#lokisdiary

Stars! Stars on everything 😂😂😂 Loki and Tiny were being my muses for camera practice during a weathering session. Just a couple of fancy edits later and everyone had to have twinkling lights added 😂 www.facebook.com/TheLokiDiary

**Ok so our WiseUp Wednesday is a day late..... Apologies!** Species profile - Striped owl One of the things we are going to cover in our educational posts are species profiles, especially if they relate to our critters! And seeing as Loki is our mascot it seemed fitting for our first one to be of her species! Well she is a subspecies actually, a Mexican striped owl - Asio Clamator Midas. The striped owl though has been placed variously into the genus 'Pseudoscops' and in the genus 'Rhinoptynx', but it is now placed in the 'Asio' genus. Length: 30-38cm (measured from tip of tail to top of head) Weight: averagely ranges from 320-556g but some wild females have weighed more. Wing length: averages 228-294mm *females are larger and heavier than males* Identification/appearance: Classed as being small to medium sized owls. Females of the species are up to as much as 150g heavier than males. They have rather tousled but conspicuous blackish ear tufts. The plumage is a tawny-buff colour with the foreheads and nape having lots of dusky coloured streaking. The mantle and backs of these birds also have dark mottling and streaking. Scapulars have whitish areas with the outer webs forming a clear row across the shoulders. They have dark brown tails and flight feathers that are broadly paler barred. White throats and pale tawny to buffush-white underparts have prominent streaks of dark brown or black. They have a brownish white facial disk (the lightness of the brown varies amongst subspecies) that us framed with a blackish ruff, they also have short whitish eyebrows that extend from the base of the bill to above the eyes with whitish lores. Beaks are blackish grey and eyes are a cinnamon brown colour. Feathered tarsi and toes are a lighter, more creamy colour with blackish grey talons. In flight: They fly over more open areas and have rather shallow, rapid wingbeats. Call: Capable of making a variety of calls! But in the wild they emit a single or double rather nasally sounding hoot. They also give off a high pitched hawk like whistle. And they are capable of making a series of barking calls. Food and Hunting: Striped owls hunt mostly during the crepuscular and nocturnal hours. Small mammals and birds are its main source of prey. Mammalian prey includes: spiny rats, rice rats, mice, cavies, bats, and opossums. Bird prey includes: doves, grassquits, flycatchers, thrushes, house sparrows, and tinamous. Other foods include large sized insects like grasshoppers, and a few species of reptile. Its large feet and powerful talons indicates it is capable of taking large prey, infact the striped owl is capable of taking prey approximately 0.7 times its own weight such as pigeons, cavies and white eared opossums. Its hunting technique is described as a low flight over open landscapes with abrupt dives after prey. It will also sit on a perch, using it as a vantage point (eg: fence posts and branches) to watch prey before swooping down to catch it. General behaviour: The striped owl is sedentary within its range. It can be seen alone, in pairs, or in small groups. This species may be gregarious, and the birds gather at roost in flocks of about 10-12 owls. During the day they rest, hidden amongst the dense foliage of trees and shrubs. They can remain motionless for hours. They may also be found on the ground, concealed by the cover of vegetation. Outside of the breeding season they roost in small flocks by day time. Their cryptic plumage allows them to become almost invisible. Habitat: Prefers open or semi open Savannah and grassland, but also lives near humid forest edges, rice fields and airports. It is however absent from dense forest. Breeding: *Breeding seasons vary depending on location, but is noted occuring mainly from August to March time* These owls nest on flat ground, hidden amongst long grassy clumps or amongst thick bushes. Some nests have rarely been observed in trees. The female will lay between 2-4 eggs. Incubation is done solely by the female and lasts around a 30-33 days. Usualky only one or 2 of the chicks fledge. The male will provide food for the female and young. The young will remain with the parents for several weeks after fledging. Status: Uncertain Distribution: Ranges from S.Mexico to Panama, from Northern S.America to Uruguay and N.Argentina east if the Andes. Appear to be year round residents. Subspecies/Geographic variation: Four subspecies of striped owl have been described. The nominate race - Asio Clamator/Asio Clamator Clamator occurs from Colombia to C.Brazil. Asio Clamator Obari is from Trinidad and the island of Tobago (where it was last seen in 1971 according to records....) Asio Clamator Forbesi is from S.Mexico to Costa Rica and Panama. This subspecies is smaller and paler than the nominate race. And there's Loki's subspecies, Asio Clamator Midas, which comes from Bolivia to Uruguay and they are the largest and palest of the species. Mortality: Observations on mortality include road kills and shootings. Natural enemies are larger owls and birds of prey. *SEVERAL REFERENCES HAVE BEEN USED TO CREATE THIS - BOOKS IN MY PERSONAL COLLECTION BEING THE MAIN SOURCE* And there you have it! Our first species profile 😁 I will be covering more of our critters in later weeks amongst other educational subjects, and as always please feel free to ask questions or leave feedback/requests for stuff. We make a massive effort to research any potential critter species we may get to the fullest of our capability as we believe that it helps us understand them, their needs, instincts, lifestyles and behaviours better so we can best prepare for their potential arrival. This is the basic compilation of reference I gathered on striped owls before I commited to taking on Loki. I say basic because the real notes I made covered at least 5 double pages of A4 (where this was only 1 and a half double pages), and that was just the species research notes! My notes of them in captivity added a heck of a lot more 😂 And I also said best prepare - researching a species will always give you a basic understanding but each individual will present its own unique quirks and characters that does admittedly throw research notes out of the window at times 😁 www.facebook.com/TheLokiDiary

