odds and ends 6/16

Cameras record birth of peregrine falcons

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Bird watching has never been so easy.

Four cameras offer a bird's-eye view of two peregrine falcon chicks that hatched last month in a box atop Eastman Kodak's 19-story office tower.

The young birds of prey, Freedom and Isis, were removed from their nest Wednesday and given identification bands. Parents Mariah and Kaver wheeled around overhead while the chicks were removed by conservation officials.

Kodak's Web site (birdcam.kodak.com) offers four camera views of the nest box. It recorded a million hits last year and features a lively electronic bulletin board.

The peregrine falcon is the world's fastest bird, reaching a diving speed of up to 200 mph and a horizontal speed up to 60 mph.

Nesting duck to be moved from municipal building

KENNEWICK, Wash. -- Daisy D. Duck is about to get the boot from City Hall. It's just not wild enough for her and her five offspring.

Daisy flew into the City Hall atrium in this eastern Washington town in early May and wasted no time building a nest in the trees and bushes of the courtyard. Soon there were five ducklings.

Municipal workers later brought a toddler's swimming pool for the duck family to use for paddling and cooling off.

Now, most municipal workers as well as wildlife officials agree the family will be better off in the wild, and the move is being made before the little ones are old enough to fly.

"They are so fun to watch," Public Works Director Ken Nelson said. "It is better than watching TV."

Golfer hits two holes in one in same round

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Skill? Karma? Determination?

No, just chalk it up to pure luck, says golfer Tom Terrill of his two holes-in-one during the same round Thursday.

The 57-year-old Terrill had one previous hole-in-one in a 30-year career as a frustrated golfer. The retired Navy captain and former fighter pilot made the aces on par-3 holes on Aeropines Golf Course's Hornet Course at Oceana Naval Air Station.

"You can't use the phrase 'pure luck' too often," Terrill said when asked for the details of his shots, which came in a round of 81.

Last Saturday, he'd proudly witnessed the marriage of his youngest daughter, and said that day was "far more beautiful and special than anything that happened on the golf course today."