Third Blogiversary

Today is the third blogiversary of my first post. A lot has happened and a lot has changed since then. Why just in the past year there's been a lot of stuff going on. We won't talk about the ISP changeover. I've met a lot of cool people on the blog and I've learned a lot.

For starters, Jeff Corwin came for a visit and we spent the day with him. The series he was filming "Into Alaska with Jeff Corwin" comes on Tuesday nights on the Travel Channel. Check it out. I live in Alaska and I'm seeing things new to me.

Bird TLC Education Presenters did a lot of presentations at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art in conjunction with the "Hunters of the Sky" exhibit. That was a lot of fun and a really neat exhibit.

We had a very successful Bye - Bye Birdie. That's when we say goodbye to the migratory birds until the following year. The weather was a little chilly, but a fun time was had by all.

Rachel Morse, our Exec Director and her husband Mike had a baby boy and named him Henry.

My daughter Cassie and I went back east to Maryland and DC to visit family and act like the tourist do when they visit Alaska.

In October I found out I was getting to caretake a Snowy Owl and got to build my first mew from scratch. Since then Ghost and I have done presentations all over. I'm having a blast even though it's involved a few cuts and bruises.

We had a very successful Owl-O-ween. I even dressed up. Check the link for some awesome pic's. There were owls every where's.

We lost our friend and long time volunteer Leslie Lancaster and her daughter Morgan to a terrible car accident. I like this picture of her and Petra. That's how I remember her. Here's a link to the whole story.

Christmas good gift wise. Pet Stop gave us an exam table and a knock out machine.

Long time Bald Eagle patient named Beauty was moved to Idaho for a possible new beak. It's a long process. Keep an eye out here for updates.

We had a very successful auction "For the Birds". Great entertainment by Mr. Whitekeys, great food by Chef Al and great deals for all who attended.

Again we had a very successful Mew Yard Spring Clean Up because we had all kinds of help. We did a massive clean up and totally rebuilt a mew thanks to the funds from Dr. Michael Riddle.

And that's just the highlites. We had 51 eagles go through the clinic last year along with over 700 other types of wildbirds. We currently have a 55% release rate which means we release more than half of what we take in. That's above the national average. That tells you how good the Rehab Staff headed by Cindy Palmatier is.

All this is done with just 3 GREAT staff members and a whole cadre of GREAT VOLUNTEERS! Wow, what a year it was and wow, what the past three have been also. I know there was a lot more releases, operations, rescues, and people. But there's only so much room.

Photo credits: Gloria Beckman, John Gomes, Scott Steinbright , Britt Coon and Dave Dorsey.