Rusty Feathers Design

Happy Father’s Day! 🦅😁✨

Based on the left Osprey's expression, I like to think she just can't believe he came back with a small stick instead of fish for the nestlings.

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One of the most exciting things about the Obama Presidential Center is its commitment to nature. The landscape will include more than 10,000 native plants, creating valuable habitat for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife.

Native plants are far more than just beautiful. They provide food and shelter for countless species, support biodiversity, improve soil health, reduce the need for watering and chemicals, and help reconnect people with the natural ecosystems of their region.

This project shows that large public spaces can be both inspiring and environmentally responsible. Every native plant added to the landscape is a step toward a healthier future for wildlife and people alike.

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Most conversations about ticks in Michigan focus on what to spray, what to wear, and where to check after being outside. However, certain birds eat ticks in meaningful numbers, and a yard that supports healthy bird activity may be doing more passive tick suppression than most homeowners realize.

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Sunday funnies:

Please stop stacking rocks, y’all…

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Basic physics…

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Here is something a lot of people outside falconry probably do not understand.

Most wild-caught falconry birds are not “taken” from the wild in the way people might imagine. In many cases, they are better understood as being borrowed from the wild.

A young bird is trapped during a legal season, cared for, trained, hunted with, and given a much better shot at surviving the most dangerous stretch of its life. Young raptors face high mortality in their first year as they learn to hunt, avoid predators, survive weather, and navigate a world full of vehicles, power lines, starvation, and other hazards.

Under a falconer’s care, that bird gets food, protection, conditioning, veterinary care when needed, and daily hunting experience. And when the time is right, many wild-caught falconry birds are released back into the wild as stronger, healthier, more experienced hunters.

Even after years with a falconer, a wild raptor is still wild. They do not become pets. They do not become domesticated. If released, they return to being exactly what they always were.

That is one of the things that makes falconry so unique. It is not ownership in the usual sense. It is a temporary partnership with a wild predator.

Learn more each week on the Sporting Chance Podcast, available on all major platforms.

🌐 https://www.sportingchancepod.com/