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	<title>Three Star Owl - Functional and Sculptural Clay Artwork with a Natural History &#187; birds</title>
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	<link>http://threestarowl.com</link>
	<description>Three Star Owl clay studio</description>
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			<item>
		<title>Not my hen</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/not-my-hen</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/not-my-hen#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:07:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hummingbirds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14677</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Anna&#8217;s hummers are capable of setting clutches just about year round in warm climate states like Arizona and California.  The little males have been doing their combo territorial and courtship dives &#8212; which culminate in a loud, popping &#8220;CHEEP&#8221; sound &#8211; since December, at least in our neighborhood.  This little Hen in Tucson has gotten [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/not-my-hen/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Crane-o-rama!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/crane-o-rama</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/crane-o-rama#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:24:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14615</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tens of thousands of Sandhill cranes winter in the fields and wetlands of far southeastern Arizona each year, and they have their own festival: Wings Over Willcox, held in mid-January by the historical community of Willcox, AZ. This year is the 19th Annual WOW Festival, and it&#8217;s part of SE Arizona&#8217;s celebration of the state [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/crane-o-rama/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>El Guajolote Supremo</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/birds/el-guajolote-supremo</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/birds/el-guajolote-supremo#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:40:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14500</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Photo of an Ocellated Turkey, Chan Chich, Belize (A or E Shock) More photos here.

]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/birds/el-guajolote-supremo/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Her majesty deigns to be photographed</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/her-majesty-deigns-to-be-photographed</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/her-majesty-deigns-to-be-photographed#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:14:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unexpected]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14393</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I felt like a paparazza, drawing as close as I dared, trying to hold my proper camera with the big zoom steady in the failing light.  But she was calmly perched out in the open, low on our back fence, mobbed by smaller birds.  Hummingbirds orbited her, scolding, like cheeky electrons, but she ignored them. [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/her-majesty-deigns-to-be-photographed/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Kea key: spoiler alert!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/birds/kea-key-spoiler-alert</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/birds/kea-key-spoiler-alert#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:15:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14360</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You probably found the bird already &#8212; it&#8217;s a kea &#8212; but if not below is a partially colorized version of the photo in the previous Spot the Bird post.
This big alpine parrot, its head partially obscured by vegetation, was one of the freeloaders who hang out near the line of cars waiting to pass [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/birds/kea-key-spoiler-alert/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the Bird!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:16:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14348</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Me: reminiscing about our trip to New Zealand a while back.  You: trying to Spot the Bird.
It shouldn&#8217;t be too hard, but here&#8217;s a hint: you&#8217;re looking for a parrot.  Now don&#8217;t go clicking on the photo to enlarge it right off the bat, you&#8217;ll make it too easy!  (And, by the way, it&#8217;s a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the bird (easy)</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-easy</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-easy#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:42:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14193</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yes, I realize that this is a very easy Spot the Bird.  Although it was hiding among the lower branches of a mesquite, the bird is very easy to spot, here in the photo.  But, driving past, not so easy.  And it doesn&#8217;t think it&#8217;s easy to spot.  The bird, a Greater Roadrunner, thinks it [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-easy/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Are you aware of vultures?</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/are-you-aware-of-vultures</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/are-you-aware-of-vultures#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 04 Sep 2011 03:14:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14017</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[They&#8217;re aware of you!!  It&#8217;s International Vulture Awareness Day, so look alive&#8230;
&#60;&#60; Turkey vulture, Cathartes aura.  (Photo A.Shock)
Please to note the Pervious Nostril! Click here for more information.

