Killer Heatwave

Yesterday it was 110 in the San Fernando Valley. I feed the birds a light meal at about 7:30PM. This morning they flew, some even routed briefly. However, they would not return at the feedcan. Also, they flew about a half hour later than usual.

Despite shaking the can, calling, etc. I was only able to get 9 birds in. Dana will be home early so she will try to get the other five in - if they haven't used the latecomer trap.

Update 9/27/10

Jack laid the second egg on Friday 9/24/10. Chile has taken off incubation sporadically. I plan to candle the eggs on Wednesday or Thursday. If the eggs are fertile, they will hatch on or about October 12th.

'Frisco and Dover were displaying a lot this morning. I saw 'Frisco feeding Dover on the landing board and then attempting to mate. Still don't know the sexes yet. No nesting observed.

Marty continues to flourish. He flies quite well now - once flew on top of the loft and I had to get him down. I will have to work on a recall with him if I plan to keep him as a pet. I also have slowly introduced him to the homers. He also had his second bath this weekend.

The homers routed for a very brief period of time this morning - about 5-10 minutes. They returned with a stray feral that flew away once they trapped. It's over 110 degrees today and I am a little concered for their health. The aviary will be misted this afternoon to insure they stay cool.

Jack = Jackie-O and First Egg

Father still undetermined (if there is one), but Captain Jack (now remained Jackie-O) has delivered the first egg for Montecito Lofts.

Marty Takes a Bath

Marty, the feral rescue, took his first bath on Sunday. Very cute. The significance is that he's feeling and acting much better since a short source of Enroflaxyn. Guess it was exactly what he needed .

R.I.P. India

Unfortunately, a cat got the male fantail, India, yesterday. Poor guy didn't stand a chance. Made me really think about the dangers of breeding birds that are incapable of full flight. I have no immediate plans to relocate Rio - but it would be nice to see her re-mated as she is way unsettled right now and causing a lot of stress in the loft.

Sad day.

First Nest

Over the weekend I added half nest box fronts to the boxes for a tiny bit of added privacy and to try and separate some of the fighting birds.

This morning I was greeted by a nice, new nest built by Chile and Jack. I'm stil trying to sex those birds - I have a feeling they are a male/mated pair. It will be interesting to see if any eggs show up in the next ten days.

Routing - 9-13-10

Over the weekend the birds were flow 2X a day. The flights were typical: short bursts followed by quick returns to the loft. Even though I used the black flag to send them back up again, they still landed quickly.

I moved to a new position with the flag and tried to keep them up on the Sunday evening flight. They really stayed in the air for a period of time (including some rather hysterically funny attempts to land on a palm tree branch). This morning I didn't flag much - but for the first time noticed they were out of sight for a few minutes. Finally, I came inside and they returned and trapped on their own. I hope this means that they started their routing.

Good omen.

Birdie Maintenance

Yesterday I took the time to clip all the birds' toenails and check their mouths. 87 had a possible canker. Probably not, but I don't see any major harm in a three day course of Spartrix (the flock has not been treated for trich in the past).

Drizzly day and I had an early morning. The birds flew and trapped on their own. Perfect birds.

Another Possible Pairing

This morning I observed Berkeley (91) driving Finny (32). That's three pairings so far.

Even though these are just youngsters (and I wouldn't allow any chicks at this point) I really need to get to work on a breeding loft!

Lost Bird Updates

Of course, I can't be 100% sure that the birds are mine - but it's a really good guess.

One bird on top of the Sherman Oaks Methodist Church at Beverly Glen and Ventura Boulevard. Wonderful, old established flock. They are fed daily by a member of the public.

One bird seen on top of a shoe store on Van Nuys Boulevard, just north of Roscoe. My brother and I calcuated the distance as being 1.4 miles from the loft.

One bird now living with an enormous flock of ferals at Strathern between Hazeltine and Van Nuys at the train tracks. This is exactly where I lost two birds on release. Guess he joined the flock and never left (seriously, over 500 birds at least).

Nice to know they are surviving - especially against hawk attacks - out in the wild asphalt jungle!

I stand corrected...or do I?

Well, the love affair between Jack and Chile continues..and the mystery deepens. Chile displays extremely "male" attributes. I have considered him/her/it one of the alphas of the loft; always fighting, stealing perches, stopping others from eating, etc.

Today Chile was strutting in a nestbox, Jack jumped in a started dragging his tail in a very "male" display and Chile crouched down in a nestbowl. Yup. Surprised the heck out of me.

So, the sex determination continues with this pair. Anything goes at this point: male/female, male/male or female/female. Any guess is a good one.