Raptors & Your Environmenthttp://www.flickr.com/photos/tshipd/199855581/

Whats This?

Are They Really Gone?

Whats This?

http://www.firstpeople.us

Raptor.From the Latin wordRapare To seize or graspExceptionally Good Eye SightSharp Hooked BeakFour Powerful Talons on Each FootCarnivorous Meat Eaterhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/digizen/1047108827/

How Do Raptors Help?Control Prey Populations: Farmers Best Friends!Strengthen Prey Species: The Quick & the Strong SurviveProvide Information on the Health of our EnvironmentBring Beauty & Grace into the Worldhttp://www.adirondackholiday.com/falconry.html

Eagles, Hawks & Falcons

EaglesFalconsHawksHarriersKitesOspreysCaracarasSecretary birdsVultures, Old World (Eastern Hemishere; Europe, Asia, and Africa)Vultures, New World (Western Hemishere)http://www.art.com/Bald EagleCaracaraRed-TailedHawkPrairieFalconKestrelHarrisHawkWhite-TailedKiteGyrfalconRedShoulderedHawkFalconiformes292 SpeciesDiurnal Active by dayBlackHawkSharp-ShinnedHawk

Eagles, Hawks & Falcons Falconiformes EaglesFalconsHawksHarriersKitesOspreysCaracarasSecretary birdsVultures, Old World (Eastern Hemishere; Europe, Asia, and Africa)Vultures, New World (Western Hemishere)http://www.art.comGyrfalconMerlinOspreyNorthernHarrierFerruginous HawkShort-TailedHawkSwallow-TailedKiteBlack-ShoulderedKiteGolden EaglePeregrineFalconGoshawkBroad-WingedHawk

EaglesBald Eagle

Back from the Endangered List!Golden EagleRon Niebrugge http://www.flickr.com/photos/22771454@N04/2187887857/http://www.flickr.com/photos/pendeho/2372279022/

OwlsGreat Horned Owl Great Grey OwlBarred Owl Screech Owl Saw-whet Owl Snowy Owl Burrowing Owl Boreal Owl Long-eared Owl Short-eared Owl Northern Hawk OwlPygmy OwlElf Owl http://www.art.com/Great GreySaw-whetBarredSnowyScreechGreat HornedNorthern PygmyNorthern PygmyHawk OwlShort EaredSpottedStrigiformes162 SpeciesNocturnal Active at night

VulturesPhotos : http://www.adirondackholiday.com/everglad2.htmTurkey Vulture

Natures Clean-Up CrewBlack Vulture

Moving North Climate Change?

FlightSilhouetteshttp://www.cvm.umn.edu/img/assets/16863/Identification_of_Midwest_Raptors.pdfButeo: soaring hawk

Accipiter: woodland hawkOwl Silhouette

In Nature, Everything is Connected!http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Figueroa_EL/lifescience4.htm

How to Help Birds & Our EnvironmentGet involved! Place stickers on WindowsKeep the cat indoorsUse Lead-free fishing tackleSlow the spread of West Nile virusEliminate unnecessary pesticide useUse phosphorus-free fertilizer, dishwashing & laundry detergentsWalk, bike, car pool, take the bus or trainor ride-shareGrow your own food or buy food from local farmsGrow native plants only Stop invasive species!Go solar!Conserve electricity: Save a mountain top & lessen CO2 emissions Properly dispose of toxic chemicals (i.e. latex paint) & items containing mercuryProtect native prairieStop junk mail: http://www.privacyrights.org Recycle Recycle - RecycleRecycle newspapers & magazines - better still, read them on lineShare what you know!

http://www.cvm.umn.edu/raptor/education/faqs/birdsenvironment/home.html

There are dinosaurs among usWe don't even know they're there We can find them in our houses And in the city square In woods and fields and oceansLakes and streams and treesOn ice floes and on mountainsOr wherever they please. They're not as scary as T-rexOr big as ultrasaurusBut some have qualities which May be unpleasant for us.They're certainly a terrorFor things they like to eatEarthworms, rabbits, rattlesnakesAll hastily retreatThough some eat seeds and vegetables And fruit and leaves and grassSome eat dead meat called carrion, Stuff we'd much rather pass.

John Denver: The Eagle & the Hawk Photo: http://www.thongtinnhatban.netYou've eaten some for dinnerAnd seen some in the zoo Theyve been photographed & hunted Some folks feed them too.What are these creatures everywhere Let's see if you can chooseWho the living dinos areFrom clues that scientists use.Let's start with tracks left on the trailBy many different creaturesCan you find the living dinosaurBy examining the features?Gary Berke

Get involved. Conservation organizations such as The Raptor Center and your local nature center rely on your support to further their important missions. Get the lead out. Lead poisoning from fishing tackle and lead ammunition is a major cause of death among bald eagles and loons. Trade in your lead tackle and ammunition for non-toxic alternatives. Slow the spread of West Nile virus. West Nile virus is transmitted to birds, animals, and people by mosquitoes. Remove standing water on your property. Clean birdfeeders and baths regularly. Eliminate unnecessary pesticide use. Some pesticides kill birds - songbirds, game birds, raptors, sea and shorebirds, among others. An estimated 672 million birds are directly exposed each year by pesticides on farms alone. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, approximately 50 pesticides currently used in the United States have caused bird die-offs. Even the small amounts of pesticides individuals use on their lawns have a cumulative affect. Go natural and skip the pesticides. Keep the cat indoors. Domestic cats, a non-native predator, account for millions of songbird deaths a year! Additionally, keeping your cat indoors is safer for your cat. Use phosphorus-free dishwashing detergent. The phosphorus in fertilizers and detergents end up in our waterways. This causes increased algae and weed growth, which chokes the system and decreases the oxygen supply needed by native plants and animals. Can your cans! Recycling one aluminum can saves the amount of energy used to power a television set for three hours. Walk, bike, use mass transit, or ride-share. Fossil-fuel-burning power plants, industrial facilities, and motor vehicles are the primary sources of air pollution, acid rain, and smog that threatens the health and beauty of our natural spaces and the world we all share. Conserve electricity. Almost all energy production and use involves some form of pollution of our environment. Each source of energy, from fossil fuels to nuclear, pollutes in a different way and to a different degree. Just how much pollution and what type of pollution is acceptable and which source of energy should be used has generated a lot of controversy. What we do know is that conserving electricity helps reduce pollution. Properly dispose of toxic chemicals (i.e. latex paint) and items containing mercury. Mercury is a potent nerve toxin, which is increasingly found in our water, fish, and loons. The mercury content in wild fish makes it unsafe to eat fish caught in many lakes and oceans around the world. Grow native. Exotic plants and animals are very harmful to many our native species, and are a major threat to many national parks and refuges. Plant native species in your own back yard. Protect native prairie. The United States has only one percent of its tall grass prairie left. Prairies have the most threatened and endangered species. The sharpest decline in North American songbirds is in the grassland nesting species. Stop junk mail. The junk mail that Americans receive in one day could produce enough energy to heat 250,000 homes. Visit the privacy rights clearinghouse at http://www.privacyrights.org or other Web sites to stop junk mail. Recycle newspapers. It takes more than 500,000 trees to supply the United States with Sunday newspapers every week. Recycle, or get connected and read your Sunday paper online. Share what you know. Share what you learn with others. Share your love of the natural world with a child to help insure that our wild spaces and the creatures that live there will be with us long into the future.

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