]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/are-you-aware-of-vultures/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Anna&#8217;s on an aloe</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/annas-on-an-aloe</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/annas-on-an-aloe#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Sep 2011 02:36:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hummingbirds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=14006</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
This isn&#8217;t a short-billed hummer, it&#8217;s just that the resolution on a zoom photo wasn&#8217;t up to capturing the thin bill against the rough-textured block wall.  Still, pretty good for a phone camera. (photo by A.Shock)
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/annas-on-an-aloe/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What luck!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/birds/what-luck</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/birds/what-luck#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Jun 2011 06:05:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unexpected]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13321</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This morning, I found a golden egg, high up in a tree.
Nestled into the rough bark of our backyard mesquite, a magical bird had laid a golden egg.  This was excellent: what a windfall! &#8212; my fortune was secured, if only I could reach it.
But it was too far over my head, so I had [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/birds/what-luck/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Morning foraging strategies and their aftermath</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/morning-foraging-strategies-and-their-aftermath</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/morning-foraging-strategies-and-their-aftermath#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:04:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13192</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This morning my foraging strategy was to cook oat bran, spangle it with almonds, and sweeten it a little with agave nectar.  This left the sink full of dishes.  Someone else&#8217;s foraging strategy &#8212; a fox? a coyote? &#8212; was to dig out pocket mice burrows, hoping for some warm, moist, furry, squeaking protein.  This [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/morning-foraging-strategies-and-their-aftermath/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Waxing gibbous with vultures</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/waxing-gibbous-with-vultures</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/waxing-gibbous-with-vultures#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 May 2011 19:55:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=13088</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This time of year, the local Turkey Vultures roost on the rocks and in the tall eucalypts&#8217; tops along Queen Creek.  By twilight they&#8217;ve called it a day, and have found their places, high overhead where they&#8217;ll be safe from most predators, dreaming of whatever odiferous carnage vultures dream of.  Unlike most hawks, many vultures [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/waxing-gibbous-with-vultures/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Migratory cephalopods&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/migratory-cephalopods</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/migratory-cephalopods#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 May 2011 16:07:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cephalopods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12957</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;and other creatures of shift and change.
The day began with a coyote, and an oriole.  The coyote we encountered in front of our house, at the start of our early morning walk toward the neaby desert park.  It was on its end of the day commute &#8212; on the way from our street [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/migratory-cephalopods/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Hidden Egg</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-hidden-egg</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-hidden-egg#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 24 Apr 2011 15:43:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Invertebrata]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[doom and gloom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[furbearers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12825</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This time of year the world is pregnant with nests full of eggs, tiny cottontails hopping and hiding in the yard, fledgling birds following their parents food-begging insistently, new yellow-green leaves and catkins on the mesquite trees, and glorious cactus blooms.
&#60;&#60; Praying mantis egg-case on a Palo Verde twig (photo E.Shock).  &#62;&#62; close-up of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-hidden-egg/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the Bird answer: rock and wren</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answer-rock-and-wren</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answer-rock-and-wren#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:42:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rox]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12611</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To the right is the photo key to the Rock wren of the current Spot the Bird.  Rock wrens rock one of my favorite Latin names in the bird world (along with Upupa epops, the hoopoe): Salpinctes obsoletus.  According to Choate, the name comes from Greek salpinctes, &#8220;a trumpeter&#8221; and Latin obsoletus, &#8220;indistinct&#8221;, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answer-rock-and-wren/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the Bird: rock and wren</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-rock-and-wren</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-rock-and-wren#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 17 Apr 2011 04:22:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12587</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been a while since we&#8217;ve had a SPOT THE BIRD.
Rock wrens, Salpinctes obsoletus, live among rocks in the arid mountain and desert west.  Here are some rocks.  These rocks are along the Castle Hotsprings Road between Phoenix and Wickenburg, AZ.  There is a Rock wren in these rocks.  If you could hear the wren, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-rock-and-wren/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Owl? What owl?</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/owl-what-owl</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/owl-what-owl#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Apr 2011 18:07:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12533</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yesterday an MLO (Medium Large Owl) emerged fresh from the kiln, all mute greens and golds, looking wind-blown and content.  I&#8217;d built this owl outside on the back porch, in a plein-air studio annex location during our in-between-not-too-hot-not-too-cold season, and I put it back outside to save indoor shelf space. Anything on the porch is [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/owl-what-owl/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Little the worse for wear</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-little-the-worse-for-wear</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-little-the-worse-for-wear#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:59:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[doom and gloom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hummingbirds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=12164</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[They don&#8217;t all make it.  E found a dead fledgling hummingbird in the path across the wash, under the palo verde tree. It was dried, mummified, an inoffensive inanimate thing, not even worth the ants picking over.  We buried it under a nearby chuparosa, a favored food of hummers.  (Photos E.Shock)
Top: detail of foot, with [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-little-the-worse-for-wear/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hen Triumphant!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hen-triumphant</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hen-triumphant#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:56:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hummingbirds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11709</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;ve been watching a hummingbird Hen &#8212; we think she&#8217;s an Anna&#8217;s (Calypte anna) &#8212; on a nest since the middle of February.  Lots of people have passed close to her chosen spot, which was fairly low in a crooked Aleppo pine in our backyard, right over a gravel path through the side of the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hen-triumphant/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Oh say can you KIK&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/oh-say-can-you-kik</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/oh-say-can-you-kik#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 05 Mar 2011 15:37:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11424</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;by the dawnzerly light?
&#60;&#60; Here&#8217;s one of the local Cooper&#8217;s hawks preening in the pre-dawn light above my tent &#8220;office&#8221;.  Every morning at EXACTLY 5:48 by the alarm clock, the pair begins their day by skrekking KIK a couple of solo kiks, then rolling out a long stream of duo kik kik kik kik kik [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/oh-say-can-you-kik/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The delights of urban camping</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/the-delights-of-urban-camping</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/the-delights-of-urban-camping#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:23:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11407</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here is the Office, Three Star Owl&#8217;s nest away from nest on certain roadtrips, complete with cot and a TV tray table that serves as a desk, and a battery-powered lamp or two. &#60;&#60;

And here is the Cooper&#8217;s hawk who nests here each time I&#8217;ve stayed in this RV Resort.  It&#8217;s eating something fairly large, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/the-delights-of-urban-camping/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Damn that Dove!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/damn-that-dove</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/damn-that-dove#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Mar 2011 02:34:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11379</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Talk about a bull in a china shop.  It could have been much worse, but still&#8230;
Just after the Three Star Owl Open Studio/Camelback Studio Tour came to an end, and I&#8217;d put all the remaining wares onto my studio worktables to await packing for the imminent San Diego Bird Festival trip, a big stupid dove [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/damn-that-dove/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>I know where the Hen she sits&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/i-know-where-the-hen-she-sits</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/i-know-where-the-hen-she-sits#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Feb 2011 01:30:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hummingbirds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11292</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;and also why it&#8217;s called &#8220;Broad-billed&#8221;.
Although those two statements concern two different birds.
Update: as of Friday morning, &#8220;Bill&#8221;, the Broad-billed hummingbird, is still reporting in to our backyard feeders, passing the 72-hour mark (I first observed him on Monday afternoon).  We guess he&#8217;ll be here until he&#8217;s not!
Breeding season for Anna&#8217;s hummers is in full [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/i-know-where-the-hen-she-sits/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lousy pix but exciting bird!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lousy-pix-but-exciting-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lousy-pix-but-exciting-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:38:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11264</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Another update: going onto day three of &#8220;Bill&#8221; at the feeder.
Update: as of Tuesday late afternoon, the BBLH is still at our feeder, defending it against the local Anna&#8217;s hummers, happily zipping about under the pine and between our yard and the neighbor&#8217;s.
A series of rapid, smacking clicks and a rich chip caught my ear [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lousy-pix-but-exciting-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Year&#8217;s First New Bird</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-years-first-new-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-years-first-new-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Jan 2011 22:44:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11129</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last post was the New Year&#8217;s first bird &#8212; a frosty Costa&#8217;s hummingbird &#8212; but this one is the Year&#8217;s First New Bird, and it&#8217;s a hummer, too.
We just returned from Baja California, and in the mission village of San Javier on the dramatic east side of the Sierra de la Giganta in Baja California [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-years-first-new-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>New Year&#8217;s first bird</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-years-first-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-years-first-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Jan 2011 16:37:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11083</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#62;&#62; A durable little male Costa&#8217;s hummingbird, perched two feet off the ground on an aloe-tip, in the gray light of a below-freezing desert dawn, the first morning of the year also the coldest of the season so far.  (All photos A.Shock &#8212; click to enlarge!)
Moustachios a-flarin&#8217; &#62;&#62;
Above: slurping at the feeder:
It&#8217;s surprising how [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-years-first-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the Bird: bright beak gray cheek</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-bright-beak-gray-cheek</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-bright-beak-gray-cheek#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:38:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11057</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In celebration of my friend Kate seeing Black-bellied whistling ducks in New Orleans, here is a Black-bellied whistling duck Spot the Bird.
The photo was taken in a coastal wetland in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, in Ocotber of 2008.  I was scanning the greenery with binx when I spotted the ducks &#8212; I suspect [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-bright-beak-gray-cheek/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Distant eagle</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/birds/distant-eagle</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/birds/distant-eagle#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Dec 2010 06:13:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11027</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Along the Verde River in the Yavapai Indian Nation, a Bald eagle sits low in the field of view, framed by a dramatic snag, golden cottonwood foliage, and saguaro and brush-covered hills behind.  Out of sight, the river flows to the right, between the eagle and the saguaros in the background.

