Cupcakes!

I have been spending quite a bit of time on pinterest the past couple weeks and one thing that keeps popping up are owl cupcakes. One of my friends even made them. But, I think owls are overrated so I challenged myself to make falcon cupcakes. I tried to make them as kestrel like as possible using various candies. All in all I think they turned out all right and they taste fantastic! :)

I.A.A.T.E. 2012

Group Shot (got this from IAATE's Facebook page)

This past weekend I attended the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators conference. This year was the 20th anniversary so the conference came back to where it was founded - The Minnesota Zoo. There were over 100 birds nerds and I learned a ton!!! We talked alot about training all types of birds and how to manage them in captivity. I came back to the center with a bunch of stuff I want to try!

Minnesota Zoo's Bird Show

It was great to see all the people passionate about what they are doing and some of the tricks they have dreamed up. If I can make it work, I would love to go to another conference :)

Adorable Porcupine!

Spike enjoying some apple while teaching

This winter has been super mild. A bummer if you want to get out skiing or snowshoeing but a really good thing if you happen to be training a porcupine. Porcupines hate when there it is snowy, rainy, too hot or too cold. In these situations, they tend to curl up and not move. With the lack of snow and reasonably warm weather, Spike has made lots of progress with his training in the past couple weeks. For example, I can give Spike his cue to go into his crate and he walks across his enclosure and goes in! He also has been doing much better with the rest of the staff and teaching on a more regular basis.

I think Spike is absolutely adorable so here are a few pictures of him (and me) from the past month.

Its hard to be photogenic while holding a wiggly porcupine

Spike exploring the main room of the barn

Spike teaching!

Another Snowy!

I was up in Superior/Duluth yesterday and was lucky enough to spot another Snowy Owl. This time it was in Superior - I got lots of nice photos and was able to get pretty close! The bird was banded (although we didn't get a clear view of the tag). So beautiful!! We sat and watched it for quite awhile before leaving it be to catch dinner. Here are a few of my favorite pictures :)

An Owl Weekend

Are you sick of owls yet? I kinda am but I still get super excited about finding one in the wild. On Friday I was lucky enough to find one while walking between buildings at work. It was a barred owl and I don't think it was amused that I found it.

It has been an owl filled weekend for me. Saturday I did a booth event at Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge's Winterfest. We brought 4 birds and talked to people about owls. Over the course of 5 hours we saw nearly 1,000 people. It was an exhausting but good day!

Owls!

Well, its that time off year again! Owl breeding season - lots of hooting going on.

Our resident Great Horned Owl Cleo even has a wild girlfriend. Shes been frequenting the barn and we found 2 giant pellets on top of his mew.

Once we broke them open, we are pretty sure she has been picking off some gray squirrels for meals. I guess this explains why Cleo has been extra grumpy lately - sexual frustration!