There was an explosion of feathery news in Texas this month, so we’re taking a break from our regularly scheduled Furry Friday to bring you a selection of our favorite bird stories.
Baby Bald Eagles in Llano
A pair of baby bald eagles hatched in a nest outside Llano earlier this year and crowds have been, ahem, flocking to see them. But the eaglets won’t be sticking around for much longer, according to the River Cities Daily Tribune‘s Jennifer Fierro, who penned a short piece about the baby birds on Monday. Dale Schmidt, a state wildlife biologist, told Fierro that the eagles will soon be migrating to the north. “After no more than six weeks, they’ll be on their own after learning to fish and hunt,” she wrote.
The nest is located on Texas State Highway 29, eight miles east of Llano, Fierro reported. KXAN’s Jacqueline Ingles made the trek out to the nest this week and found more than thirty people gathered to gawk at the birds. “It is just impressive,” Athena Stinson, who drove from Fredericksburg, told Ingles. “We have been to Alaska and seen them up in Alaska where they are just everywhere. To have them here in Texas, where you can see them, is fabulous.”
Turkey Rodeo
The San Antonio Express-News‘ Elaine Ayala dropped by the poultry barn at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo where eager school-aged poultry farmers showcased their hand-raised animals. “For all of them, there’s one determinant of worth: their breasts,” Ayala wrote. “It’s about how much [white] meat the bird is carrying,” Jason Lee, a Texas A&M poultry science assistant professor and contest judge, told Ayala. (The poultry slideshow is not to be missed.)
Penguin Hugs
Watch Jamie get misty eyed while hugging a friendly King penguin named Johnny Five at Sea World San Antonio as part of the park’s “Penguin Interaction Program:”