Vignetting, distortion, noise, and other [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/birds/distant-eagle/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Killdeer overshadows rock</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/killdeer-overshadows-rock</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/killdeer-overshadows-rock#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Dec 2010 15:26:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=11020</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
A looming Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) casts a long shadow in the late afternoon sun, standing on a bermed farm road east of Phoenix (photo A.Shock).  Despite its scientific name, it was being silent, and not vociferus at all.  And despite its common name, ungulates don&#8217;t have to worry, but you invertebrates? &#8212; quake in your [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/killdeer-overshadows-rock/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Owls dislike Autumn because&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/owls-dislike-autumn-because</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/owls-dislike-autumn-because#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:28:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10998</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;it&#8217;s hard to hide in bright, falling foliage if you&#8217;re a flying tiger&#8230;
Here&#8217;s one of a pair of Great Horned Owls we happened upon yesterday in a cottonwood grove along the Verde River east of the Phoenix metro area.  We were scouting for Tuesday&#8217;s official Christmas Bird Count of the Rio Verde area, and accidentally [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/owls-dislike-autumn-because/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>El Guajolote Supremo wishes everyone&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/guajolote-supremo-wishes-everyone</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/guajolote-supremo-wishes-everyone#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Nov 2010 17:35:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10919</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;a Happy Thanksgiving!
As fabulous a bird as our North American Wild Turkey undoubtedly is, there is a turkey more wonderful still: the Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) of tropical Central America.&#62;&#62;
On this Turkey Day feast your eyes on the glory that is the iridescent El Guajolote Supremo &#8212; eaten nearly to extinction because it apparantly tastes [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/guajolote-supremo-wishes-everyone/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Falconeye</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/falconeye</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/falconeye#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:49:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10897</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As long ago as the Old Kingdom (the middle of the third millenium BCE), the Egyptians used the eye of the Falcon &#8212; the eye of Horus, the falcon-headed deity &#8212; as an apotropaic, or protective symbol, wearing the still-popular faience amulets as personal ornament, or tucking them into the wrappings of mummies.
The Left Eye [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/falconeye/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Three small pictures of four small things&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/three-small-pictures-of-four-small-things</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/three-small-pictures-of-four-small-things#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 16 Oct 2010 22:33:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10751</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; I missed at first, when outside friday morning shooting passionflowers.
It really irked me to not have my own photo of a Gulf Fritillary to post yesterday, so once the sun was higher, I went out to fetch one, if possible (a photo, that is, not a flutterby).  I ended up encountering not only [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/three-small-pictures-of-four-small-things/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Purple in the herbs</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/purple-in-the-herbs</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/purple-in-the-herbs#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:30:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[growing things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10724</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Our vegetable garden, like most vegetable gardens, requires continual effort.  For the majority of these domesticated types of plants, the desert is not a &#8220;shove it in the ground and it will grow&#8221; environment. Rabbits and diggy-beaked birds are constantly helping themselves, peak summer heat (now thankfully past) and dryness make frequent watering necessary.  So, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/purple-in-the-herbs/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Quite a lot of penguins</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/quite-a-lot-of-penguins</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/quite-a-lot-of-penguins#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Oct 2010 02:54:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10622</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s still hot in Phoenix, although less hot than formerly, so here&#8217;s a cooling black-and-white-and-gray vista to cool the eye.

These King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) are amassed on South Georgia Island, located at 54〫S in the fearsome southern Atlantic ocean.  There are tens of thousands of them on this breeding beach.  Most of the individuals in [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/quite-a-lot-of-penguins/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Key to the Goldfinches Spot the Bird</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/key-to-the-goldfinches-spot-the-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/key-to-the-goldfinches-spot-the-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:17:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/key-to-the-goldfinches-spot-the-bird</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[SPOILER ALERT!!

Here are the three goldfinches in yesterday&#8217;s Spot the Bird, highlighted in color for ease of viewing.

