Laura Sexson writes us: "After catching up on some pod casts, I thought I would let you know that USPS.com now has the 2011-2012 Duck Stamp showing as a choice. After some frustrating search attempts I find the search term White – Fronted narrows the results from over 90 to 6. I expect my stamp in the mail soon."
Atlantic puffins are hatched a bit more independently than other species.
Non Birding Bill has a show in the MN Fringe Festival! Come see it, opens this Friday: Macbeth the Video Game Remix!
I don't know what the World Birding and Nature Center at South Padre Island has going on here, but this article doesn't paint them in a favorable light. Something is up and dispute between the county, the city and the nature center and the boardwalk may be chained or unchained when you visit.
The picture in this article about Jamaica Bay reminds me of Selleck Waterfall Sandwich.
Move over Archaeopteryx...
I saw some flickers learning the ways of the world on my bird surveys the other day. Even though that baby looks full grown, he's still hoping to be fed by the adults. Old habits die hard.
This gray catbird has taken to the suet plugs at the feeder in a big way. It's one of two catbirds (presumably a pair) that have decided the peanut suet dough in the woodpecker log is the best thing ever. Hope they bring their fledglings too.
A Thestrals is kind of like a Goth Pegasus. A flying horse without skin and batlike wings, they can only be seen by those who have witnessed death. They're basically the creepiest My Little Pony ever, and are used at Hogwarts to pull carriages. They use invisible flying horses to pull carriages. Okay! The really odd part is that Pegasus exist in the world of Harry Potter anyway: they're used to pull the flying stagecoach of the Beaux Batons school. And that's all they do, except drink single malt whiskey as their only sustenance. Does drunk flying horses sound like a recipe for disaster? You bet! My guess is that Pegasus crashes are a regular occurrence, spiraling into the ground in a fiery wreck, which produces Thestrals, who as I mentioned look like they've had their skin burned off. Ecology!
Question: Why would you get an owl for a pet if its primary job is delivering mail and you have no one to send messages to? Seriously. I know it's supposed to be a familiar, but Harry doesn't use it in magic, his parents are dead (OH SNAP! Spoiler alert!), he hates his aunt and uncle and they certainly don't want to get a message that has owl saliva and bits of mouse on it. Add to the fact the number of people who got owls for their child as a pet (legal in the UK) and then didn't take care of them once they realized that raptors don't like to cuddle, and the whole Hedwig thing just makes me so mad I should probably stop thinking about it.