OT: Interesting bird experience today



"TheAlligator" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Jeff Bienstadt <[email protected]> wrote:
> The clouds parted, the sun shone, the day was gorgeous. We saw a
>>LOT of eagles, ranging from circling hundreds of feet over us to perched
>>in
>>trees no more than 15 feet above our raft.
>>
>>A truly outstanding day.
> So, is it just me, or , despite everything you had already learned
> about eagles - were you also utterly shocked at how truly huge they
> are?

Guess you didn't hear my turkey vulture story.

nancy
 
"TheAlligator" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Rick & Cyndi" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>I am also, truly sorry to hear about your illness. I'll keep you in mind
>>and in my prayers. I'll also be thinking of you in April, while I walk
>>for
>>the American Cancer Society. Medical Science is always finding wonderful
>>things... I imagine they're find a cure for cancer before they find a cure
>>for colds though. ;)
>>
>>Cyndi
> Well, thank you very much Cyndi. That was very thoughtful.

Although I don't even know you, I, too, am sorry to hear about this. My Mom
and her Mom both had breast cancer and a dear friend of the family died from
bone cancer. I hope everything works out well for you.

On the lighter side, I think my older sister is playing with her breasts
waaaaaaaay too much now!

Bret



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"TheAlligator" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Sheldon" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>That's how Usenet operates, someone makes a side note and the thread
>>morphs into a new direstion.... I can guarantee the Canada Geese
>>thingie won't last long, this thread, if it lives at all, will probably
>>morph into a direction no one can predict, which is all that makes
>>Usenet interesting, it's unpredictability. What you or any individual
>>wants to dwell upon is of no consequence whatsoever, Usenet is dynamic
>>and that is how it should be.
>>
> Very true. I used to have a rule of thumb, that if the thread was
> indented more than 4 times, it was an indicator that someone yelled
> "Nazi" and the thread had broken down by then, so I didn't bother to
> look. Usenet is just about the best bargain in free entertainment,
> ain't it?

LOL! Yeah...I've been enjoying the "Chung" threads myself...

YMMV,
Bret



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On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 01:26:56 GMT,
[email protected] (TheAlligator) wrote:

> To answer your question - at my stage, regeneration
> is not possible

I know how awful it is! The husband of my SIL's sister died
of it (actually it was suicide by doctor in his case, but
that's another story). Needless to say, liver cancer is the
cancer from hell...

> and neither is a transplant.

I've never heard that before. You must be far from a major
hospital or have other negating factors in place.

:/

Hoping you "feel well" as long as humanly possible.

sf
 
TheAlligator Fois Gras wrote:
> "Sheldon" wrote:
> >Nah, Canada Geese always fly in formation... and you'll generally
hear
> >their honking before you see them... and they never fly low, because
> >Canada Geese can't soar except for the last bit of their decent upon
> >landing, and then they flap in reverse,
>
> Did I screw up my post, or what. Exactly why is everybody fixated on
> Canada geese? That was nothing but a side note.

Seems to me that as it turned out geese are the main event (and I have
ESP) as yoose will very soon be informing us of how your goose is
cooked (OB Food)... perhaps a pate fois gras would be apropos.
 
"Karen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...


> It was very odd when my first cat died. I had a new job and felt I had
> to work all day. My husband kept on calling me up and I would cry.
> Amber was 20 and had kidney failure. I have known people who keep an
> animal going for months with IV's and such, but this was not possible
> for us at the time. My husband called me at work and told me he had
> put Amber down. When I drove home from work on Speer Blvd. at 5 p.m.
> the sky was so dark that I could see bats flying. That was awesome.

The same sort of thing happened in our family. Years ago I had to put our
first dog down - a poodle. He was probably the best and smartest dog we've
ever had! Anyway, the very next day a robin perched on our window and
pecked and pecked. This continued every day for about 2 weeks. Weird!

Elaine
 
TheAlligator wrote:

> Jeff Bienstadt <[email protected]> wrote:
> The clouds parted, the sun shone, the day was gorgeous. We saw a
>>LOT of eagles, ranging from circling hundreds of feet over us to perched
>>in trees no more than 15 feet above our raft.
>>
>>A truly outstanding day.
> So, is it just me, or , despite everything you had already learned
> about eagles - were you also utterly shocked at how truly huge they
> are?

I wouldn't say I was utterly shocked, but I was certainly impressed. I do
remember thinking that they looked larger in the wild than when seen at a
zoo.