]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/key-to-the-goldfinches-spot-the-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the bird: Lesser goldfinch fressing</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-lesser-goldfinch-fressing</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-lesser-goldfinch-fressing#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:21:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[growing things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10358</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We planted sunflowers in the garden for the goldfinch; it seems to have worked.
Now that the flower heads are mature and seedful on the stalks, the bushes are crowded with Lesser goldfinch. There are lots more flowers in bloom, which will keep the hungry finches supplied into the fall or even early winter.  The [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-lesser-goldfinch-fressing/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>We interrupt this flamingo&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/we-interrupt-this-flamingo</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/we-interrupt-this-flamingo#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:25:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cranky owlet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10158</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;to bring you a tiny owlet.  From Pink to Dink, with hardly a blink.
Friday morning, I came home from delivering E to campus, and blissfully opened the back door to let in the first blast of coolish late summer air.  Instead of the usual morning quiet, the back yard was chattering with angry bird sounds: [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/we-interrupt-this-flamingo/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>More Mightier Pink</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-mightier-pink</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-mightier-pink#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Sep 2010 04:17:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10117</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The last post, on Roseate Spoonbills, was mighty pink. But I have to admit Flamingos are pretty dang pink, pinker even than Roseates. This is because they are bigger, and their entire neck and head are flaming salmon.  And these two are American Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber), who are among the pinker of the world&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-mightier-pink/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Roseate spoonbill</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/roseate-spoonbill</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/roseate-spoonbill#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:25:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=10084</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[That&#8217;s all.  Just&#8230; Roseate spoonbill.
Platalelea ajaja is a fairly large hot pink wading bird with knobby gray knees and a spoon-ended sifting bill which it swings side to side in the water while feeding.  They tend to be gregarious, and seeing a bunch feeding together on mudflats is a fine pinksome sight.
&#60;&#60; This solitary one [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/roseate-spoonbill/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>More prehistoric wildlife of the back porch</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-prehistoric-wildlife-of-the-back-porch</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-prehistoric-wildlife-of-the-back-porch#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:52:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cool bug!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9850</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A centipede, a solifuge, now a dinosaur: all have recently made an appearance on our back porch.
Just now, I was sitting in the den with the sliding door open, when suddenly a winged dinosaur landed on the bricks right outside and ran up to the screen-door, its tail held high behind it like a velociraptor.
Greater [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/more-prehistoric-wildlife-of-the-back-porch/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Passing on the shnorr-gene</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/passing-on-the-shnorr-gene</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/passing-on-the-shnorr-gene#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:13:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9614</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hoover, the semi-tame African Collared Dove who hangs out in our neighborhood, has been a bachelor for a while.  But earlier this summer, we observed him in the company of a female dove who appeared to be a smallish Eurasian Collared Dove, a naturalized old world species that has become very numerous across the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/passing-on-the-shnorr-gene/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Another excellent tropical owl</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-excellent-tropical-owl</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-excellent-tropical-owl#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:29:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=9556</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[(This post newly updated with better link to owl sound)

Here&#8217;s a Spectacled owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata), staring hard at us from its perch in the tropical lowlands of Sarapiquí in Costa Rica.  What could be more delightful than a cinnamon-and-cholcolate owl with white &#8220;spectacles?&#8221; 
I have the answer: one that makes a strange, rapidly pulsating noise [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-excellent-tropical-owl/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
<enclosure url="http://www.owlpages.com/sounds/Pulsatrix-perspicillata-1.mp3" length="102817" type="audio/mpeg" />
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Good owls come in strange places</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/good-owls-come-in-strange-places</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/good-owls-come-in-strange-places#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:16:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8903</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I tell my non-birding friends that we saw quite a few owls in Costa Rica, many of them are surprised.  The common perception is that owls are indeed woodland creatures, but that&#8217;s &#8220;normal&#8221; woods &#8212;  not, you know, the &#8220;jungle.&#8221;  I suspect this monolithic concept of owls &#8212; where &#8220;owl&#8221; pretty much equals [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/good-owls-come-in-strange-places/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>in which I reveal my graphic petticoats along with an Orange-billed sparrow</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/in-which-i-reveal-my-graphic-petticoats-along-with-an-orange-billed-sparrow</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/in-which-i-reveal-my-graphic-petticoats-along-with-an-orange-billed-sparrow#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:57:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8555</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; or, saving shots by going artsy&#8230;
Not all photos are created equal, especially if you&#8217;re an amateur photog like me who asks my competent but limited point-and-shoot digital camera to do things it wasn&#8217;t meant to do, like capture images of cryptic birds high in trees with too many leaves against the light on an [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/in-which-i-reveal-my-graphic-petticoats-along-with-an-orange-billed-sparrow/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>&#8230;yes, more Great Potoo&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yes-more-great-potoo</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yes-more-great-potoo#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:57:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8513</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Like most enthusiasts, birders can get excited about seemingly unexciting things.  As proof, first there was the Maroon-chested ground-dove, a seriously exciting species that most of my non-birding friends think looks like a &#8220;boring&#8221; Mourning dove, but was easily one of the most thrilling sightings of the entire Costa Rica trip, which was full [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/yes-more-great-potoo/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Great Potoo</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-great-potoo</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-great-potoo#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:57:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8476</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[That&#8217;s almost all there is to say, except: here&#8217;s a picture of one, trying its best to look like a tree trunk, and doing an expert job of it:
I&#8217;ve always longed to see a Potoo, and when we got to Finca La Selva OTS (known to most North American birders as La Selva Research Station) [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-great-potoo/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Break from the tropics</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/break-from-the-tropics</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/break-from-the-tropics#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:44:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8461</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yes, you guessed it, this is not a photo from the recent Costa Rica trip.  I thought a frosty retreat from the steamy tropics was in order, and decided to insert this flashback of a favorite photo and sighting from a 2004 trip to the Antarctica Peninsula: a Gentoo penguin parent about to feed [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/break-from-the-tropics/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Did you see a Resplendent quetzal&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/did-you-see-a-resplendent-quetzal</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/did-you-see-a-resplendent-quetzal#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:22:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8406</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
&#8230;when you were in Costa Rica?  Yes.



Did you get a photo of a Resplendent quetzal?  No.



And was the Quetzal resplendent?  Yes.

Resplendent quetzales (Pharomachrus cocinno) are glimmering emerald birds who inhabit the dense, wet montane and cloud forests of parts of Central America. The males have splendid iridescent fringed tail plumes which trail extravagantly behind them, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/did-you-see-a-resplendent-quetzal/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hordes of hummers</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoards-of-hummers</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoards-of-hummers#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:21:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8348</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Living in Arizona there&#8217;s no room for complaint about the quantity and loveliness of the hummers which visit our yard feeders.  In the Phoenix area we have Costa&#8217;s and Anna&#8217;s year round, Black-chinned in summer, with Broad-tailed and Rufous making migratory appearances. I&#8217;ve seen a brilliant Broad-billed just two miles from here at the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoards-of-hummers/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What you need for watching birds in Costa Rica</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/birds/what-you-need-for-watching-birds-in-costa-rica</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/birds/what-you-need-for-watching-birds-in-costa-rica#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:22:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8268</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here are some things you need to watch birds in Costa Rica, presented in no particular order:
A pack or bag with a waterproof stuff sack inside (I used a Sea to Summit drysack, lightweight, relatively durable, quite waterproof).  Trust me, the waterproof part will make your camera, checklist or notebook, and cookies happy.
Waterproof binoculars.  These [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/birds/what-you-need-for-watching-birds-in-costa-rica/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tiny owlets toot in trees</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tiny-owlets-toot-in-trees</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tiny-owlets-toot-in-trees#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jul 2010 23:15:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8223</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To say that pygmy owls are sparrow-like isn&#8217;t entirely true.  But it&#8217;s almost true.
To start with, there&#8217;s their size: they are Very Very Small (the technical term).  Almost sparrow-sized.  Perched in a conifer, they look like a tiny pinecone. Also, like sparrows, they&#8217;re largely diurnal, and can frequently be found glaring down from a high [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tiny-owlets-toot-in-trees/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Life under the volcano</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/life-under-the-volcano</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/life-under-the-volcano#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:31:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rox]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8202</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Three Star Owl blogging resumes after a hiatus of two weeks in Costa Rica&#8230;

