|
23 Jan 11 - 11:01 AM (#3080646) Subject: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Charley Noble Evidently the ardent bird-watchers here at Mudcat central weren't interested in this story. So, I'll try it again as a separate thread. The story is that somehow a juvenile female Cooper's Hawk made it into the Library of Congress reading room and for the past few days has established herself up in the dome area. The staff have enlisted the appropriate animal rescue folks in an attempt to trap her and restore her to the wild but so far with no success. Here's a link to a blog maintained by the Library staff: click here! They are soliciting possible names for the hawk if you're interested in making a contribution. I'm personally fond of the name "Snoopy." Cheerily, Charley Noble |
|
23 Jan 11 - 11:12 AM (#3080652) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Will Fly "Fenimore" might be appropriate. |
|
23 Jan 11 - 11:49 AM (#3080694) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: pdq Perhaps "Natty" or "Bumppo"? |
|
23 Jan 11 - 12:34 PM (#3080728) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Desert Dancer Ah poor bird... |
|
23 Jan 11 - 12:43 PM (#3080737) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Ebbie Several years ago a Fred Meyers (a variety store) here in town became host to a small bird. It was in there several weeks and staff put out feed and water for the duration. Eventually with the big doors wide open and causing cross ventilation it found its way out. But a hawk? Will they have to release pigeons from time to time so it won't starve? :) I might name it 'Oopsy'. |
|
23 Jan 11 - 03:11 PM (#3080869) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: maeve Regarding the birdwatching thread, Charley...Not all who read and appreciate take time to comment. |
|
23 Jan 11 - 10:55 PM (#3081159) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Ron Davies Thanks, Charlie, for this notification. I have a friend who works there--I'll ask her if she's seen the hawk. |
|
23 Jan 11 - 11:26 PM (#3081174) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: The Fooles Troupe I knew there were hawks in the library as well as in Congress! |
|
24 Jan 11 - 12:26 AM (#3081189) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Jim Dixon I had a bird in my house once; a starling, I think it was. Attempts to capture it failed. I finally guessed, correctly, that when the house was mostly dark, the bird would fly toward the light. So I turned my porch light on, turned all the other lights off, and left the front door wide open, and the bird flew out of its own accord. |
|
24 Jan 11 - 08:38 AM (#3081335) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Raptor Keep us posted on this and thanks it is interesting |
|
24 Jan 11 - 08:38 AM (#3081336) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Charley Noble The staff of the Library have been discussing how the hawk might have gotten in. It probably doesn't have the passcode for gaining access the usual way via the staff entrance. Their best guess seems to be that it found a broken window somewhere up in the dome area. Releasing a few pigeons within the reading room would certainly provide a meal or two for this hawk, not to mention some entertainment. I suppose they could send someone up in a balloon with a net but the hawk could probably outmaneuver any efforts to net it. Charley Noble |
|
24 Jan 11 - 09:08 AM (#3081360) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Bobert Well, we have two hawks here on our farm so when I heard this story I had to take my binoculars out and do an inventory and am here to report that we still have our two hawks so... ...ain't mine... You want to get him out then tie a string to a rat and let it go in the library and when the hawk comes down fir him slowly pull the rat out the front door... Works every time... B~ |
|
24 Jan 11 - 10:02 AM (#3081387) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Desert Dancer In the LOC blog that Charlie linked at the top they mention that Cooper's hawks eat "feathers not fur", so yer rat approach won't work, Bobert. ~ Becky in Tucson |
|
24 Jan 11 - 05:44 PM (#3081699) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Rapparee I've notified some of the library community. |
|
24 Jan 11 - 05:57 PM (#3081719) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Slag "DEAD" if they don't get it out of there. That is unless they have a lot of mice in the library! |
|
24 Jan 11 - 09:24 PM (#3081836) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Ron Davies Not necessarily, Slag. If you read the blog (confirmed by my friend who works there (and is a wonderful musician, by the way), she seems to like frozen grouse--feathers, not fur, remember--and has in fact little incentive to leave now--it's warm there (not outside) and she's being fed. |
|
24 Jan 11 - 09:25 PM (#3081838) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: EBarnacle Where one bird gets in, so will others. Various large buildings and convention halls have resident families of pigeons and other birds. The Javits Center in NYC has quite a few pigeons who seem to live quite comfortably indoors all year round. They probably eat the food dropped by the public. |
|
24 Jan 11 - 09:56 PM (#3081849) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Skivee I think that there may be some flaws in the proposal to release pigeons to feed the hawk; "Sam, what's that on the Gutenberg Bible??? |
|
24 Jan 11 - 10:43 PM (#3081863) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: EBarnacle You are probably right, Skivee. I was thinking more along the lines that there may already be unnoticed birds in residence, as most of the Library's clientelle would be looking down, at their literature. |
|
25 Jan 11 - 08:10 AM (#3082011) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Charley Noble Eric- In this situation it would be dangerous to look up! Those of us who have watched raptors for years have a healthy respect for what's called the "poop shoot." Here's the latest update: "The hawk is still in the Main Reading Room. The rescue team found a trap that she was attracted to (which is good news for humane capture); however, the hawk had swooped in and took just enough of the bait late Sunday afternoon and was able to avoid capture. This means that she is now fed and will most likely not be ready to eat again until Tuesday. The trap has been adjusted and is ready to be baited again on Tuesday. The team now believes that the hawk has a predilection for frozen quail and not live bait." Cheerily, Charley Noble |
