Among Friends

[possummink]

[possummink]

Hi Birding Friends,   I was ready to shut the computer down for the night and happened check in on the FB page I follow,  Mississippi River Photos.    There were quite a few photos of the White Pelicans that have been flocking up on the river near Iowa and now they are just a few miles from me at Riverlands Wildlife preserve, on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River across from Alton, Illinois. 

 The bridge, the Clark Bridge,  in the background of the last picture is the one that leaves Missouri as  you enter Illinois at Alton.   It's only about 6 miles from my house.   I hope the birds stick around for a bit as I don't think I'll have time tomorrow to go up there, as I have to pack and do all kinds of last minute things to get ready to leave for OK on Thursday.   I wish I'd seen these photos earlier.  I've seen a lot of these pelicans before,  but never this many in one place at one time.   Awesome sight.   Lots of Egrets have been gathering there too. 

[possummink]

[Bird mama]

@possummink   We broke our October 1st temperature record by hitting 89 degrees.  Temps are dropping as I type this, lol, and we'll be lucky if we hit highs in the 60's for the next week. 

[Bird mama]

@luvsbulldogs   We had a rainy spring, a summer that included a super hot and dry month and now a rainy fall.  I think that one hot and dry month or so in the summer is going to mess with the autumn colors this year.  I'm losing the small leaves on the black walnut tree out back.  So far my silver maple remains green as does the big mulberry in the back yard. 

Our water bills are generate for 3 months at a time and I know when I received the next one I will need to sit down.  That bill covers the hot and dry month and I was out there with my sprinkler making sure my silver maple wasn't stressed out.

I had major pruning done on that maple around Memorial Day and I've been babying that old tree ever since

[Bird mama]

@possummink  and @luvsbulldogs   

The Michigan Department of Health is authorizing nightime spraying of some counties to combat mosquito borne illness.

On Monday (9-30) Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties were sprayed. Spraying in 10 other counties hasn't been scheduled yet.

It's the first aerial treatments in Michigan since 1980.  This explains why I don't remember them doing this before

The mosquito borne illness has a 33% fatality rate, but despite the threat officials at the Barry-Eaton District Health Department say they're in the dark when it comes to a timeline, but the said being bit by a mosquito is still very much avoidable.

"This is just one tool in the toolkit for mosquito prevention...which is what the goal is, so we encourage the citizens to follow the guidelines we released...like personal protection...wearing DEET, long sleeves, avoiding unnecessary activities from dusk till dawn," Dr. Daniel Woodall, medical director at the Barry-Eaton District Health Department said.

The Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus has been confirmed in humans or animals in southern and southwestern Michigan.

There have been three human deaths.

The state says the virus has been identified in at least 30 animals in 15 counties. The cities of Kalamazoo and Portage have been scratched from the spraying list because of local opposition.

[luvsbulldogs]

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@possummink 

Wow, they are beautiful and there sure are a lot of them which makes such a beautiful sight.  You are so lucky to live in such a beautiful area!!!  Thank you so much for the photos of the White Pelicans!!! I hope that you get a chance to see them in person!!!

Have a safe trip and lots of fun in OK!!!

@possummink wrote:

Hi Birding Friends,   I was ready to shut the computer down for the night and happened check in on the FB page I follow,  Mississippi River Photos.    There were quite a few photos of the White Pelicans that have been flocking up on the river near Iowa and now they are just a few miles from me at Riverlands Wildlife preserve, on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River across from Alton, Illinois. 

 The bridge, the Clark Bridge,  in the background of the last picture is the one that leaves Missouri as  you enter Illinois at Alton.   It's only about 6 miles from my house.   I hope the birds stick around for a bit as I don't think I'll have time tomorrow to go up there, as I have to pack and do all kinds of last minute things to get ready to leave for OK on Thursday.   I wish I'd seen these photos earlier.  I've seen a lot of these pelicans before,  but never this many in one place at one time.   Awesome sight.   Lots of Egrets have been gathering there too. 

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[luvsbulldogs]

@Bird mama 

I never thought about our water bill!   Yikes I too will need to be sitting down when we get the bill!!!  We had a dry September and all we did was water especially since replanting the entire front of the condo.  Also we have an irrigation system that ran 3 to 4 times a day!!!  Thank goodness we all were told to shut down the irrigation systems on the first of the month so that they could drain the systems. 

I sincerely hope that you and your bird family are all doing well!!!  I read back to see how the wooden eggs worked and could not find anything....how did it go?

[Bird mama]

@luvsbulldogs    I held back on posting as more of a gift to the folks who visit the Bird's Nest for conversation

To be honest, Finley laid her second egg on a Monday and the rest of that week was rocky for me.  I felt like an irresponsible, ill prepared and lousy mother.  When birds mate and eggs are laid, timing is everything. 

In the case of pigeons, life (cell division) doesn't begin until incubation starts. 