Volcán Turrialba at dawn, from Rancho Naturalista (photo A.Shock).
In the view above only a small plume of steam and gas is visible from the most active of the three summit craters of the nearly 11,000 foot stratovolcano.  Its last major eruption was [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/life-under-the-volcano/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Mono birds and tufa</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/mono-birds-and-tufa</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/mono-birds-and-tufa#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:15:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rox]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8154</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of our destinations during the recent eastern California trip was the dramatic and amazing Mono Lake and its crumbly, gradually ephemeral tufa groves.  Tufa towers are mineral formations deposited underwater when calcium-rich spring water pours up into carbonate-rich lakewater.  The resulting mixture precipitates calcium-carbonate which builds upward into the lake water, sort of like [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/mono-birds-and-tufa/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Boss in her office: &#8220;checking for lard&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-boss-in-her-office-checking-for-lard</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-boss-in-her-office-checking-for-lard#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:52:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=8101</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[[This is a Spot the Bird, although it's less of a quiz than a photo series. All photos A or E Shock.  Click to enlarge.]
Here are some feral date palms, growing wild at a substantial oasis in Death Valley, CA.  The date palm is Phoenix dactylifera (&#8220;finger-bearing&#8221;), but in this case we could call it [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-boss-in-her-office-checking-for-lard/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Rock-watching in the wind</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rock-watching-in-the-wind</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rock-watching-in-the-wind#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 29 May 2010 20:00:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[furbearers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rox]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7917</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
A few days ago, we drove far out into sage-covered lava rocks to check out some hot springs on the east side of the Sierra Nevada.  After walking to the top of the hill, walking around the next hill and between two other hills, seeing what birds were around and about, and while E [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rock-watching-in-the-wind/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hoover at Sea</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoover-at-sea</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoover-at-sea#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 02 May 2010 15:21:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7790</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hoover the feral African collared dove has solved the problem of how to drink from the swimming pool: board the chlorine float.  The health ramifications of this (for the bird) may be dubious, but watching him neatly land on a floating, bobbing object with a smallish deck area is a thing to behold.  He fastidiously [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hoover-at-sea/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Another Spot the Bird, sort of</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-spot-the-bird-sort-of</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-spot-the-bird-sort-of#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:52:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7777</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s a swell photo of a Sora we saw at Tavasci Marsh last weekend.  I&#8217;ve categorized this as a Spot the Bird, but your eye will probably go right to it, since it&#8217;s out in the open.  The little rail had whinnied a couple of times &#8212; Sora make a sound very much like those [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-spot-the-bird-sort-of/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Three Star Owl at Verde Birdy</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/three-star-owl-at-verde-birdy</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/three-star-owl-at-verde-birdy#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:47:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cranky owlet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7739</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here are a few images from last weekend&#8217;s event at the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival.  If you haven&#8217;t checked out the Verde Valley in north central Arizona, you should &#8212; it&#8217;s beautiful green country, with big trees and lots of year-round water like the Verde River, as well as surrounding mountains, good restaurants, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/three-star-owl-at-verde-birdy/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>And, speaking of owls&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/and-speaking-of-owls</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/and-speaking-of-owls#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Apr 2010 03:37:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7718</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230; and we were &#8212; always &#8212; this Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) was giving us the eye from our big backyard pine tree, right at sunset tonight.  The Gila woodpeckers, doves, and local hummers &#8212; both Anna&#8217;s and Black-chinned &#8212; were really ticked off at the eminence tigre, and zoomed and hovered threateningly.  I&#8217;m [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/and-speaking-of-owls/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Another Bird Spots You</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-bird-spots-you</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-bird-spots-you#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:14:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7691</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re not familiar with Gilded flickers (Colaptes chrysoides), they are large desert woodpeckers, closely associated with Saguaros.  They excavate their nest cavities in the trunks of the giant cactus.  They&#8217;re closely related to Red-shafted and Yellow-shafted flickers who inhabit the western and eastern U.S., respectively.  Flickers are flashy in coloration, being spotted and barred, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/another-bird-spots-you/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Bendire&#8217;s thrasher in Papago Park</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bendires-thrasher-in-papago-park-2</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bendires-thrasher-in-papago-park-2#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:35:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Papago Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7660</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Some things always amaze me.  One of them is why there are so many different Thrasher species in the arid Southwestern U.S.
Most of us who live in the Low Desert are used to two of the more common thrashers: the ubiquitous Northern mockingbird, its slender gray-and-white profile often seen  on high perches, singing its [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/bendires-thrasher-in-papago-park-2/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the bird answers</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answers</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answers#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:15:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7629</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s time to post the Spot the Bird answers from the Twofer Spot the Bird a couple days ago &#8212; thanks to everyone who got back to Three Star Owl with your observations.  Finding the birds seemed to be fairly easy; ID&#8217;ing only a little less so. These two key photos are click-onable to embiggen, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-bird-answers/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Equal time: the Bird Spots YOU</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/equal-time-the-bird-spots-you</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/equal-time-the-bird-spots-you#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:21:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7598</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Just to even things up, here&#8217;s what it feels like to be BIRD-WATCHED:
(Photo E.Shock)
This is &#8220;Hoover&#8221; the semi-tame wild African collared dove who inhabits our neighborhood, wondering why we don&#8217;t have a handful of peanuts NOW.
To indulge in a moment of natural history, notice how the eye is set in a slightly pinched or narrow [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/equal-time-the-bird-spots-you/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Twofer Spot the Bird</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-spot-the-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-spot-the-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:56:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7545</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here are two new Spot the Bird photos.  The visual puzzle is the same in each: huge background, tiny bird.  No camouflage involved, none at all; just hiding against a big landscape.
The first photo of an enormous oaktree (?) in Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior Arizona, east of Phoenix, is a photo I took because [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/twofer-spot-the-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Aerial talon-show over Papago Park</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/aerial-talon-show-over-papago-park</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/aerial-talon-show-over-papago-park#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:10:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Papago Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7437</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Had a nice morning walk in Papago Park (Phoenix AZ) this morning &#8212; the spring air was breezy and clear, and the high skies brought out a number of aerial show-offs.  The main attraction was a Peregrine falcon, spiraling and soaring between the two largest buttes in the Park and the Army National Guard reservation, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/aerial-talon-show-over-papago-park/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Rio Salado in early spring</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rio-salado-in-early-spring</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rio-salado-in-early-spring#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:11:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[furbearers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7304</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today I actually got outdoors to breathe air, soak up sunbeams, and take a look at what&#8217;s up, and what&#8217;s in the air.  It&#8217;d been awhile, and I thought I&#8217;d celebrate by passing along some of what&#8217;s happening along the Salt River, smack in the middle of the City of Phoenix, AZ.
