Bird

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and The Audubon Society. It engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone, from beginners to experts, can be a “citizen scientist” in this way. This year’s event is scheduled for today through Monday. The Central Kentucky Wildlife Refuge is encouraging everyone to join in the fun this year, either at home or at the refuge.

HARRODSBURG - Mr. Kwik on South College Street in Harrodsburg has been a fixture in Mercer County for the last 38 years. Sue Abrams has been there since 1978 and has been manager for the last 27 years. “We open 5:30 every morning and even on days like this, there’s usually a line of people waiting to get in,” Abrams said early this morning. “Mr. Kwik will go through 10 gallons of coffee on cold mornings like this one and serve between 1,250 and 1,500 customers per day,” she said.

George Rogers Clark senior Vinny Zollo has had today’s date circled on his calendar since the beginning of the season. Zollo, a senior, would like nothing more than to go out with a win over 11th Region powerhouse Scott County when the two teams meet tonight in a 7:30 tipoff at Norton Gymnasium. “For me personally, and I speak for a lot of our guys, it’s time to beat Scott County,” he said earlier this week. “We got close last year and it’s a big game on our list.

The National Audubon Society’s Christmas bird count was held on Dec. 18. It was a cold day with patches of ice on the roadway and an icy crust on the fields. Illness and ice led to a decrease in coverage from nine regions to seven.  The number of species, 69, was the highest since 2003. The number of individuals, 12,433 was the highest since 2002. A sharp-shinned hawk was sighted during the count week (Wednesday through Tuesday) but not on the count day. Species with new high counts were red-tailed hawk (96)

The 111th annual National Audubon Society bird count will be held in the Danville area Dec. 18 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. This will be the 62nd consecutive year that Danville has participated. Group captains from last year will contact their team members to find out if they can participate this year. Anyone who did not take part last year and would like to take part in this year’s count may call Neil or Ginny Eklund at (859) 236-8807 and, if necessary, leave a message or e-mail at nveklund@roadrunner.

The Mary Ashby Cheek Education Center at the Central Kentucky Wildlife Refuge will be open for visitors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sept.18. The education center houses information about plants and animals that may be seen at the refuge, including examples of bird feathers and nests, rocks, an insect display, educational materials for teachers, posters and maps. Jane and J.P. Brantley, education directors, will be on hand to answer questions about the refuge. Teachers, home schoolers and other group leaders considering field trips to the refuge are encouraged to come and preview the educational materials and the trails prior to scheduling their visits.

In the June issue of the AKC Gazette, the toy fox terrier column mentions summertime safety and care for small dogs and especially for puppies. The first item covers watching for hawks in the daytime and owls at night. These are birds of prey and they are protected by federal law because they are helpful in controlling the mouse, vole, rabbit and rat populations. There is a hefty fine for anyone harming these birds. In fact, no one is allowed to provide shelter to an injured bird of prey unless the government has issued that person a license to care for it. As an example of how concerned the Fish & Wildlife agency is about individuals trying to help an injured bird, even those that are licensed are required to release the birds once they have recovered.

The 110th annual National Audubon Society bird count will be held between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Dec. 19 in the Danville area. This will be the 61st consecutive year Danville has participated. Group captains from last year will be contacting their team members to find out if they can participate this year. Anyone who did not take part last year and would like to take part in this year's count can call Neil or Ginny Eklund at (859) 236-8807 and, if necessary, leave a message; or e-mail at nveklund@roadrunner.

One of these two Kentucky Bourbon Red turkeys became Thanksgiving dinner and one was kept to expand the breeding stock on The Chicken Bristle Farm in Stanford. The Kentucky Bourbon Red is a heritage breed turkey developed in Bourbon County in the late 1800's. The Bourbon Red was a common Thanksgiving bird until the 1940's when it was replaced by the broad breasted commercial birds available today.