What Are You Doing for Earth Day?

Tomorrow, April 22, 2011, is Earth Day! What will you be doing to help improve the planet? This year's Earth Day theme is Earth Day 2011: A Billion Acts of Green®. 

Here are some Earth Day events you can participate in via www.earthday.org

Pledge an Act of Green

Organize an Earth Day Event

Attend a Local Earth Day Event

                     

You can also check out Defenders of Wildlife for videos and tips to help fight climate change for the Defenders of Wildlife Red Hot and Green Campaign.

Gawky Eaglets

The three eaglets sure are growing up fast and getting quite gawky looking! Ah teenage years. Check out this Bald Eagle Plumage Stages to see just how weird these little guys--or gals--are going to get.

Here's some screen shots from the past couple of days. Yesterday the camera was iced-over due to the spring snow--I wasn't thrilled that it snowed where I live either. You can also find daily pictures from the Raptor Resource Project here.

There's also an interesting article on the overwhelming success of the Decorah Eagle Cam from The Decorah Newspaper.

The eaglets are getting so big!

Live Salmon for breakfast, yum!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011, Marks the One-Year Anniversary of the Gulf Oil Disaster

 

This Wednesday, is the one-year anniversary of the Gulf Oil Disaster. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded causing one of the most significant ecological disasters.

The Deepwater Horizon explosion is the worst oil disater in America's history, claiming the lives of thousands of animals and creating profound and lasting damage on a delicate and precious ecosystem.

Defenders of Wildlife is an organization dedicated to saving wildlife around the world and their efforts to save the Gulf wildlife and ecosystems continue. The organization has tasked tens of thousands of people to speak out for new safety measures to prevent the next oil disaster and has taken BP to court to ensure the company is held responsible for the disaster and accountable for every sea turtle killed.

To mark the one-year anniversary, Defenders of Wildlife has created Memorial Wildlife Adoptions in honor of the wildlife killed in the disaster. Supporters can adopt a dolphin or sea turtle in memory of the thousands of wildlife killed by the oil disaster.

Dodge Ram Wants to "Silence" Nature

I'm not sure what Dodge was thinking when they gave this ad campaign the green light. I saw this commercial for the new Dodge Ram last night and couldn't believe what I had just seen. Watch it and let me know what you think in the comments.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think marketing your products while condoning the concept of killing anything in nature that displeases you is an intelligent move. 

Dodge wants you to get out and enjoy the outdoors! But for all you "serious outdoorsmen," make sure you pack your hunting bow to silence all the harmless creatures that bother you, like crickets and frogs! 

Backyard Chickens To Take Over Portage!

Approximation of eventual chicken take over of Portage.

That's right backyard chickens are a go, so all you backyard chicken naysayers prepare for Backyard Chicken Take Over 2011!

On April 12th, the Portage City Council approved the keeping of backyard chickens in the "Urban Chickens Ordinance" after five months of discussion under the Portage Planning Commission.

So What Are the Rules?

Portage residents can raise up to six chickens on single-family properties under these restrictions.

• No roosters allowed; single ladies (hens) only.  

• Coops
• Must be 10 feet from property lines and 30 feet from neighboring residents.
• Cannot be more than six feet high.
• Cannot contain more than 80 square feet of total space.

• Permit 
• A one time permit costing $50.00 is required.

• Want Free-range chickens?
• Chickens are allowed to roam backyards during daylight hours within a fenced in area that is at least four feet tall.
• Note that the coop and run don't have to be within this fenced area.
• The best part is the City Council took out the Planning Commission's requirement for a six foot tall opaque fence! I don't even know who has a six foot tall fence in Portage, let alone an "opaque" fence.

• "But I Don't Want to be a Pie, I Don't Like Gravy!"
• You cannot slaughter your chickens outside. Eww...

Portagers, go forth and obtain your chickens! Just make sure you do your research first. If you need tips, check out my other chicken posts for info. and links. 

Looking for the article from the Gazette? Look no further, it is here!

Want the full rundown from the April 12th, City Council Meeting, including all the legal jargon? Here you go: Agenda and Minutes. Unless you want to read the whole 180 pages--why would you?--start on page 18. If you want to cut to the chase, the "Final" report is on page 29.

Now all I need to do is measure my backyard to see if I can even keep chickens; it's pretty small. I'm also looking into how to post the PowerPoint/pdf I presented to the city; if anyone knows how please post in the comments.

The Decorah Eagles Are Still Safe

The Decorah Eagles are still safe. I haven't heard of a fourth attack and Raptor Resource has not posted any such information. Hopefully the owl has learned not to mess with the eagles from now on. 

After some further research into other owl species in the Iowa region, a more likely suspect in the attacks is the Great Horned Owl. Great Horned Owls are known to attack other raptors--regularly killing other owls--and their nests. They are also known for their aerial dive behavior.

Decorah Eagles Attacked by Owl

Barred Owl. Primary Suspect.

An owl has attacked the Decorah eagles for the past three nights! Raptor Resource quickly reported, "Owls seem frightening, but the eagles have dealt with them before. Their young are safe."

I was extremely upset when I heard the news, but glad to see that all three eaglets were being safely guarded by both parents. Let all hope that the owl stays away from now on and that the eagle family remains safe.

From the quick glimpse of the attacker and the hooting you can hear in the second attack clip, the primary suspect to me is the Barred Owl. If you ask me, this owl is crazy to attack two Bald Eagles. Hopefully, it will learn to stay away.

These owl attacks are certainly frightening, so I want to share some screen shots that I took this past weekend when the eaglets were moving around the nest. They certainly seem to be entering their gawky stage.

 

Protecting the eaglets April 14th.