Once the parents start to incubate the eggs or ‘sit tight’ on the nest, there is a narrow window of time (24 to 48 hours) to make a decision about the eggs.

The last time I gave an update on the birds in September; I had already reached the crossroads that morning and made the decision. 

The natural eggs had been incubated for 36 hours and time was of the essence. 

The company that I ordered the first set of wooden eggs from offered two sizes of eggs:  pigeon eggs (the size of chicken eggs) and dove eggs.  I went with the dove eggs and when they arrived that morning, I saw they were too small.   

Plan B was already underway as I ordered a dozen enamel covered wooden pigeon eggs from another company.  I requested and paid for 24 hour delivery via USPS.  I thought I was going to lose my religion when I received notification that my order shipped First Class (3 day delivery time).  I phoned the company and asked why my order was shipping first class when I requested and paid for 24 hour delivery?  Tiny said my order was on her desk and she never explained why they changed delivery method.  She updated the shipping method to 24 hour delivery.

There was one more option available to me and from what I've read it’s pretty common. 

While Grayson was sitting the nest, I swapped out one real egg for one smaller dove egg.  I candled the egg thoroughly with a blinding bright flashlight and saw no signs of life.  The egg was clear all the way through (no blood vessels, no embryo).  I boiled the egg, let it cool and returned it to the nest.  At that point Grayson had kicked the small dove egg aside, lol.  I took out the second real egg and repeated the process.

The enamel covered wooden eggs (Siegel eggs) arrived the next day.  They are not the exact shape of a natural pigeon egg however they are the same size and the Siegel eggs hold heat better than a run of the mill painted wooden egg.

Over the past 16 days, I've gradually transitioned out the boiled eggs for the Siegel eggs.  The birds sat on one boiled egg and one Siegel egg for most of the time.  This process has worked very well for my birds and I would do it again.  I only swapped out the eggs when Grayson was sitting the nest.  I warmed the Siegel egg by holding it and rotating it in my left hand while warming it with the blowdryer on medium heat.

Pigeon eggs usually hatch around the 18th to 20th day of incubation so I don't think it will be too much longer before the birds, especially Finley realizes that the eggs aren't viable. This happens in nature and I've learned that female pigeons sometimes lay unfertilized eggs.

[mousiegirl]

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@Bird mama wrote:

@luvsbulldogs    I held back on posting as more of a gift to the folks who visit the Bird's Nest for conversation

To be honest, Finley laid her second egg on a Monday and the rest of that week was rocky for me.  I felt like an irresponsible, ill prepared and lousy mother.  When birds mate and eggs are laid, timing is everything. 

In the case of pigeons, life (cell division) doesn't begin until incubation starts. 

Once the parents start to incubate the eggs or ‘sit tight’ on the nest, there is a narrow window of time (24 to 48 hours) to make a decision about the eggs.

The last time I gave an update on the birds in September; I had already reached the crossroads that morning and made the decision. 

The natural eggs had been incubated for 36 hours and time was of the essence. 

The company that I ordered the first set of wooden eggs from offered two sizes of eggs:  pigeon eggs (the size of chicken eggs) and dove eggs.  I went with the dove eggs and when they arrived that morning, I saw they were too small.   

Plan B was already underway as I ordered a dozen enamel covered wooden pigeon eggs from another company.  I requested and paid for 24 hour delivery via USPS.  I thought I was going to lose my religion when I received notification that my order shipped First Class (3 day delivery time).  I phoned the company and asked why my order was shipping first class when I requested and paid for 24 hour delivery?  Tiny said my order was on her desk and she never explained why they changed delivery method.  She updated the shipping method to 24 hour delivery.

There was one more option available to me and from what I've read it’s pretty common. 

While Grayson was sitting the nest, I swapped out one real egg for one smaller dove egg.  I candled the egg thoroughly with a blinding bright flashlight and saw no signs of life.  The egg was clear all the way through (no blood vessels, no embryo).  I boiled the egg, let it cool and returned it to the nest.  At that point Grayson had kicked the small dove egg aside, lol.  I took out the second real egg and repeated the process.

The enamel covered wooden eggs (Siegel eggs) arrived the next day.  They are not the exact shape of a natural pigeon egg however they are the same size and the Siegel eggs hold heat better than a run of the mill painted wooden egg.

Over the past 16 days, I've gradually transitioned out the boiled eggs for the Siegel eggs.  The birds sat on one boiled egg and one Siegel egg for most of the time.  This process has worked very well for my birds and I would do it again.  I only swapped out the eggs when Grayson was sitting the nest.  I warmed the Siegel egg by holding it and rotating it in my left hand while warming it with the blowdryer on medium heat.

Pigeon eggs usually hatch around the 18th to 20th day of incubation so I don't think it will be too much longer before the birds, especially Finley realizes that the eggs aren't viable. This happens in nature and I've learned that female pigeons sometimes lay unfertilized eggs.

@Bird mama   WOW, you have been busy, lol, what a procedure.  I hope all goes well for the love birdies.

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