&#60;&#60; green Goodding&#8217;s willows, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/rio-salado-in-early-spring/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>President&#8217;s Day: Hoover himself shows up</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/presidents-day-hoover-himself-shows-up</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/presidents-day-hoover-himself-shows-up#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:09:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7281</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Hoover&#8221; the semi-tame  African Collared Dove who inhabits our neighborhood came around for a handout of sunflower hearts and peanuts on Valentine&#8217;s Day.  It&#8217;s a bit of a sad story, in that he used to have a female companion, but no longer.  So far this spring he&#8217;s spent much of the day in plaintive calling [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/presidents-day-hoover-himself-shows-up/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>New!  Spot the Bird!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-spot-the-bird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-spot-the-bird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:30:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7180</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A recent post, Spot the Pipit, inadvertently marked the inauguration of a series of themed posts in this webjournal: Spot the Bird. 
After posting Spot the Pipit, it occurred to me that in the Three Star Owl photo files were other pix which showed birds that were more or less hard to see, but which [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/new-spot-the-bird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spot the Pipit! plus: gallery of international pipits (a bird with a view)</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-pipit-plus-gallery-of-international-pipits-a-bird-with-a-view</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-pipit-plus-gallery-of-international-pipits-a-bird-with-a-view#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:54:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spot the bird]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=7012</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s a small bird in this photo of lakeside rocks.  Can you spot the pipit?
Sunday E and I watched an American pipit (Anthus rubescens; photo E.Shock) working its way along water&#8217;s edge at Burnt Corral on Apache Lake east of Phoenix, darting after flies. beetles, larvae and other yummies around the cobbles in the shallow [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/spot-the-pipit-plus-gallery-of-international-pipits-a-bird-with-a-view/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Two coatis hit the road&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/two-coatis-hit-the-road</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/two-coatis-hit-the-road#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:31:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[effigy vessels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6929</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;but only one came back.
Thanks to everybody who came by Three Star Owl at Wings Over Willcox &#8212; the show was a very good one for &#8220;the owl&#8221;.  Cranes were seen, friends were met and re-met, many clay pieces found good new homes.  And thanks also to the organizers of the Festival, who have a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/two-coatis-hit-the-road/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Picture of purples past</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/picture-of-purples-past</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/picture-of-purples-past#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:56:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6825</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is the very week many Costa&#8217;s hummingbirds leave our yard.  I know this because I&#8217;m keeping track,  not out of obsessiveness, or possessiveness (well, maybe a little&#8230;), but because each winter I participate in the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology&#8217;s Project Feeder Watch.  Like Christmas bird counts, it&#8217;s a way for science to harness [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/picture-of-purples-past/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Four calling owls, three quail hens, two Inca doves&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/four-calling-owls-three-quail-hens-two-inca-doves</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/four-calling-owls-three-quail-hens-two-inca-doves#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:10:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment/activism/politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6634</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;and a Phainopepla in a Palo Verde tree.
As around the turn of every new year, Christmas Bird Counts are happening across America.  Under the auspices of the Audubon Society winter bird distribution and population information is compiled, collected by volunteers, most of whom are not ornithologists but people with a non-professional &#8212;  although sometimes [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/four-calling-owls-three-quail-hens-two-inca-doves/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A close brush with a hunter</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-close-brush-with-a-hunter</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-close-brush-with-a-hunter#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:57:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6533</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Weeks out of &#8220;swim-season&#8221;, our pool is a bit dishevelled right now: a recent windstorm, a bit of a chemical imbalance, a bit of neglect, made it time to brush the pool.  It&#8217;s a task that in itself isn&#8217;t huge fun in cold weather &#8212; cold wet aluminum chills the paws fast! &#8212; but does [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-close-brush-with-a-hunter/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Happy Thanksgiving!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/birds/happy-thanksgiving</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/birds/happy-thanksgiving#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:34:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6460</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
(Photo by E.Shock)
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/birds/happy-thanksgiving/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A first year Cooper&#8217;s hawk&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-first-year-coopers-hawk</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-first-year-coopers-hawk#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:44:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Papago Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6373</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;is bent on both mayhem and mischief.
She was lurking at the north entrance to Papago Park early Saturday morning, in the low spot where the White-crowned sparrows, House finches, and Mourning doves are usually found in great numbers on chilly winter mornings.  She even swooped over our heads on her way up to the top [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-first-year-coopers-hawk/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Still Lousy: Costa contra Costa</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/still-lousy-costa-contra-costa</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/still-lousy-costa-contra-costa#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:01:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6305</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The post-breeding influx of Costa&#8217;s hummingbirds in our Phoenix-area yard continues.  This tough little desert hummer is present at the feeders year round, but the population goes up noticeably between about June and December.  Most of the birds we see are males, some in fully developed adult plumage, some with scraggly purple moustaches just growing in.  [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/still-lousy-costa-contra-costa/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Hey, it&#8217;s a Wrentit!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hey-its-a-wrentit</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hey-its-a-wrentit#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:27:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6272</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Can&#8217;t resist posting this swell picture by E of a Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata), a veritable Dinky Dude not of the Desert, but of West Coast scrub and inland chaparral.
(left, Wrentit, photo E. Shock)
It may have subdued plumage, but how can anyone not like a skulking, big-headed, tiny bird with white eyes, who is the only [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/hey-its-a-wrentit/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Is this the offending foam?</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/is-this-the-offending-foam</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/is-this-the-offending-foam#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:11:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment/activism/politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6179</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On last weekend&#8217;s trip to the Oregon coast, E and I noticed the beaches were festooned with unsupported sea-foam, churned up by the waves.  This might have been the slimy foam that&#8217;s currently causing major problems for sea birds along the Oregon coast.  The foam, a result of an off-shore algal bloom, coats the bird&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/is-this-the-offending-foam/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Redcaps and Redthroats: &#8217;shrooms and loons&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/redcaps-and-redthroats-shrooms-and-loons</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/redcaps-and-redthroats-shrooms-and-loons#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:07:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6153</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;on the northwest Oregon coast.
It&#8217;s not very much like the Sonoran Desert here. Everything&#8217;s either wet or damp, and when it rains it&#8217;s not a pounding monsoonal deluge that ends quickly, but a steady long-term soaking, which might last hours, days, or the rest of the year.  Things that live here are water-loving organisms, like [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/redcaps-and-redthroats-shrooms-and-loons/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Flaming flamingo</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/birds/flaming-flamingo</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/birds/flaming-flamingo#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:49:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6049</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Late afternoon light makes this Flamingo at the Phoenix Zoo fiery pink. (Photo E.Shock)
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/birds/flaming-flamingo/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>Why it&#8217;s called a Ring-necked duck</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/why-its-called-a-ring-necked-duck</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/why-its-called-a-ring-necked-duck#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:11:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=6014</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Although the days are still hot here in the Phoenix area, there are signs that summer is sliding into fall: migrating Red-tailed hawks soaring over the park this morning, and over Papago Buttes a couple of accipiters (probably Cooper&#8217;s hawks) swirling through a cloud of White-throated swifts, hoping for a quick fistful of breakfast on [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/why-its-called-a-ring-necked-duck/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The pulchritude of vulturitude, or&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-pulchritude-of-vulturitude-or</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-pulchritude-of-vulturitude-or#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:25:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5922</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;things are more colorful in the tropics.

