June, 2002
Buteo swainsoni
-Eurasian Eagle Owl
5
(Between two pairs of Parents)
End of March, 2002
Bubo bubo
-Snowy Owl
6
(Between two pairs of Parents)
Mid June, 2002
Nyctea scandiaca
-Montana Great Horned Owl
3
Mid March, 2002
Bubo virginianus
(and Baby Pictures Link)
(at posting of Photos)
-Ferruginous Hawk-Swainson's Hawk-Eurasian Eagle Owl(Between two pairs of Parents)
-Snowy Owl(Between two pairs of Parents)
-Montana Great Horned Owl
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