---jkb

--
"Moose burger or caribou dog?"
-- Ed Chigliak
 
"Nancy Young" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> So, is it just me, or , despite everything you had already learned
>> about eagles - were you also utterly shocked at how truly huge they
>> are?
>
>Guess you didn't hear my turkey vulture story.
I got time . . .
 
"Sheldon" <[email protected]> wrote:
>You need to re-check my post, you misquoted me.
>
Well now you've lost me.

YOU: I wonder what kind fo birds they were - grackles maybe?
ME: I think you're right Sheldon - They certainly weren't Starlings
but common grackles is the closest I could come by.
YOU: You need to re-check my post, you misquoted me.

What?
 
sf <[email protected]> wrote:
>> and neither is a transplant.
>
>I've never heard that before. You must be far from a major
>hospital or have other negating factors in place.
Well, it's the fact that very few "facts" are known, in my case. The
guy who's made me his research project seems to be at the front of
this particular thing. Apparently, perople who "appear" to be in the
same situation re-develop the same condition after the transplant.
Hence the unknown part.
>:/
>
>Hoping you "feel well" as long as humanly possible.
Thanks, I appreciate all your good wishes. Death doesn't scare me at
all, which is why I found Sheldon's "cooked goose" remark
entertaining. Now, the every day stuff . . sometimes it gets kind of
old. And, also, there seems to be an indication that the progression
has temporarily halted (which is hard to figure how they know, since
they don't know what causes it - sounds like a Catch 22.) So we'll
just play along and see what happens. In the mean time I'm learning
to do a low-fat, low-salt diet creatively. I'm not religious about
the diet, but I HAVE avoided fast food for a year - that helped a lot.
I have slipped in a couple of snoot sandwiches, though.
 
"TheAlligator" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Nancy Young" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> So, is it just me, or , despite everything you had already learned
>>> about eagles - were you also utterly shocked at how truly huge they
>>> are?
>>
>>Guess you didn't hear my turkey vulture story.
> I got time . . .

I was reading the Sunday paper, coffee, blah blah blah. Kept hearing this
rattling noise. Finally sank in, what the hell is that noise? Walked into
the
livingroom where there are skylights. Through one I see this HUUUUUGE
bird on my fireplace chimney. AAAAAAAAA. Yes, I'm a chicken, no pun
intended.

Have you ever seen turkey vultures? Enormous. Went outside, I cannot tell
you how many were on my roof. Easily a dozen, I think two. All walking
around my roof, pecking.

So, I got my dog ... any one of them could have carried her off, but being a
fox terrior, she told them off big time. When they took off, I swear their
wings
sucked the air out of the immediate area. Huge wing span.

Was a sight you just had to see. You'd think I lived in the mountains or
something.

Next week I read that they were gathering on rooves, eating the shingles.
Hello,
new expensive roof, I CAN cook you if you don't get lost. (laugh)

nancy
 
"Leila" <[email protected]> wrote in message

> Yabbut out here in the Bay Area of California, Canada Geese have
> decided to take up residence. They're a pestilence all over our city
> parks, especially Lake Merritt in Oakland. Goose **** everywhere.
> Swarms, crowds, hordes of Canada Geese. They were endangered and now
> they're protected so nobody can do anything to encourage them to go
> elsewhere. No predators.

They're a problem here, too. Why they're protected by the migratory birds
law, I do not know. Some places (big companies, office parks) rent dogs,
usually border collies, to chase them off. They've become pests, as
beautiful as they are.

nancy
 
Leila wrote:
> Yabbut out here in the Bay Area of California, Canada Geese have
> decided to take up residence. They're a pestilence all over our city
> parks, especially Lake Merritt in Oakland. Goose **** everywhere.
> Swarms, crowds, hordes of Canada Geese. They were endangered and now
> they're protected so nobody can do anything to encourage them to go
> elsewhere. No predators. Plenty of food (people feed them).
>
> I haven't seen them fly around - they're too damn lazy, I think. But
> they waddle in vast battalions, pooping everywhere. Toddlers like to
> chase them but shouldn't, since they're as big as most two year olds
> and could peck I'm sure.
>
> Personally I wish they'd jiggle the law to allow us to cull the urban
> population. They're pests here.


Geese were there first... it's yoose urbanites who are the planet's
invasive pest-ilence.
 
