The Ohio Ornithological Society has a link up of some young thug eagles loitering around cars and trampolines. Birds fresh from the nest are a hoot. They have no idea what to hunt and you'll sometimes see wacky things like a peregrine going after a butterfly or and eagle on a trampoline. Many people like to think of this as play but ornithologists usually attribute this to learning, birds figuring out what they can eat and kill. I'm not sure which it is, but it's funny.

I'm very excited, we ended up not owing as much in taxes as we set aside and I got a new iPod this weekend. I'm using it in conjunction with the microphone that Sam Crowe sent me to record my Birdzilla.com segments. I did kind of a tester segment about the owls over the weekend and next week Amber, Lori and I are headed to Kearney, Nebraska to party with Paul Johnsgard (at least party as much as one can with a 74 year old ornithologist) and see a butt load of cranes and snow geese.

Amber just alerted me that they have the Crane Cam up at National Geographic. It's a mic that's on at Rowe Sanctuary where you can watch and listen to the cranes. I have it on while I'm typing this and I can't see anything but I can hear the cranes. It reminds me of being in the blind (minus the frozen extremities)--I have goosebumps right now. Cool, I can hear snow geese starting up...and a train. Non-birding Bill has just come in and given me that smile. He said, "I'm so happy for you, you have taken your birding to a new and even geekier level."