Let&#8217;s unofficially extend International Vulture Awareness &#8220;Day&#8221; to &#8220;Weekend&#8221;, just so we can examine the glorious elegance that is the facial skin of the Lesser Yellow-Headed Vulture, a cousin of the widely distributed Turkey vulture that most of us Norte Americaños are familiar with.
You could argue that the King [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/the-pulchritude-of-vulturitude-or/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Who needs vultures?  Everybody needs vultures!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/who-needs-vultures-everybody-needs-vultures</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/who-needs-vultures-everybody-needs-vultures#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:01:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environment/activism/politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5912</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[International Vulture Awareness day is Sept. 5
Vultures and condors are really useful in your niche or ecosystem.  What to do with that pesky roadkill, thawed winterkill, shot-winged quarry, victims of natural disaster, contagion, or warfare, or any other squishy, odiferous and past-its-prime meaty object?  Just leave it to vultures &#8212; it&#8217;s easy, quick, FREE, and [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/who-needs-vultures-everybody-needs-vultures/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Hallux, Retrix and Feak&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/etymology/hallux-retrix-and-feak</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/etymology/hallux-retrix-and-feak#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:42:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5395</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
&#8230;are not a Victorian law firm.
They are delightfully specific bird-related terms: it seems that falconers and ornithologists, like the French, have a different word for everything.
You can talk about a raptor&#8217;s &#8220;thumb&#8221;, meaning the strong digit that in most birds is at the back of the foot, and people will know what you mean.  But [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/etymology/hallux-retrix-and-feak/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lord of the Fly(catchers)</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/lord-of-the-flycatchers</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/lord-of-the-flycatchers#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:24:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5362</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Late each spring, later than most other neotropical migrants, the Brown-crested flycatchers (Myiarchus tyrannulus) return to our neighborhood (and other places in southern Arizona) from their wintering grounds in Mexico.
They are relatively large tyrant flycatchers, about the size of the more familiar Cardinal, but unlike Cardinals they&#8217;re not usually seen on or even terribly close [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/lord-of-the-flycatchers/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Lousy with Costa&#8217;s</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lousy-with-costas</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lousy-with-costas#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:46:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5275</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When the Gophersnake made its appearance, I was about to post on Costa&#8217;s hummingbirds, because &#8220;informal censusing&#8221; (= what we see in the yard) indicates that this is the season when the Costa&#8217;s hummer population is highest in our Phoenix area yard: we are lousy with Costa&#8217;s right now.
I would guess it has something to [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/lousy-with-costas/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A favorite slinky neighbor&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-favorite-slinky-neighbor</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-favorite-slinky-neighbor#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:40:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reptiles and amphibians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5235</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;was patrolling our yard yesterday, an overcast Thursday morning.
I was working in the studio and noticed yard birds scolding harshly.  But my brain was busy with clay, and it only spared enough attention to ID the calls &#8212; cactus wren, verdin, curve-billed thrasher &#8212; and forgot to be curious about what was setting them off.  [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/a-favorite-slinky-neighbor/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A new batch of &#8220;Songbird&#8221; mugs is underway</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/events/a-new-batch-of-songbird-mugs-is-underway</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/events/a-new-batch-of-songbird-mugs-is-underway#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:40:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4554</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m now in heavy production mode for the upcoming Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival in southeastern Arizona (see Events for details).  Some of the objects I&#8217;m making in small batches are smooth-surfaced mugs for glazing bird portraits on.  Flat-bottomed, hand-built (as opposed to wheel-thrown), and intended for daily use, these mugs have proven popular [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/events/a-new-batch-of-songbird-mugs-is-underway/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Desert Dove-o-rama: White-winged doves</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/desert-dove-o-rama-white-winged-doves</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/desert-dove-o-rama-white-winged-doves#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:00:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5098</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Arriving in the spring, they lurk like vultures for weeks on the crowns of blooming saguaros, waiting for the flowers to swell into fat green fruits.  When they do, the White winged doves (Zenaida asiatica) rip them open with their strong fruit-ripping beaks, exposing the sweet red fruit and feasting greedily.  Sometimes several doves will [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/desert-dove-o-rama-white-winged-doves/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Festival of Desert Doves: the Other Collared Dove</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-the-other-collared-dove</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-the-other-collared-dove#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:08:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=5015</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) has an agenda well-befitting a Columbid: &#8220;Must Colonize New World.&#8221; 
Actually, it started before that, and a lot farther east: a native of central Asia, the Collared Dove had populated Europe as far west as Great Britain by the 1950s.  By the early &#8217;80s, a population had taken hold [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-the-other-collared-dove/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Festival of Desert Doves: African Collared Dove</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-african-collared-dove</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-african-collared-dove#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:47:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4953</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The desert suburbs of Phoenix are Columbid-rich, that is, there are many species of doves and pigeons.  Yesterday I was putting out seed in a neighbor&#8217;s gravel drive just before sunset.  The area is quite open, and at that time of day it fills with fat, free-loading doves and pigeons who are used to being [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/festival-of-desert-doves-african-collared-dove/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Springtime do-over in Sedona (with Bonus Wild Hen nidification)</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/springtime-do-over-in-sedona-with-bonus-wild-hen-nidification</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/springtime-do-over-in-sedona-with-bonus-wild-hen-nidification#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:28:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4859</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We missed some of Spring in the desert this year, so last weekend we went in search of it under the Mogollon Rim: Sunday found us hiking along the West Fork of Oak Creek in Sedona.  It&#8217;s one of the more popular trails in that popular area, and at times it&#8217;s mobbed by clusters of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/springtime-do-over-in-sedona-with-bonus-wild-hen-nidification/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>One of the best things we DIDN&#8217;T see in New Zealand&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/one-of-the-best-things-we-didnt-see-in-new-zealand</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/one-of-the-best-things-we-didnt-see-in-new-zealand#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:02:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[etymology/words]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[owls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Zealand]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4455</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8230;was a Ruru, or Morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae).

