http://www.globalcritters.com All about pets and animals Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:55:14 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), which is hosted by the Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is coming up in a few weeks! This fun event goes from February 12th to February 15th. The point of the GBBC is to help scientists monitor bird species and bird migration ... http://www.globalcritters.com/the-great-backyard-bird-count-is-coming-up/ When getting a new pet you need to decide where you are getting your pet from. You can chose between a breeder or a shelter. My dog came from a breeder, and my cats came from a shelter. I  think that adopting from a shelter is the kindest thing ... http://www.globalcritters.com/adoption-vs-buying/ One day when I was checking on the nest, neither of the Scrub Jays were sitting on it. After that, I never saw them on the nest. I thought that possibly the eggs had hatched, but then I didn't seen them going to the nest to feed possible chicks either. ... http://www.globalcritters.com/something-happened-to-the-scrub-jays/ The female Western Scrub Jay is on the nest now almost constantly. Once when I was watching her, the male flew in and fed her. He always the one who feeds her. I've only seen her leave the nest once! This break was very quick (lasting a minute at most) ... http://www.globalcritters.com/scrub-jay-on-the-nest/ This month the Painted Lady butterflies, scientifically known as Vanessa cardui, are migrating north through California from Mexico. There are huge numbers of these beautiful butterflies all around my house. Often I'll see 30 at once! The blossoming plum tree in my front yard is a popular feeding stop for the butterflies. They also share it with Box ... http://www.globalcritters.com/painted-lady-migration/ In my yard I have a pair of Western Scrub Jays that I have been seeing for a few years. One year they nested in our Quince bush. It was really interesting to watch them! First they built the nest, consisting mostly of sticks and twigs. Then the female sat on the ... http://www.globalcritters.com/nesting-scrub-jays/ Animal photography is a very fun, but also hard hobby. Sometimes, you get lucky and happen to get a good picture that you weren't even trying to get! My pets, foster kittens, and the wildlife in my yard and other places all make great photo opportunities. You can't always get ... http://www.globalcritters.com/animal-photography/ Just like humans, parakeets need a balanced diet to keep them healthy. If a parakeet just eats seeds, then they probably won't be as healthy. Although it is o.k. for seeds to be the main part of your parakeet's diet, fruits and vegetables are important. Calcium and vitamins are ... http://www.globalcritters.com/healthily-feeding-your-parakeet/  It is a hard choice whether or not to let your cats outside. There are many advantages and disadvantages. I hope this article will help you make your choice. I chose to let my cats, Angel and Jasmine outside because they were overweight. Typically, overweight cats have more health problems ... http://www.globalcritters.com/why-to-let-your-cats-outside/ Monterey Bay Aquarium has a cool, new exhibit with river otters called 'Wild About Otters'. Along with this exhibit they also have a Sea Otter exhibit in another area of the aquarium. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you may see some wild Sea Otters swimming by the aquarium's deck overlooking ... http://www.globalcritters.com/otters-at-monterey-bay-aquarium/