Wise up Wednesday! Pest species - The story of Chester *DISCLAIMER * Chester is a wild disabled Rook who has been granted permission to remain in captivity due to his lifelong injuries making it unsuitable for him to be released back into the wild due to them drastically reducing his chance of survival. You cannot just take a wild bird and keep it in captivity. I have documents from the vets stating the extent of his injuries which were passed on to Natural England and DEFRA to which they granted permission to keep him. I had to provide sufficient evidence to show I was capable of meeting his care requirements and the vets provided detailed evidence and opinions to suggest he was unsuitable for reintroduction back to the wild and that he would have a quality of life in captivity. What deems a species as a pest? I don't know to say the least as nowadays everyone has a differing opinion on the matter. I live in what I would consider a countryside town - a small, tight knit town surrounded by lots of farm and woodland. On most evenings we are lucky enough to be able to go out and see wild barn owls, tawny owls, hedgehogs etc, all of which are loved by the local community. But then a single call is enough for some to turn their noses up in disgust. A crow, coming in to roost for the night, and it almost makes people spit venom. I have scoured in various places as to why this is, why some people will drum up such a malicious response towards a creature thats just getting on with living. The local farmers and corvids seem to be in an unknowing war with one another. Farmers plant their crops, and Rooks are blamed for foraging and turning them up, or that crows and jackdaws eat their produce. The solution? Some will use none lethal deterrents such as scarecrows or noise making machines etc, but others will shoot them and their nest sites (known as rookeries) down as an effort to control them. Some will even allow falconers to hunt them and have their raptors control them in a way that's more befitting to the circle of life. Understandably a farmer will be mad for their livelihood being destroyed by a flock of hungry birds, they stand to lose a hell of a lot when these birds roll up. Admittedly I'm not a fan of shooting, trapping etc as I believe it can be done too inhumanely, but I understand that in some cases action must be taken in order to control a species destroying a means of making a living. But what about the people who aren't having their livelihoods or properties destroyed? A fair few animals are labelled as being a pest species and as such are offered very little protection from being persecuted compared to other species, and this has lead to a rise in numbers of these animals being killed for the fun of it with very little consequences. There are a few laws that state about seasoned hunting, firearms permitted for such things etc, but as an overall basis there is seemingly little protection offered to such animals in these situations, and what is offered is hardly regulated, and this is how you end up with cases like Chester. He was shot on private land, and as far as we are aware, no permission was ever granted to allow anyone to shoot there. Already you are not legally operating and the culprit could of indeed of been trespassing. The pellets that shot him are still lodged inside him (it would cause lethal complications if they were attempted to be removed. They aren't causing any complications and as such it was safer to leave them) and have been itentified as being permitted for use as was the firearm that shot him. But the animal was not humanely killed and was evidently just left to suffer, so 2 illegal actions had been undertaken in this one shooting incident, and the culprit would of likely been charging for animal welfare and trespassing offences if caught for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. During me applying for permission to keep Chester I was passed from pillar to post rather unnecessarily and I genuinely had one employee from Natural England say "why don't you just euthanize it as they are pointless anyway" which I thought really highlighted how little respect is given to some lifeforms which are clearly capable of having a quality of life. No will to investigate cases of potential crime due to what species he was, he was 'just a rook' so why investigate? But if a sparriwhawk had suffered the same thing it would be swarming with potential investigators because they are awarded different protection. I guess what i'm getting at is what right do we as people have to declare whether an animal is worth more than another in terms if awarding it standards of protection? How is something deemed more woethy in our eyes than another? I have heard of so called pest species being hunted to the brink of extinction and then we go "oh no, we are going to lose them so lets protect them"... we shouldn't be wiping things out to that extent anyway. A lufe is a life at the end of the day no matter how big or small it is and i don't see how one can be of more value than the other. I find this more now because of Chester, who has surprisingly taught me a heck of a lot in regards for life. The sheer determination of this bird just to survive is commendable in itself, especially as someone who suffered depression so badly. I enjoy observing his happy go lucky attitude to everything and his way of overcoming the lifechanging ailments he had is amazing. A birds wings being lost can gave a drastic impact on a birds morale - they are left weaker and vulnerable and they can get very depressed from it. I was so concerned with this being the case for Chester as rooks (and corvids in general) are incredibly intelligent animals and some corvids have the intelligence capacity of a 5year old. They can learn to use tools, problem solve and do a fair bit of carcass removal! They are very proud animals and can form lifelong bonds with things. This level of what is considered 'sentience' is something I find incredible and I think it's a huge shame that a lot of people have so little respect for them. I have also been told i'm too soft in holding such a high regard for everything - but I guess that everyone's opinions on things are incredibly diverse, it's something that makes us human after all. Here are some definitions for pest I have found and they go as follows: "A pest is any animal or plant that is detrimental to humans or to human concerns including crops, livestock and forestry.The term is also used for organisms which cause a nuisance, such as in the home. An older usage is of a deadly epidemic disease such as the plague and the animals that are vectors to them like mosquitoes. In it's broadest sense, a pest is a competitor to humanity". Whatever the terms reasons, and however it's applied it seems that everyone has their own justification for the usage of the term. I understand that certain species cause mass epidemics and it is a huge problem that's in need of control and to have preventative measures applied to avoid the risks to all animals - not just humans. But I also see the term being dished about to just kill things that were not causing a nuisance, and it's these types of situation that I detest the term pest for. In the case of Chester his unfortunate scenario has had a happier ending that includes him being safe, having a secure purpise built home that caters to his disability, a confidence boost, fresh food and water and unlikely companionship. Oh and unlimited toys... just because! I admit it wasn't easy getting permission from the relevant authorities to keep him, but it was worth it to ensure he gets to live out the rest of his life safely and peacefully. (Somewhat peacefully anyway - he's subjected to Loki and her morning singing like the rest of us!) www.facebook.com/TheLokiDiary #wiseupwednesday #lokisdiary

