Curmudgeon

Grow- Here is a Google Earth view so you can see the size of the pond. The barn is 26' X 44' without the shed. The birds don't seem to mind the sheep. You can see the screen of willows. The camera is at the inside elbow. You can see the logs. That's the only spot we can see from the house. You don't need a big pond to get good wildlife action.

The pond is about 25 X 100 feet. It is less than 100 feet from the house, however, there is a heavy screen of willows on the house side. From inside, we can only see 10 or 15% of the water area. There is a duck box but the wood ducks never use it. Hooded mergansers have. There are a number of small ponds in the neighborhood, and a beautiful wetland a half mile away. Ducks and geese are always moving around, going from pond to pond. Food is the major attraction. There is a lot of food for dabblers and fish eaters alike, emergent vegetation - that isn't up yet - and thousands of minnows and tadpoles.

Since I repaired the raven damage to the Browning, I put that out by the pond for a test. Here are some more pond photos, including a great shot of kingfisher that was time just right. The delay must have worked out just right this time. It just left the water. Notice the fat-head minnow in its beak. I know the minnow species because that is the only fish in the pond. Common mergs A popular lady. Moody woody shot.

As it appears some of you are infatuated with Trump, I have never been infatuated by any politician. When politicians don't do the right thing, they need to be called out, held to account. I avoid everything political on this forum that is off topic, and will continue to do so. I will - without hesitation - continue to promulgate information and criticize Trump here, when his policies damage wildlife, habitat and access.

Doc, You're stuck in 2016. This thread is about the future. It is about what is happening now.

It's simple. The land belongs to the people of the United States. Individual states will not serve the interests of US citizens. "This land is your land. This land is my land. From California............................"

What the house did - in declaring federal lands to be worth zero dollars - should be considered malfeasance, or even criminal. To give this land to states to dispose of as they will is a betrayal of the public trust. AT is right. Public land gives the common person opportunities that are lacking elsewhere in the world. There is a debate to be had over whether and how much land governments should own. When having that debate, it would help to use honest data. The red map above was created to suggest that there is too much federal land. What they don't tell you is, the map includes national parks, monuments, wildlife refuges, military land, Indian reservations, etc. It isn't just blm property and national forest. And, remember, a lot of that public land already serves/served as a source of corporate welfare for the petroleum, timber, mining and ranching interests. The US has some of the tension between The Tragedy of The Commons, and the Enclosure Laws (The World Turned Upside Down), but nothing like England did. The balance here is debatable but hunters shouldn't complain, they should be thrilled. If they care about wildlife and habitat, they will not embrace Trump environmental policies. To conflate gun rights with the interests of hunters - as is done so often here and elsewhere - requires a suspension of disbelief. Good luck with that. They are two different things with some overlap.

I saw this thread and had to add my 2 cents. I almost always use chaps and other safety stuff - earplugs, etc. I may skip the chaps if I have make a quick cut. My brother was not in the habit of using them. He had gone decades without an incident. I got ticked off and bought him a pair of chaps. A couple of months after I gave them to him, while clearing brush to rehab an old pasture and over-tired, he laid the chain on his leg. It got through the kevlar but did not even scratch his jeans. Because he is cheap, I immediately bought him another pair. He was going to keep using the old pair with the big slash in them.

http://www.trcp.org/2017/04/20/public-lands-managed-balance-many-uses-may-change/?utm_source=rooseveltreportshort&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Roosevelt Report 2015 An excerpt from a new Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership message: New under-the-radar administration policies would alter public land management, and this has major implications for hunting and fishing Efforts to dispose of public lands may grab headlines, but a subtle shift in the management of public lands could present an even greater risk to the future of hunting and fishing. With the spotlight shining brightly on recent proposals to sell off our public lands, the White House and the Department of the Interior quietly set policies in motion last month that have the potential to change the way our public lands are managed. In tandem, Executive Order 13873 and Secretarial Order 3349 would initiate a few specific processes that could change the way public lands wildlife habitat is valued and managed, especially when it’s at odds with energy development. All Americans—including sportsmen—depend on energy resources, but we want to see development carried out in a balanced way, not at the expense of fish and wildlife habitat or our best hunting and fishing areas................................................ Complete article at http://www.trcp.org/2017/04/20/public-lands-managed-balance-many-uses-may-change/?utm_source=rooseveltreportshort&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Roosevelt Report 2015

