Nice! You have a pretty clear view with the leaves gone from the branches. Around here, the evergreens make shots like this rare, though we certainly have plenty of Bald Eagles. They're majestic.

We have them around Land Between The Lakes Nat'l Recreation Area (about a hundred miles west of me) and over at Lake Malone State Park (about forty miles).

If I ever see an eagle in one of my trees (they have been seen around here), Ima have a plaque made, and put it on the tree.

On Nov 4th there was a BBC Report from West Virginia about your mid-term elections.

I always take an interest in events on your side of the Atlantic but there was a small bonus in the form of two Bald Eagles perched in a tree beside the railway, sorry 'railroad'. :)

You can see them at about the 1.20 mark in the video.

US mid-terms 2014: Is West Virginia on the right track?

Incidentally, it's the Potomac Eagle Train of the South Branch Valley Railroad.

This afternoon whilst walking my canine guest, I was aware of a number of Red Kites close by. They were unusually vocal and it was difficult to see them all at once.
On returning home I could see that four of them had settled in a big Ash tree in the paddock at the bottom of the back garden.
They are birds which were persecuted almost to extinction by Victorian game keepers and a small number in mid-Wales were the only surviving examples of the species in the UK for decades.
In 1989 a re-introduction project was started with chicks brought from Spain and Scandinavia. Since then numbers have increased markedly.
They are not a species inclined to move too far from their breeding grounds but when numbers become too great for the available food they tend to spread out.
The local site for the initial release was the John Paul Getty Estate in South Oxfordshire about twelve miles from here and since then they have slowly spread along the Chilterns escarpment.
We've become used to seeing them in the last few years but to have them perch so close to the house was a privilege. They tend to follow the plough and upwards of twenty can be seen in such circumstances.
As my neighbour's back lawn was reduced to the state of a ploughed field by marauding Badgers last night, this might explain their presence.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a photo but these two are included by way of illustration.

http://s16.postimg.org/kqxh72gut/3252_IMG_7581.jpg

http://s29.postimg.org/un30s2hmf/red_kite_head.jpg

Magnificent creatures.

Feeding red kites: a view from the Chilterns

Lovely... when they're ripping the flesh from your screaming, writhing, carcass. :eek:

They're mostly carrion feeders, but will take small birds and mammals from time to time.

Your humble correspondent isn't into either writhing or screaming. Far too much effort involved. :eek:

But we're all only one breath away from carrion. :haha:

I know. Bloody frightening, isn't it? :eek::eek::eek:

To be given a sky funeral by such gorgeous birds would be a win.

Yes sir.

And you can do good at the same time in a body farm.

Here is a not very good pic of the last loon. It should have taken off last week with the rest of them, but it stuck around.

Nooo. Nope. Nuhuh. Not the same, not even close. :headshake

I suppose it depends on the farm.

Texas? You'll get cats and rats and elephants, as sure as you're born. Not to mention flies and worms and maggots. Tibet doesn't have that problem. Besides they have dudes crushing bones and flesh to mix with flour, butter and tea to feed the crows and birds of prey, after the vultures are done. Much more gooder then Texas maggots and cats.

As a matter of fact...
http://deformutilation.blogspot.ca/2...32a4a15f158afc

http://deformutilation.blogspot.ca/2...l-part-ii.html

http://deformutilation.blogspot.ca/2...-part-iii.html

I see. Good links, xoB, thanks. I see some important differences in the two scenarios. The first and most significant difference is that the sky burial has a substantial spiritual component and that aspect is missing entirely from the operation in Texas (and other body farms in the US). The two different procedures spring from different motivations. In Texas, there's no shortage of resources to bury the dead unlike the steppes of Mongolia. There isn't the necessity in Texas to process the bodies in this way that there is in Mongolia.

But the process is largely the same. I don't know what happens with the skeletons in Texas, though I'm sure they're under continued observation. Both processes serve a higher purpose. Both processes are deliberate. Both processes involve the knowledge of the deceased. I think they're more alike than they are different.

I'd read several articles about Tibet's sky burials, it was a coincidence I ran across those links last night. No, not the same. Not because of the spiritual aspect of proper disposal, but the method of employing the body breakers, who are basically lunch ladies for vultures and other flying creatures.

I don't condone trapping, but, goddamn look at the size of these wolves!

Attachment 49669

Northern Minnesota.

Dude, winter is coming.

Take out the apex predators, destroy the ecosystem.
This is cowardly and disgusting, MN. Nothing justifies this.

They (the wolves) are eating all the moose and squirrel deer. Like, way, way too many.

The wolves are too successful/efficient for their own good.

Take out the direwolves and you get left with the lions
(apols to Griff who was being more subtle)

Walked out on my porch the other afternoon and there was one of my squrls. He sat up on his hind legs, looked me straight in the eye, and said "Cookie, motherfucker!"

Attachment 49691

I got him a cookie. Best not to mess with them thug squrls.

You're his bitch now, grav. Stock up on those cookies.

Teach him to catch Blue Jays.

Wild Canadian horses...


It's worth seeing big... vimeo

The national government just took control of the island from the province and had a $35,000 study done on the welfare of the horses. the result is the horses "may face extinction".
OH my, oh no, why, pray tell?
1- If we have a bad winter and the food gets covered with ice/snow they'll starve, even though they haven't since the mid 1700s. :rolleyes:
2- Inbreeding may have weakened the herd. May? :eyebrow:

Guess the author had to make them feel they got their $35000 worth.

I just learned about Sable Island, its horses, and watched that very video recently.

They're Lovely!

Wild horses on Dartmoor:







(not truly 'wild' so much as* feral)





*bloody furious

Last time we camped on Assateague (in September) one of the wild horses came up to our hard plastic cooler and opened the lid with its teeth. It was one of those hard plastic lids that kinda pushed over a bump in the body of the cooler to snap closed on the other side of the bump. So not an actual latch, but more like a snap. Anyway, the horse opened the rigid plastic cooler with its mouth and grabbed a big plastic bag of grapes and started chewing the bag and sucking the juice out of the holes it was perforating in the bag. They were obnoxious creatures, those wild horses. It was against the law to touch them, and so you just had to keep your wits about you when they were around. Yelling at them and waving your arms and banging pots and pans in their faces did absolutely nothing.

I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat...

I saw dat puddytat and thought, that has GOT to be in Canada.

Nope, Colorado.

Nevermind that link, go to this one.

Wow.

Gramma set up 3 birdfeeders...

Ohmigod look at those paws! Beautiful!

Gramma needs to get some vaseline. Oh, and move them further apart.

Well that's just sick.

Bwahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa I forgot to post the video ..

Wait - that sounds gross too....

Here...

It just *sounds* sick.

If that hadn't happened, none of us would be here, posting. Hmmm?

Uh, whut?

We have done this IRL.

Nice.

I wonder why they felt compelled to sedate him/her, just for a routine physical?

:speechls:

Da Bears.

Creepy cat. :unsure:

I like his looks.

Agreed, he doesn't look the least bit aggressive, more like a wise and patient old soul.

Reminds me of Barf from Spaceballs

He does!

yes...

Some suggestion from the net...

Catfish for dinner?
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/excur...-landed-spain/

wow!

But the Cory a pet trade creation that only grows to 2.5 inches long. I wonder what kind of catfish they are, they have a strange shape.

Limey keeps the wolves away in the wilds of the distant ...stans.

That's exactly how I do it!

Sent by thought transference

How not to catch a fish
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v...87&pnref=story

.

Not my favorite way to catch a fish.