Way OT But SOOOOO Cool

**Nanci** · 03-29-2006, 04:19 PM

If there were a safe way to do it. It's more stressful, almost, to think about him home being babysat than thinking about a 374 mile ride!

Nanci

**maillotpois** · 03-29-2006, 04:23 PM

Well, if he is occupied on his fake eggs, at least he's not getting into any trouble. Good luck Saturday. I guess it should be "good luck Saturday and Sunday," right?

By the way, go over to the racing thread and respond to the woman who asked about ultracycling and brevets. You're really the sage.

**Nanci** · 03-29-2006, 04:26 PM

It's my first season. I am definitely not a sage. I am just muddling through. After Sunday, though, I _might_ be a sage. ;-)

Nanci

**Nanci** · 03-29-2006, 04:27 PM

PS, it isn't Milly on the eggs I worry about, it's poor fragile Dill, with his one (and only) paralyzed leg.

Nanci

**maillotpois** · 03-29-2006, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by Nanci

PS, it isn't Milly on the eggs I worry about, it's poor fragile Dill, with his one (and only) paralyzed leg.

Nanci

Oh my gosh. Poor Dill! Well, I am sure he's fine when you're gone. Don't let that stress you out.

On the sage thing - you've at least done some of these rides, and your reports have been great. So you should throw in your 2 cents.

**im4smiley** · 03-29-2006, 05:53 PM

Our local cable access channel has had a camera on an eagles nest in our area for many years now. It is so fasinating to watch, and when the eggs hatch, soo cool. But when the babies get a bigger it is scary to see them run around the nest, I'm so afraid they will fall off the edge!

**Lise** · 03-29-2006, 06:13 PM

Oh. My. Goodness. That is a thrill, and I only had time to watch her turn her head back and forth. Thank you so much for posting it, Nanci.

Did you put Milly on fake eggs to keep him occupied while you're gone? You're a great bird mom.

Will you take a sleep break over the weekend? How does that work? Lise

**Nanci** · 03-30-2006, 01:57 AM

A friend of mine in Tampa sent me a nest bowl and a pair of fake eggs for Milly when he started displaying nesting behaviour- I guess he was about six months old? He wouldn't go in the bowl for a year maybe, but he makes nests on the floor of his cage- just a couple strips of newspaper. Then he sits there and coos for a mate. I put in one egg one day, and one the next, and he sits on them more or less round the clock for the next 21 days. Then he loses interest, and I take the eggs away, and a while later he builds a new nest in a different spot. I believe he operates on instinct- he knows to build a nest, because that's what male pigeons do. If eggs appear in the nest, he sits on the eggs, because that's what male pigeons do. (If he had a mate, they would take turns, and he would probably only have a turn from after lunch until dinner time). I don't believe he's pining away for babies, because he hasn't experienced that, but if an egg hatched, he would then know what to do with the baby.

About the ride: There is a 40 hour limit. How I spend that time is up to me. I am staying at the host hotel Friday and Saturday night. It starts at 3AM. I plan on riding at a 15 mph pace for 400k, ending up back at the hotel sometime between 9PM and midnight. It all depends on how well things go- how I feel. Then I will leave again at 4AM- I want to allow plenty of time for painfully slow riding, if it comes to that. Some people will ride straight through- that is recommended for experience if you are going on to longer 1200k rides. Some people figure any time left before the 40 hour limit is time they should have spent sleeping. I'm not going to be that cocky, especially on my first one, but I think four hours of bath tub and sleep will greatly restore things.

Nanci

**DrBee** · 03-30-2006, 04:46 AM

The eagle is awesome! Too bad I can't watch it all day. My kids will love it, though!

The pigeons - how cool! I can honestly say that I've never heard of anyone backpacking with a pigeon before. Amazing! Now that's committment!

Good luck with the ride!

**AuntieK** · 03-30-2006, 06:19 AM

This is SO cool, Nanci! Thanks for sharing!
I have another site where I watch a pair Peregrine Falcons who hatch and raise their babies every year. I just checked and it looks like the eggs are there!
It's not a live feed like your site (it reloads the pics every few minutes), but it's still fun to watch. You can see it at:
www.kodak.com/go/birdcam

**bikerchick68** · 03-30-2006, 10:29 AM

wow nanci... that is just amazing... thanks so much for the link... I'm going to add it to the wildlife page of a garden board I'm on too! They'll love it as well... just amazing... I LOVE to bird watch! When I'm riding and see cool birds I always stop to watch and listen for a few minutes... it can drive "serious" riders a little nuts...

**Duck on Wheels** · 03-30-2006, 05:13 PM

Wow! Even just watching the eagle sit there and turn its head ... what dignity! Of course, the camera probably isn't just there for our edutainment, or even for research. Very likely it's there primarily as protection against egg and chick thieves. Raptor eggs and chicks are Big Business. Having a video running constantly discourages egg/chick traders from snatching them.

BTW, on our recovery hike last Sunday (day after the Cindy) Trek420 and I watched a falcon at work, swooping and hovering over ground squirrel trails. Pretty thrilling to watch, but the pictures of squirrels (and egret, and sandpiper, and mallards, and Trek's dog) turned out better.

**gromit68** · 03-30-2006, 05:16 PM

I love birds. Started with raptors(why I love the site) and recently started volunteering with a hummingbird bander. They are so cool.

**snapdragen** · 03-30-2006, 07:17 PM

Hummingbird bander! That can't be easy. I remember once there was a hummer who had found his way into the garage. He headed for the window and couldn't figure out how to get back out. I managed to catch him and take him back out of the garage. Those few seconds, couldn't have been more than a minute, of holding that tiny bird were so cool. It was an amazing feeling.

**gromit68** · 04-02-2006, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by snapdragen

Hummingbird bander! That can't be easy. I remember once there was a hummer who had found his way into the garage. He headed for the window and couldn't figure out how to get back out. I managed to catch him and take him back out of the garage. Those few seconds, couldn't have been more than a minute, of holding that tiny bird were so cool. It was an amazing feeling.

I've held 2 and it is so neat. Not many people are licensed to band so it has been an awesome experience.

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