Bird Cams Around the World

Here's a short video about raising Cormorants at the wildlife hospital. Note the costumes.



When the guano from Double-crested Cormorants nesting on electric towers in the South San Francisco Bay region began to cause serious shortages and information loss, a local utility agency had to take action by removing some of the nests to prevent further damage. International Bird Rescue Research Center is incubating eggs and rearing some of the cormorant chicks that came from these towers. This is the second time we have raised and rehabilitated baby cormorants from eggs. Last year, we raised a small batch of cormorants and had about a 60 percent release rate of wild, healthy juvenile cormorants.

In the beginning of the video, you can see our large egg incubator. Next you see the youngest chicks, several days old, being fed in an incubator in our ICU unit. They are born naked and blind, but now their eyes are beginning to open. To avoid habituation with humans, we put on our Kormorant Kostumes before we approach the chicks. As the one behind the camera, I am also wearing a KK.

The next video clips show increasingly older chicks. The oldest ones in this video were taken from an outdoor cage in a special section of our Pelican Aviary to one of the inside cages, where they will spend the night.

Bless Pete as he makes his decisions. I agree with obxbarb about fostering or feeding. I read " Flyaway" by susie gilbert, and she did a lot of this work, that was so rewarding. I don't want to watch too much, but am interested in what will be done or not done. Always so painful to lose a life. I agree that helping these few won't upset the natural world. And as someone said, WE WATCH this nest. That is the big difference.

It happens every year ... somewhere .... just when we think everything is going terrific - POOF! I'm so sad we've lost Pappa.

I don't know how things will end up ... but no matter what I'll respect Pete's decision. Hopefully Mama will find a new mate ... and who knows, she may even lay a new clutch. Especially if they end up finding somewhere to take these babies.

So ... we're down to 5 ... with another night approaching.

Starr Ranch Manager Pete DeSimone climbs up a ladder to the Barn Owl nest. Mom arrives with a mouse and notices Pete's delivery, surprised? She picks up one of Pete's gifts and flies off. One of the larger Barn Owl babies eats a mouse. When Mom returns, she feeds everyone. As they satisfy their appetites, the babies settle down, their cries for food less frantic.

Video recorded from 7:20 PM - 8:15 PM local time (edited 9 1/2 minutes)

Oh my goodness that Pete is a angel if this can judt hsppen til maybe another couple nests are found that would be the best thing ever thanks beans, and please thank pete for us all for the great man that he is

Oh what a blessing Pete is! Such dedication! Thank you beyond all understanding!

I am so happy to read this. I stopped watching these owls when that little one suffered a few years ago after being attacked by another adult owl. My heart jsut broke.

So I am so glad Pete is doing this.

I guess I am jsut of the school of thought , that if you put up a cam and know Worthington is suffering , you should help out. We all know that this is how it is in nature and those we cannot see suffer also, but how nice it is to help those you can see.

Watching the largest owlet swallowing the mouse, I am reminded of my son's ten year old birthday party at the pizza parlor...

PattIo

Hi there.

If you let me know where to send the money , I can send a small donation to Pete. I had to quit watchng a few years ago when the youngster got attacked by another adult and we had to watch it die. I turned it off. I think he was named Homer or something like that.

I remember it well bev ...except that was the WDFW nest. But mainly Pete keeps the same philosophy that we're just peeking in on nature and shouldn't always intervene. But I think all of the loyal cam watchers have made a soft spot in his heart.

When he made his delivery tonight he said that they are still working very hard to find a foster nest for the owlets. The problem is that a lot of the roads on the ranch are still torn up from the flooding they had last year and they just can't get around to look.

This is their online donation page ...
https://secure3.convio.net/nasaud/site/ ... q1.app304a

Or ... you can mail a donation to:
Starr Ranch Sanctuary
100 Bell Canyon Road
Trabuco Canyon, CA 92679

I sent mine in a couple of weeks ago. Have supported this site for a while now.

Thank you everyone!!!!!!!!!

Theres 9 pics from Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

He's so tiny... what are his chances for survival?

Recorded around midnight

Here's the helping hand at 7:29 PM:



(does the video before this one show up in the post?)