They remind me,
very much,
of my childhood ballet teachers.
They have the same haughty
mien,
and graceful moves.
They love shaking their tutus,
and dressing up for opening night!
Who doesn’t?
Check out the even more graceful wild ones in South Africa at:
https://cindyknoke.com/tag/south-africa/
Wishing you a Joyous & Healthy New Year from the prancing dancers at Ostrich Land in California~
Venice Italy
Strasbourg France
Barcelona Spain
Melk Austria
Cinque Terre Italy
Lisbon Portugal
Strasbourg France
St. Petersburg Russia
Vienna Austria
Dubrovnik Croatia
Santorini Greece
Budapest Hungary
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you from our fragile, precious world~
in late fall, (click to enlarge)
has it’s own,
fall palette.
Vineyards,
put on a muted,
ombre display,
as the wine grapes are ready,
for harvest.
The trees,
are showing off too.
Cheers to you from Santa Barbara~
This learned looking, Spectacled Owl (click/tap to enlarge),
looks like he’s none too impressed with us humans.
Wise old owl!
Spectacled Owls are native to Mexico, Central and South America, and the species is doing well.
I met him at his home, where he flies free, at Avian Behavior International in rural Southern California.
Cheers to you from the learned, and wisely unimpressed owl~
Awesome Alberta, (click/tap to enlarge)
struts her stuff,
in early fall.
Stillness,
reflects,
Mother Nature’s peaceful palette.
Cheers to you from astonishing Alberta~
The Bubo bubo AKA Eurasian Eagle Owl is the world’s heaviest owl.
It’s wingspan can reach over 6 feet!
These owls are top of the line predators, meaning they are not normally prey for other animals, and will even occasionally prey on other raptors.
I got to spend time with this beauty as he flew free at his home in Avian Behavior International in rural Southern California.
Bubo bubo’s are native to Europe, Asia and parts of Africa.
Their populations declined heavily in the mid 1900’s, but due to conservation efforts, the species is recovering.
Cheers to you from The gorgeous, free flying Bubo bubo~
Meet the very curious burrowing owl who clearly wonders who the heck you are!
Burrowing Owls are a federally protected species in the US, Canada, and in Mexico. They are designated endangered, threatened, or a species of special concern, in nine US states, including California.
This burrowing owl pair lives at Avian Behavior International in rural Southern California. You cannot keep burrowning owls unless you are licensed and raise them for breeding, conservation, rehabilitation, and/or educational purposes.
These curious and unique ground dwelling birds live in burrows in the ground where they hide from predators and raise their young.
They are tiny, but big in looks and personality! I have only seen them in the wild a few times in the last ten years because they are now very rare where I live. But click and check out this curious wild cutie that I met a few years ago:
Cheers to you from the precious and endangered Southern California burrowing owls~
I have only seen Macaws flying free in Central and South America.
These Macaws fly free regularly over rural Southern California which is an incredible sight.
They often spend hours away, carry no trackers,
like to hang out on this dead tree,
and chose when they want to come home.
They are free as a bird!
They love people and are very curious about new ones,
as you can easily see in these photos.
Please forgive me for posting so many photos,
and breaking my 8 photo maximum rule,
but I can’t resist these guys,
and hope you can’t either.
Cheers to you from the happy Macaws at Avian Behavior International~
For more information see: https://avian-behavior.org/about-us/
Incoming,
at 88 mph!
I duck,
he nails his prize,
and promptly mantles so I won’t steal it.
Saker Falcons have been falconry birds for 1000’s of years.
They are an endangered species, native across Central Europe to China.
This is Katie Pnewski, a brilliant and comitted bird trainer,
and bird lover, who works at Avian Behavior International,
a conservation and bird advocacy organization near The Holler in rural Southern California.
I spent an incredible day here today, and will be introducing you to more of their amazing birds and conservation efforts in my next posts. For more on this worthwhile organization see:
https://avian-behavior.org/about-us/conservation/
Cheers to you from the phenomenal Saker Falcon and his devoted human~
moves in fast,
at high elevation,
in the Canadian Rockies.
It is a beauty,
to behold,
albiet quite cold!
The ride back down the mountain,
was nippy without our ski gear.
Cheers to you from the rockies in the fall~