|
25 Jan 11 - 09:47 AM (#3082081) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: EBarnacle Frozen quail--I thought they created bonded pairs, preferably not frigid. |
|
25 Jan 11 - 12:41 PM (#3082174) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Charley Noble As my mother used to say, from I Love My Anteater with an A: "I love my quail with a Q because he is quiet. I have him with a Q because he is quarrelsome. His name is Quincy. He comes from Quebec. He lives on quahogs and quinces, And he is quite a quilter. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
|
26 Jan 11 - 10:42 PM (#3083114) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Charley Noble Good news. The Cooper's hawk was successfully captured. Here's part of the blog update: hawk that became trapped about a week ago in the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress's Jefferson Building has been safely captured. I will update this post a little later with details and images (and possibly video). UPDATE, noon EST: Mark Hartsell, editor of the Library's weekly staff newsletter, The Gazette, provided this firsthand report of the happy ending: The hawk that took up an unauthorized residence in the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress, eluding captors and delighting a nationwide online audience for a week, finally got evicted. The juvenile, female raptor was apprehended early Wednesday morning by a three-person team and sent to a stint in rehab with the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia. Here's how they got their bird: The team put a pair of starlings – Frick and Frack, according to their owner – in a trap on a ledge inside the dome and waited, hidden beneath a tarp. The Cooper's hawk that has been at the Library of Congress for at least one week was caught today around 8:30 a.m. In this photo, Kennon Smith (right), a federally licensed raptor bander who volunteers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, shows the trap that was used, containing two European starlings to bait and rescue the hawk. (Library of Congress Photo/Abby Brack) The starlings saw the hawk poised nearby and froze. But the noise of a truck passing by the Jefferson Building startled the pair and caused them to move. The motion drew the attention of the hawk: She immediately flew onto the trap, where its talons entangled in the nylon nooses attached to the top of the wire cage. The team grabbed the hawk, weighed and banded the bird, then placed it in a covered cardboard carrying box. It will be banded later today. The capture occurred about 8:30 a.m., and the process took about 25 minutes from setup to completion, according to Craig Koppie, an eagle and raptor biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The bird is in good health and had no significant feather damage, said Kennon Smith, a federally licensed raptor bander who volunteers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and assisted in the capture. Team members also said the room's large rotunda likely proved less injurious to a circling hawk than a smaller, more angular space would have. The full stories has some nice images of the hawk being assessed by its captors (remember, there is a link in the first post) . No starlings were injured physically in the capture, although they are both probably recovering from sheer terror. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
|
27 Jan 11 - 12:23 AM (#3083144) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Desert Dancer Yay! |
|
27 Jan 11 - 08:53 AM (#3083298) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Charley Noble And I hope that "Frick and Frack", the two starlings who were used as bait, got a special treat afterwards. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
|
27 Jan 11 - 01:40 PM (#3083443) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: EBarnacle Would the special treat be the opportunity to continue living? |
|
27 Jan 11 - 09:03 PM (#3083740) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Charley Noble Eric- Once you name starlings "Frick and Frack" there's no way that you can casually dismiss them as major players in this drama. So who's gonna write the ballad? Charley Noble |
|
27 Jan 11 - 09:59 PM (#3083766) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Bobert It's all a set up... I read in the Washington Post today that the hawk got in thru a "broken window"??? Hey, this the the Library of "Friggin'" Congress here... Not the friggin', ahhhhhhhh, Bookmobile!!! This hawk was certainly a setup... For whom??? Stay tuned... B~ |
|
27 Jan 11 - 10:05 PM (#3083769) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Bill D There already IS a song about a "Friggin' Falcon" ...maybe it can be adapted? |
|
28 Jan 11 - 07:34 AM (#3083948) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Ron Davies It's hard to believe they could not have found some starlings who were not pets. Many of us have cursed for years the idiot who decided the US should have starlings since they were mentioned in Shakespeare. |
|
28 Jan 11 - 07:37 AM (#3083950) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Ron Davies The idiot's name was Schieffelin. |
|
28 Jan 11 - 11:59 AM (#3084117) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Charley Noble It's amazing the arcane knowledge one can accumulate from a Mudcat thread! Now Frick and Frack were two starlings bold, Sit you down a while as their tale be told; They trapped a hawk and they trapped her well, No more in the Library of Congress Reading Room dome will she dwell. Well, maybe it needs a little more work. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
|
28 Jan 11 - 01:34 PM (#3084170) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Bill D It's ok, Charley...there's a chap named McGonnigle who can finish it... **grin** |
|
12 May 11 - 02:11 AM (#3152562) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Joe Offer Not to worry.....the hawk was captured in February, and released outside the building. (click) -Joe- |
|
12 May 11 - 08:03 AM (#3152666) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: Charley Noble Joe- Thanks for the update. It's always a happy occasion (well, maybe not for starlings!) when there is a successful release. Charley Noble |
|
12 May 11 - 11:07 AM (#3152750) Subject: RE: BS: Cooper's Hawk in Library of Congress From: katlaughing Thanks for the update, Joe. Glad Frick and Frack were not sacrificed. I like "Minerva" better than "Shirley" for the hawk's name.:-) |