Eagles are enjoyable

The infamous Kim Steinenger has again graced us with some fantstical pics of some Bald Eagles (BAEA) down in Conowingo. Apparently at this time of year you cna see up to 200 at a time in a specific area. Again, it may not be exciting to some but the bird nerd inside me is very excited. :)

An adult with a fresh catch and a juvenile looking for a treat.

The juvenile is trying pretty hard

Eagles don't suck :)

HARVEY GARVEY!!!!!

I'm going to be an aunt. I'm not really sure it's hit me yet but man this year is really turning out to be an emotional one!!!! Mikey and Lisa i could'nt be happier for you!

Ps.....when lisa and mike showed this pic to my grama, she immediatly looked at me and said... "IT BETTER NOT BE YOU!" Thanks for the confidence grama. This babe is def a Garvey...no worries there!!!! YAAAAYYY!!!!!

Coast Guard pics of the barge

Iceberg straight ahead!!!

The night before last, this bad boy took in a little too much water and rolled right over. The yellow stuff around it is boom. It's function is to keep the oil contained in one area. As you can see it's not really doing it's job. Heidi says it looks like the boom is anchored to the boat, which is not a brilliant idea when the boat goes and capsizes on ya. OOPS..

There goes the boat and the boom. WEE

A little bit further under

Out comes the nasty stuff..yuck

As you can see the boom didn't get put out right...the sheen goes out quite a ways. Oh and ps we found out today that this boat went out on thursday night...at some point they hit something..which no one knows when...and they did not "realize" they were listing in the water and loosing product until SUNDAY!!! So potentially they could have been discharging crap since thursday. Awsome. Since it's such a heavy yucky oil it's slightly submerged and very hard to see, and virtually impossible to clean. The threat for birds is not as serious as the threat to sea turtles and those of the like. So those in the field right now have quite the job on their hands.

One week til Turkey eve!!! WOOHOO!!!

Say a little prayer...gobble gobble

Aight everyone...i need a little help here. Whoever you talk/pray/meditate to: god, buddha, allah, Jesus, Jahovah, maybe even superman. Turkey eve and turkey day are 2 of my most fav holidays EVER. And ofcourse i am not trying to be ungrateful but i'm lookin for a little help to make my trip home for this wonderful holiday very possible. There is some action goin on in Texas at the moment. Our boss told us to pay all our bills and get our bags ready just in case. Hopefully they won't need wildlife people for a little while though. Cross your Fingers! The perfect situation is they would call the day after turkey day! Take a look...it's a doosey! Enjoy!

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Crews cleaning up oil spill from damaged barge

PORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP) — About 10,000 gallons of thick, heavy oil had leaked from a damaged oil barge about 30 miles off the coast of Louisiana as crews worked Sunday to contain the spill, the Coast Guard said.

The vessel contained about 5 million gallons of a thick petroleum product known as number-six fuel oil, and the damaged tank was holding about 300,000 gallons of oil, the Coast Guard said.

The barge left Houston shortly before midnight Thursday en route to Tampa, Fla. But the 441-foot vessel hit debris in the water that gouged a 30-foot by 6-foot hole in the starboard bow, and early Friday crew members called the Coast Guard when they noticed the barge was slightly listing south of Lake Charles.

The Coast Guard said Sunday that underwater surveys had shown that oil continued to leak from the barge and black patches of oil extended three miles southwest of the vessel. Cleanup operations were expected to continue throughout the night, the Coast Guard said.

Mike Hanson, a spokesman for Staten Island, N.Y.-based K-Sea Transportation, which owns the barge, said Sunday the leak appeared to be intermittent because the oil was thick and sticky. He said National Response Corp. contractors hired by K-Sea had placed 2,000 feet of containment boom around the barge to contain the spill and skimmers were on the scene to remove surface oil.

"It's more like a molasses coming out of the refrigerator," he explained. "They'll keep going until it's cleaned up."

He said the barge wasn't expected to sink. K-Sea had assessed stability and dive and salvage efforts were ongoing Sunday.

