Great Weekend

My beautiful granddaughters went out to play in the flowers and 

a fairy sprinkled some fairy dust over them.

It was magical.

Then we went back to the house for a cake smash for 1 yr old Blaire.

Blackland Prairie Raptor Rescue

Got to take photos of the birds today... was AWESOME!! Imagine being 

only a couple of feet away from these beauties.

Here is a sneak Peek

'Scarlett' - American Kestrel
Scarlett was found as an orphan in 2005 and became ‘imprinted’ on humans.  She was taken to a rehabilitation facility and was found to be in good health.  Since she was non-releasable due to her imprinting, she was transferred to BPRC.

 

All Fluffed up (Ruffing)

'SweetPea' - Eastern Screech Owl (Gray-phase)
SweetPea hatched in the spring of 2003, was found by a family and taken home.  She was kept in a rabbit cage and fed hamburger meat.   The family realized it was illegal to have her and took to the appropriate authorities.  She was found to be in good condition, but as an ‘imprint’ she was non-releasable and transferred to BPRC in August 2004 as an education ambassador.   In Texas we have gray and red phases of Screech Owls, she is a gray-phased owl.

‘Otus’ - Eastern Screech Owl (Red-phase)
Otus was hit by a car in 2004 and sent to a raptor rehabilitator.  Once it was diagnosed that his right wing and eye would not work properly he was transferred to BPRC to become an education ambassador.

‘Sierra’ - Red-tailed Hawk
Sierra hatched in 1984 in Oregon and was shot in the head some time soon after.   The pellet caused a loss of sight in her right eye and only gives her peripheral vision out of the left eye.  She was used in flighted programs until her deteriorated eyesight became hazardous for her to fly at which time she became an education bird.

‘Beaker’ - Barred Owl

Beaker was found in 2009 with numerous primary (flight) feathers missing from his left wing. There did not seem to be any other injuries that puzzled veterinarians and rehabbers alike.  Beaker was kept in rehabilitation to see if new feathers would grow, and they never did. He was transferred to BPRC in 2010 and is quite the crowd pleaser.

‘Willie’ -  Common Barn Owl
Willie was found on the ground in the spring of 2002 in Dallas.  The person who found her thought she needed help and took her home to raise her.  Unfortunately, she was fed cat food as she developed which caused a lack of calcium in her diet, her bones became brittle and fractures occurred in her right wing. This made her only partially flighted.  Additionally, she became ‘imprinted’ on humans and now relies on them for her care.

‘Pippin’ - Red-shouldered Hawk
The story of Pippin is unfortunately a common one.  In 2003, he was found flying around a neighborhood acting abnormal for a wild hawk.  When approached, he actually landed on the roof of a car begging for food.  He is an  ‘imprint’ which somebody raised and released thinking they had saved the bird’s life.  But Pippin was found almost starved to death, not knowing how to hunt.  Fortunately, he has become a wonderful education ambassador with BPRC. 

Pippin showing off

‘Hunter’ - Great Horned Owl
Hunter is a human imprint that had been doing programs at another raptor education facility.   He was found as a baby in 2003 and was transferred to BPRC in the fall of 2007.

Don't have the name for this little one. Grey phase Screech Owl. 
About 3 years old. Found injured in the wild and brought to BPRC. 

‘Xena’ - Peregrine Falcon

Xena was hatched in 2001 and raised in captivity.  She was used in a breeding program for many years. Afterwards an attempt was made to work her as a falconry bird, but she didn't do very well and was transfered to BPRC in 2012.

 I took almost 800 photos of them so will have tons posted soon on FLIKR :o)

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of weeks

Still trying not to freak out... My external hard drive will all my photos from this year has a corrupted index file which means I can't access them. My youngest son works in IT and said there is a guy at his work that does just that, recover data from hard drives. Still waiting for him to come pick it up and take to work with him. In the meantime, my husband surprised me by ordering me a new external Hard Drive so I can start working on the photos I have taken since then. I have downloaded them to my husband's computer just so I can still take more. I am so lucky to have such a great, supportive husband. Next Saturday morning my husband and I will be at Brockdale Park for the Blackland Prairie Raptor Rescue photo op. Can't wait to take some wildlife  photos..... hawks, owls and falcons........... Then the next day will be a photo session with my granddaughters, Kennedy and Blaire........stay tuned.  :o)

iHeart Faces Challenge: Play

For my submission I am using a photo of my nephew, Perry and his beautiful daughter, Cali. The love they share is so obvious as they played. This was such a fun session with the whole family just having fun. 

 This photo was submitted to the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com