It&#8217;s NZ&#8217;s only remaining native owl (the Laughing owl was last recorded in 1914), and is fairly common in many habitats, even parks and gardens, but is especially numerous in tracts of native bush.  We heard them several places, mostly in the Kauri Forest while on a night walk [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/one-of-the-best-things-we-didnt-see-in-new-zealand/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gamboling Gambel&#8217;s Quailets</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/art/gamboling-gambels-quailets</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/art/gamboling-gambels-quailets#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 30 May 2009 04:09:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[art/clay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drawn in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[three star owl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4758</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In our area, the first Gambel&#8217;s quail chicks of the year usually start showing up in early May,  clustered around their parents under the mesquite trees in the yard, pecking expertly at the ground like the precocial youngsters they are.  This year, since we weren&#8217;t around then, we missed the &#8220;nebula phase&#8221; of their [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/art/gamboling-gambels-quailets/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Harakeke rules!</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/harakeke-rules</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/harakeke-rules#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2009 00:26:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[botany]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Zealand]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4527</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Living in Southern California as a kid, I was familiar with the massive, blade-leafed clumping plant widely used in landscaping called Flax, or New Zealand Flax.  So I shouldn&#8217;t have been surprised to see it growing everywhere in New Zealand, right?  Still, my first dim thought was, &#8220;Oh, they landscape with it here, too, just [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/harakeke-rules/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>So what about the Hen?</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/so-what-about-the-hen</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/so-what-about-the-hen#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2009 19:37:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[increments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nidification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[yard list]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4544</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You may be wondering about the much-posted Hen, a female Anna&#8217;s hummingbird, and her two nestlings, who were busy growing up in an Aleppo Pine in our back yard.
As far as we know, the Hen fledged her young successfully while we were in New Zealand. We&#8217;ll never know for sure, but the evidence supports a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/so-what-about-the-hen/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tubenoses, Albatross Elbows and Muttonbirds</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tubenoses-albatross-elbows-and-muttonbird</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tubenoses-albatross-elbows-and-muttonbird#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 03:00:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[close in]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Zealand]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4370</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One thing the Southern Hemisphere does well is sea birds.  Albatrosses, gannets, penguins, prions, storm petrels, diving petrels, gadfly petrels, giant petrels, shearwaters, skuas, mollymawks, and more occur in baffling numbers of species (and nomenclature).  Normally, many of these birds are found well out to sea, over the deepwater pelagic zones.  But in tectonically active [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/tubenoses-albatross-elbows-and-muttonbird/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Evidence of life in the tree tops: Rosella and Kereru</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/evidence-of-life-in-the-tree-tops-rosella-and-kereru</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/evidence-of-life-in-the-tree-tops-rosella-and-kereru#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 09 May 2009 09:31:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Zealand]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4332</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Left: Eastern Rosella feather (Platycercus eximius) with Kauri cone.  Rosellas are long-tailed, rainbow-colored Australian parrots who now live in NZ, too.

Below: Kereru feather (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae, New Zealand Pigeon) on leaf.
The Kereru is a very large pigeon, much bigger than Rock Pigeons, whose striking white, iridescent green-maroon plumage and bright red feet and bill blend surprisingly [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/evidence-of-life-in-the-tree-tops-rosella-and-kereru/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Alpine Parrots&#8230;no, really, parrots at tree-line.</title>
		<link>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/alpine-parrotsno-really-parrots-at-tree-line</link>
		<comments>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/alpine-parrotsno-really-parrots-at-tree-line#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2009 06:58:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Allison</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[birds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[field trips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[natural history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oddities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://threestarowl.com/?p=4279</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you were a parrot, would you live in this chilly realm?
Yes, if you&#8217;re a Kea.  A large, endemic NZ parrot, the bronze-green Kea (Nestor notabilis) spends most of its time in high alpine areas and steep rocky valleys of the mountains of New Zealand&#8217;s South Island.
Kea can be easy to photograph because of some [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/alpine-parrotsno-really-parrots-at-tree-line/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

