BirdingGirl

Our favorite feather friend, the Boston Peregrine Falcon, dropped by our Back Bay office again to pose for a few photos. The people in our office love when he stops by because he perches right on the ledge outside our windows and doesn't mind the attention. How could we not stare? Photo Credit goes to my boss Larry. He always has his professional camera on hand, which is lucky in moments like this when the peregrine falcon decides to perch on our ledge! It's rare to get to see a peregrine falcon up close and personal. You really get to see the details in the bird's coloring and the scales on its legs/talons. I've been avidly reading my new Hawks at a Distance book. It's a great resource for learning more about raptors. I'm trying to educate myself on the proper way to talk about the different parts of their body, the different classifications, and of course how to identify them at a distance. I'm also learning about the various viewing positions. The pereg...

These pictures come thanks to my co-worker in Australia. He knew I was an avid birder and had a birding blog, so he shared two of his best photos with me. The first is a Fairy Wren: Interesting fact about Fairy Wrens (also known as the Superb Fairy-wren)- males often latch onto a predator's call to catch the attention of females. Pretty innovative! For more info: http://birdsinbackyards.net/species/Malurus-cyaneus The second is a Pheasant Coucal: The Pheasant Coucal is a large cuckoo similar in shape to a pheasant, often seen in backyards. For more info: http://birdsinbackyards.net/species/Centropus-phasianinus Thank you Brad!

I try to make a conscious effort to be green, by making choices that have a positive impact on my bird friends. Shade-grown coffee is an obvious one, but I recently started researching various eco-friendly lighting options and discovered that Pendant Lighting is a great option because you can use a lower-watt bulb. Why is pendant lighting eco-friendly? The trick is that the shape of pendant light shades illuminates more than traditional lamps, and since it's suspended from the ceiling it gives more direct light for reading or cooking below. Here are some cool pendant light examples I found on the Web! Source: NerdApproved.com Source: LittleFawns.com

Representative image of a Barn Owl Image credit: Brian E. Small Source credit: Allaboutbirds.org This was a sad story to see on the morning news. A tame Barn Owl, the mascot for Columbian soccer team Atletico Junior, was thrown onto the field during a game against Deportivo Pereira of Panama. It was sitting there minding its own business, when it was hit by a wayward soccer ball and then laid there stunned with its wings spread out. That's when Deportivo Pereira defenseman Luis Moreno kicked it about 3-4 yards. Supposedly he was frustrated because his team was losing and the game had to be stopped while the players and referees decided what to do about the owl. He claims he didn't know it was Atletico Junior's mascot, he thought it was just a stray bird. Even still! It's unbelievable that he would do that. If you want to see the video (bird lovers- this is not for the faint of heart), you can see it here http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/75811,life,video,fury-as-footballer-...