Coast Guard, vessel salvage and pollution response personnel responded.
The Coast Guard, which was overseeing cleanup efforts, said the barge didn't obstruct marine traffic and all area waterways remained open. A four-mile safety zone was in effect around the barge.

The cause of the incident is being investigated by Coast Guard officials.

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UPDATE - BARGE CAPSIZES DURING THE NIGHT

PORT ARTHUR, Texas – At approximately 11:30 p.m. Monday the double-hulled tank barge DBL 152 capsized. Progressive flooding had caused the barge to roll onto its starboard side Monday at about 4:30 p.m.

Responders are working to stabilize the barge as the weather front moves into the area. Salvage and oil clean-up operations will continue as long the weather safely permits. There were approximately 300 thousand gallons of oil in the damaged tank. The amount of oil that leaked out is unknown at this time. Approximately two thousand feet of containment boom is in place around the barge to contain the spill, and oil skimmers are on scene to remove the surface oil. An additional 1,800 feet of containment boom is being stage on scene as a precaution.

The double-hulled tank barge DBL 152 struck some debris Thursday night while en route from Houston to Tampa, Fla. The debris gouged a 35-foot long by 6-foot wide hole in the barge's starboard bow, puncturing both hulls and damaging the number one cargo tank. The double-hulled tank barge DBL 152 was carrying almost 5 million gallons of a thick, heavy petroleum product known as number-six fuel oil. The 441-foot barge is now at position 29 12.3 degrees north, 093 28.14 degrees west, about 29 miles due south of the Calcasieu Pass, La. and about 100 miles due east of Galveston, Texas. The Coast Guard Captain of the Port, Capt. Sharon Richey, is advising fishermen not to fish in the vicinity of 29 8.8 degrees north, 093 14.9 degrees west, approximately 32 miles south of the Calcasieu Pass, La. There is a strong possibility of heavy grade oil floating partially submerged or on the bottom in the area due to the spill from the tank barge DBL 152. The double-hulled tank barge DBL 152, owned by K-Sea Transportation of New York, is not obstructing marine traffic, and all area waterways remain open. A four-mile safety zone is in effect around the barge. The cause of the incident is under investigation by the Coast Guard.

OPERATION TURKEY DAY!!!!!!!

40 days til x- :)mas

8 days til RENT

9 days til turkey day....I HOPE!

If you didn't already know...i work with birds

Here it is sunday and my day began at 4:15am. This is when i got up in order to be ready for my boss to pick me up at 5 to go see 12,000 snow geese. I know this does not sound fun to the normal person but this was a very cool oppurtunity for us bird nerds since the geese only pass through at this specific time every year. We piled in her car, i personally napped, drove to Bombay Hook. We had to arrive before sunrise because the geese hang out in the water at night and once the sun rises they take off and go feed on ground. But at night they all congregate together in one place and create a sea of white on the water. Very cool. I got some great pics with my camera.

Sea of white

Taking off

up up and away

Thats a whole-lotta Snow Geese

more off to go eat

Butterfly in the sky....

I can go twice as high....

Take a look...it's in a book..on reading.......sorry i got carried away :)

GBHE..great blue heron, in a tree

Last but not least ...the sunrise

proof i was up before sunrise....see it's possible! I just need a really good reason :)

The stars at night are big and bright....

My boss and another coworker and I went to Galveston, TX this week for the Clean Gulf Conference. It was an interesting experience. It was all industries and people of the like. It's weird because everyone in industry is mostly men, and they just LOVE the bird girls. Needless to say we came home with a lot of free crap. Some of it is useful some of it (toothpick holder/keychain) already in my garbage can. They were all very nice and they speak wonders of what we do and they truly appreciate us. It's really because we're the ones that clean up their messes. But hey, if they didn't make messes i wouldn't have a job. It's a good relationship we got. Some high points to our trip.