On 22 Feb 2005 11:16:50 -0800, "Sheldon" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>Gregory Morrow wrote:
>> Sheldon wrote:
>>
>> > Nah, Canada Geese always fly in formation... and you'll generally
>hear
>> > their honking before you see them...
>>
>>
>> Late at night when it's really quiet I can sometimes hear them high
>up above
>> in the sky even here in Chicago when they are migrating. It's
pretty
>> neat...
>>
>>
>> >and they never fly low, because
>> > Canada Geese can't soar except for the last bit of their decent
>upon
>> > landing, and then they flap in reverse, they need to flap during
>their
>> > entire flight, amazing considering the distances they migrate.
>When
>> > Canada geese begin a decent to land they will land, they cannot
>reverse
>> > direction once they are in decent mode... they cannot hover,
flit,
>and
>> > frolic about over your head. But Canada Geese are the absolute
>masters
>> > of high altitude flight (they own the stratosphere), which is why
>> > you'll rarely see them unless they are taking off or coming in...
>and
>> > they are always seen in even numbers, when you see one alone it
>will
>> > always be on the ground, it has lost it's mate and will not fly
(or
>> > eat) until it finds another... if it doesn't find another mate
>within a
>> > few days it will wander off to a secluded place and die of
>starvation.
>> >
>>
>>
>> Sad and romantic, poor goose :-(
>>
>> You got any unusual birds (and I mean of the *avian* variety,
natch)
>up
>> there on yer property, Sheldon...???
>>
>> --
>> Best
>> Greg
>
>Quite a variety... have lots of Canada Geese here all summer (my 50
odd
>gaggle should be arriving shortly). I feed the hummingbirds, they
are
>truly remarkable... even remind me to refill their feeder by taping
on
>my window. And there are all the usuals, blue jays and robins are
>already appearing (gonna be an early spring) and all sorts of vicious
>little woodpeckers make a racket around here. There are all sorts of
>waterfowl; egrets, herons, cranes, storks. And all the raptors
soaring
>about... don't let your cat or small dog out. And then the owls are
a
>hoot. My murder of crows are here all winter, I feed them too,
>arrogant big black pricks they are, but highly intelligent, I bet
they
>have higher IQs than 90% of RFCers. In fact this past Christmas I
>bought myself three different copys of Sibleys new bird books,
>including Bird Life & Behaviour. Got myself a high powered Nikon
>spotting scope too... wish I had this beauty when I lived on Lung
>Guyland, there are no windows to peep into here.

Sheldon, you may already know but the Hawaii state Bird is the Nene..a
mutation of the Canada Goose. Eons ago, it is safe to assume that
some got caught into the stratosphere and were blown to Hawaii. (That
also happened with the Southwestern Hawk which is now our rare I'o.)

There feet are not as webbed. And they don't migrate either.

IIRC Their line almost died out and in the 50's, Mr. Herbert Shipman
sent some of the remaining "real" Nene from here to England and
revitalized and now the strain is stronger.Sorry to be vague but it is
a childhood memory.

We also have the rather remarkable plover that flies from here to
Alaska and back annually. Of course there are no stops along the way.

aloha,
Thunder
smithfarms.com
Farmers of 100% Kona Coffee
& other Great Stuff
 
Sheldon wrote:

> Geese were there first... it's yoose urbanites who are the planet's
> invasive pest-ilence.


The animals are taking over, Sheldon...

Just this morning I saw a coupla bunny rabbits in the bushes that front an
apartment building across the street (I live in a densely - populated nabe
on Chicawgo's North Side, a block from Lake Michigan)...there have been a
coupla wolves sighted in Lincoln Park, how they breeched Lake Shore Drive I
don't know...there is a bird sanctuary a few blocks north of me and
apparently birders are sighting avians they haven't seen for years...deer
are now commonly sighted along the banks of the Chicago River (not downtown,
but north)...and because of pollution control efforts all kinds of fish are
returning to the Chicago River (which was formerly a sewer).

The West Nile virus decimated bird populations here, especially crows,
several years ago...but the crows are back, they hang out across the way
from me and put on a noisy show several times per day...they enjoy to dive -
bomb the dumb hapless pidgeons...

Heck, in west central Illanoy where I grew up there have been bobcat
sightings confirmed...bobcats were last seen in those parts well over a
century ago...and wolves are now coming down from Wisconsin and parts north
into Illinois, even urban areas (including Chicago as I mentioned above)...

It's all good...