With the avian flu prevention zone being back in place I haven't been letting these guys out on perches. Sounds mean I know, but we are in a hotspot due to a lot if waterfowl passing through and nesting around us. I do still get them out (when the weather us nice obviously!) And have them sit on the glove so they are still getting their manning sessions. Exercising them with the weather has been incredibly hit and miss due to the constant weather warnings :/ Both their aviaries have covered roofs but the panelling allows uvb through so it's not like I depend on them being out on perches weathering for them to get the uv intake. Not a fan of this whole prevention zone and constant sterilisation of everything! But safety first! Thank god for my dingodile style spray gun for disinfectant 😂 www.facebook.com/TheLokiDiary

And I have a new bird with me :) This is Tiny, a male asian brown wood owl. Last year I was going to take on an ashy faced owl but it didn't make it past the first week :( But the breeder had this young chap who was supposed to be going elsewhere but his previous alleged owners didn't take him because he was too ugly :O Seeing as I was ready to take on a chick I took him instead, and I now have a goofy face pulling owl that is a fantastic flyer! Never had a bird so good with recall training. He is the newest member of my growing educational team :)

Sat up on Fozzys roof to gain as much sun as possible. Oiled her beak again with 100% pure coconut oil to keep it well moisturized in prep for her next lot of beak shaping. Getting her out in as much sun as possible is vital for good health, apparently a minimum is 45 minutes a day of pure,unfiltered uv to maintain good levels of vitamin D for calcium absorption. Then she had to be a tit and preen herself with a freshly oiled beak :/ It's not harmful to her, but it clumps her finer feathers together :/ warm cloth to get that out! Silly bird :/ www.facebook.com/TheLokiDiary

Loki being my photography muse! She is such a poser :-) She enjoys sitting and watching the world go by, so it's perfect to snap away. www.facebook.com/TheLokiDiary

Such a delicate little preener! Been out briefly today due to a sudden weather change :( At least she's been out though :-) Stupid, unpredictable winter weather! www.facebook.com/TheLokiDiary