More ducks. I'm not sure what that 3rd duck is. Someone with really good ID skills might know. There are 4 male woodies in the second photo.

This is a scavenger research site in Delaware County, part of the Appalachian Eagle Project. I have a license to use road-kills. There are other threads that follow this research. See below.

This shot came to me from one of the camera trappers that operates on my license. I'm calling it "The Werewolf of Delaware County".

From Outdoor Life - http://www.outdoorlife.com/federal-land-transfer-beware-politicians-bearing-maps

I've had a camera on the pond by the house for a while. It was frozen through much of March but finally thawed. Wood ducks after last weekend's snow Hoody Mallards and wood duck

Here is a recent update from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. http://www.trcp.org/2017/02/07/still-fired-up-h-r-621-ten-threats-public-lands/?utm_source=rooseveltreportshort&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Roosevelt Report 2015

I have grafted a lot of improved apples onto large wild trees using the cleft grafting method. It is easy but generally takes 3 years to replace the branches with the new variety. You can probably find that one youtube also. Get grafting material now! Mine is already in cold damp storage. You don't want the buds swelling.

C, Peregrines nest on cliffs and structures that seem like them - bridges, tall buildings. Kestrel boxes and screech owl boxes are the same, although kestrels are open country birds while owls prefer a bit more cover. That said, screech owls regularly use kestrel and wood duck boxes in various habitats. Duck boxes are bigger but I make the hole the same size. Plans, http://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/birds/american-kestrel/ A Google search will get you plenty more.

Do it ASAP. As soon as the water opens back up, ducks will get to work. Hooded mergansers use them too. I've seen hoodys with young in early April after a warm winter. I've got a kestrel box to put up, and I need to do bluebird house cleaning and maintenance. The snow is still too deep here too.

Is that road kill it's on?

Saw-whets are tough. I've only seen and heard them in the dark. Well done.

Great. I think he is joining me today at Davis State Park to count migrating golden eagles. I'll probably hear all about it.

Thanks for posting these. Kyle sent me a shot, apparently the same bird. Wonderful creatures. I spent some time trying to find them in Yellowstone in 94 but came up short. Eventually a trip to Amherst Island turned up a bunch.

Unadilla got 26, Oneonta 33.4. In Burlington had at least 36. You got robbed. http://www.weather.gov/bgm/pastWinterMarch142017 My brother is a few miles north in West Winfield. I congratulated him on being #1. My next roof will be steel. At least the misses was up on the roof to help yesterday. There was 4 feet on the south side. She is only 4-9 so that was fun.

I measured 32 inches at dusk. Another 4-5 fell overnight. Weather.com says West Winfield just north of me officially got 42. More roof to shovel after this break.

That's better. Even though the BBS is considered one of the worst indices for raptor populations (I was a BBS surveyor for many years), no one argues that bald eagle populations are increasing. Other survey methods indicate golden eagle numbers are dropping in the west and stable in the east - http://rpi-project.org/2011/assessments.php . More from Scientific American on take permits for eagles at wind farms - "The revised proposal cites significant expansion within many sectors of the U.S. energy industry, particularly wind energy operations in the Western states, at a time when bald eagle numbers are growing while golden eagles appear to be in decline." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-proposes-giving-wind-farms-permits-for-eagle-deaths/ This returns us to the NSSF argument that it is okay to kill eagles as long as it doesn't threaten their population, an assertion I hope all conservationist reject.