--
Best
Greg
 
Nancy Young wrote:
> "TheAlligator" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>> "Nancy Young" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>> So, is it just me, or , despite everything you had already
>>>> learned about eagles - were you also utterly shocked at how
>>>> truly huge they are?
>>>
>>> Guess you didn't hear my turkey vulture story.
>>
>> I got time . . .
>
>
> I was reading the Sunday paper, coffee, blah blah blah. Kept hearing
> this rattling noise. Finally sank in, what the hell is that noise?
> Walked into the livingroom where there are skylights. Through one I
> see this HUUUUUGE bird on my fireplace chimney. AAAAAAAAA. Yes, I'm
> a chicken, no pun intended.
>
> Have you ever seen turkey vultures? Enormous. Went outside, I
> cannot tell you how many were on my roof. Easily a dozen, I think
> two. All walking around my roof, pecking.
>
[snip]


http://www.thetoque.net/011127/vulturevic.htm

Enjoy,
Bob
 
"Leila" <[email protected]>, if that's their real name, wrote:

>Yabbut out here in the Bay Area of California, Canada Geese have
>decided to take up residence. They're a pestilence all over our city
>parks, especially Lake Merritt in Oakland. Goose **** everywhere.
>Swarms, crowds, hordes of Canada Geese. They were endangered and now
>they're protected so nobody can do anything to encourage them to go
>elsewhere. No predators. Plenty of food (people feed them).

Reminds me of a park in Rochester (MN) that Crash has taken me to a few
times. It has a man-made lake which is heated, for reasons I don't recall.
zxcvbob? Anyway, the geese and ducks love that lake. The park has
dispensing machines for dried corn, so the birds are well-fed.

I don't remember the real name of the park, but Crash calls it Goose ****
Park. <G>

Carol
--
"Years ago my mother used to say to me... She'd say,
'In this world Elwood, you must be oh-so smart or oh-so pleasant.'
Well, for years I was smart.... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

*James Stewart* in the 1950 movie, _Harvey_
 
x-no-archive:yes
Damsel in dis Dress wrote:
> "Leila" <[email protected]>, if that's their real name, wrote:
>
>
>>Yabbut out here in the Bay Area of California, Canada Geese have
>>decided to take up residence. They're a pestilence all over our city
>>parks, especially Lake Merritt in Oakland. Goose **** everywhere.
>>Swarms, crowds, hordes of Canada Geese. They were endangered and now
>>they're protected so nobody can do anything to encourage them to go
>>elsewhere. No predators. Plenty of food (people feed them).
>
>
> Reminds me of a park in Rochester (MN) that Crash has taken me to a few
> times. It has a man-made lake which is heated, for reasons I don't recall.
> zxcvbob? Anyway, the geese and ducks love that lake. The park has
> dispensing machines for dried corn, so the birds are well-fed.
>
> I don't remember the real name of the park, but Crash calls it Goose ****
> Park. <G>
>
> Carol


"Silver Lake". (We call it Goose **** Park.) It's heated because it is
the cooling pond for a small municipal power plant. The lake is in a
branch of the Zumbro River, so it has a supply of fresh water and an
outlet. Otherwise, the stink would be awful.

The power plant was shut down a few years ago for repair and toxic waste
clean-up (not the goose ****) and the lake froze over that year. I
don't know what happened to the geese because they don't migrate -- I
guess that year they did, because the plant is back online and the geese
are back as thick as ever. It's funny (and aggravating sometimes) when
they march across the road and stop traffic.

Best regards,
Bob
 
"zxcvbob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Nancy Young wrote:

>> I was reading the Sunday paper, coffee, blah blah blah. Kept hearing
>> this rattling noise. Finally sank in, what the hell is that noise?
>> Walked into the livingroom where there are skylights. Through one I
>> see this HUUUUUGE bird on my fireplace chimney. AAAAAAAAA. Yes, I'm
>> a chicken, no pun intended.
>>
>> Have you ever seen turkey vultures? Enormous. Went outside, I
>> cannot tell you how many were on my roof. Easily a dozen, I think
>> two. All walking around my roof, pecking.
>>
> [snip]
>
>
> http://www.thetoque.net/011127/vulturevic.htm

That was funny ... I guess the guy don't know that vultures start eating
road kill eyes first. His best pal was all set to rip out his guts.
(laugh)

nancy
 
"Gregory Morrow"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Heck, in west central Illanoy where I grew up there have been bobcat
>sightings confirmed...bobcats were last seen in those parts well over a
>century ago...and wolves are now coming down from Wisconsin and parts north
>into Illinois, even urban areas (including Chicago as I mentioned above)...
>
>It's all good...
Actually, it's not all good. Our Coyote problem is ever-increasing -
they rule the night, so that's fine. Then we started seeing lone ones
in the day. Now we have groups of three or four messing in people's
yards in the day. They are losing their fear, and it's not so great.
Also, the bobcats are back here again. Both of these were
artificially introduced by conservation dept.
 
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