Our display board...ohhh ahhhhh

My boss Heidi on the left and coworker Rebecca on the right :)

Oiled Pelican

Oiled Beaver

Oiled Goose...thats a bad one...it could be a Loon we can't tell..too much oil..yuck

We went for a hike...and i had flip flops on..not a bright idea...don't worry i made it out OK

Marsh..much prettier in person

Took this with the intention of getting the Great Egret...it's the white thing in the water on the left..again...prettier in person :)

The only colorful flower on our hike..pretty little pink ones

This was the street behind our hotel...and yes it says Ave N1/2.....Jigga WHAT? There was an Ave Q too!!!! We were driving when I saw it and my coworkers were not entertained when i got excited about it. So needless to say i didn't get the pic. If anyone goes to Galveston any time do me a favor and get me an Ave. Q pic. Thanks! :)

"Wedding announcement in the only publications that really matter"

After traveling to Ireland to buy presents for

all their friends, Steve and his bride, Aly,

will make their home somewhere on planet earth,

so long as it allows little yappy dogs.

Steve will make his millions as a manager in some

high falootin’ bank or something and Aly is to

become the first person ever to pass the bar

in all 50 states and whatever the equivalent

is in Canadia. They are to be married next week

amongst loving friends and family and then will

drink like it is their job and dance like they’re good at it.

The second most important decision they

made (after his FINALLY proposing to begin with)

was to include Michael Garvey as a groomsman

because, let’s face it, he looks damn good in a tux.

The bridegroom is a graduate of college

(both “clown” and “barber”) and the bride has obtained a

degree from the school of hard knocks.

Not so much

I was in the Grocery store yesterday and i ran across this in the popcorn isle.

For those who are aware, know that i'm not even a fan of the kettle corn due to it's sweet and satly taste wrapped up in one. The only sweet and salty that is ok in my book is heavily chocolate covered popcorn or pretzels. Thats as crazy as i get. So this just made me gag. I then thought of someone in my life that might actually like this sort of thing. These are probably 2 of her favorite foods. Popcorn and mashmallow's. Maybe she had a hand in inventing this, who knows. But all i have to say is, "Lisa this is gross!"

I think i need a support group

SO i know this is the 4,590th time that i've mentioned that i like fall but guess what? I'm going to remind you again. The area around Tri-State is b-e-a-u-tiful. I think over the weekend when i was in B-lo the trees said "Hey! She's gone let's hurry and change, she'll be so surprised when she gets back!" So nuff i was surprised and very pleased.

The pics are all on or around the Tri-State property. It makes it pretty hard to work when it's so nice outside. We all know how hard it is for me to procrastinate. :)

In case you were wondering i like winter too. Thanks again for the sweet camera MP and Frankie, i know i haven't been using it much, I'll work on that. :)

49 days til x-mas.

Better late than never

Laura is out of town til tuesday so i'm going to have to be creative with my time for the next couple of days. I had a good start today, i put together a space saver for over our toilet in the bathroom. I then moved on to a better late than never project. I know halloween is over but i needed time and patience to put this bad boy together and today served for a perfect time for that. If you are unfamiliar with this guy.....shame on you...his website will keep you entertained for hours and might make you pee your pants a little since it's so darn funny!!

Marzipan...it's sugar face

Halloweenieeeeeeeeeee...literally

So Halloween in Buffalo. ALWAYS a treat..with a side of trick. A little example of the fun and people watching that can be had on this holiday weekend......

(mom cover your eyes)

Let's start off cute with baby Luke...a bear, an anteater, yeah i don't know..still cute

I couldn't not take a picture of this peanut with his dad, yeah i don't know them...but again..too cute!

Annie stepped it up at the last minute and pulled off the turtle look

The night started off simple with Strawberry Shortcake and her Purple Pie Man

Don't worry the bird had fun too...

The night picked up a bit with david hasselhoff (knight rider) and Kim

Kim took Kit for a spin

The boys made friends with the local Brownie troup

We came across an Androgenous Flapper...the concensus by the end of the night was torn but majority ruled girl...anyone want to guess...guy or girl?

We then discovered the costume Lou SHOULD have worn

This kid was a brave brave soul!

and leave it to Kim to corner him for a picture...thata girl!

So thats the fun we had on Halloweenie weekend. Halloweenie has truly earned it's name this year!!!