Hi all. Off to read last week's latest posts.
Hi all: Check out Alan's link to Lily photos on Facebook for some wonderful still outtakes from the webcam. And OG is going on a real "Wild Goose Chase" today (Sunday)
Caerann: The eagle link works! Great pix. Tx.
patriciat: Good for Fly - and it'll be interesting to see how Indy does once she's used to all that stimulation.
Alan: Re eagle pix, nothing quite as focused as a raptor! OMG, those photos of Lily and Hope are priceless. Love the one of Lily yawning.
OG: Have fun at the WWT (what's that?) Caerlaverock. Sounds like you'll need lunch after all that.
AQ; Very smart to do large batches of baking - you never know who's going to show up. My goodness, orange-sized jagged hailstones. Sounds dangerous. Watched a Nat Geo program on The First Australians this evening - a story about Douglas Nichols and others(Korki ???) responsible for changing Australia's attitudes and laws regarding its first people. All new to me I'm embarrassed to say.
Had a spur-of-the-moment breakfast with daughter today, which of course turned into a walk with Oro. On the way home, saw a water spout off the coast a few miles out, which I watched for about 15 minutes. Then found out on the evening news that we had a number of them right off the pier down the road. Not a lot of rain, but lots of wind. Off to putter for a while then probably an early night here.
Hi, all. I'm very behind, so I can't catch up with everyone. Just a few notes:
Caerann: The link worked for me just fine. Thanks so very much. I loved the photos!!! I answered your note on your page. Annette: You are so so lucky. I have always wanted to see a water spout. They are awe-inspiring. What kind of herons were you watching last week? I so adore great blue herons -- one of my favorite birds. I'm glad that you found your Sibley book. Brenda: It's good that your daughter cared enough to send gorgeous flowers -- not important that the date was a bit off. :-) George: Glad you got to see the sea eagles! Tiger: Just terrible news about the Irish eagle. I had also signed the petition that DjoanS mentioned. Cirrus: What has happened to our Flash Forward show? Are they ever going to run more episodes? Good to see Wattle. OG: I had to laugh at the idea of you inadvertently growing hemp. :-) Good luck on your Wild Goose Chase. I'm a bit late, but I wanted to say that the avocet picture you posted was just beautiful! Also, liked the pic of Stumpy, the ladies man...er...bird.
We are having warm weather this week. I was so excited to hear blue jays today. Yay! (Our blue jays look like this: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/videos ). A few years ago we had a terrible outbreak of West Nile Virus here (thousands of birds and even some people contracted the disease). The disease was especially devastating for our blue jay population. Last year we only had one pair, and we used to see many every year. I'll be delighted if the population recovers. They are beautiful and very intelligent. My Mom used to sprinkle seed on our deck rails for the song birds. One blue jay would watch and when the seed was ready, he would mimic the sound of a red-tailed hawk. All of the other birds would hunker down in the trees and freeze, and the devious jay would happily have the seed all to himself for a while. I've read other accounts of this behavior, so I know I'm not crazy. :-) Good Sunday everyone.
Annette – the usual thanks for setting us off again on another week. March is rattling along – getting very excited about return of Ospreys – over here it’s hard to believe that we have come to the end of a winter we would rather forget! Even if we get more cold weather, it will be cold “spring weather”, which is much easier to endure because we know it will be short-lived. Don’t know how much I’ll join in at Caerlaverock (Wildfowl and Wetland Trust – a great conservation and research organisation). We are taking my larger mobility scooter for the rough terrain, but the bumpy pathways make me need the bathroom, so I don’t venture too far from the visitor centre! Had to Google waterspouts – although now I’ve read about them, I do remember hearing of them in the dim distant past. Most of the articles I found placed them on the US East coast and over the Great Lakes – only found one West coast example – and also discovered we have them around Europe too!
Diane – pleased you had time for a bit more chat on Saturday – lovely to hear from you. Pleased you too are enjoying warmer weather – and hearing those lovely Blue Jays. Their colour really is spectacular, and I hope their population is recovering from the effects of the virus. The article on the link mentioned their helpfulness in the regeneration of oak woods – our European Jays do the same, by burying acorns which they sometimes forget – although I have also seen Jays recover acorns buried by forgetful Grey Squirrels!
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
Awww what a treat these pictures are. See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/7376784/Animal-pictures-of-the-week-5-March-2010.html
Tiger Signature
Hi, OG: Here's a very short video of blue jays: http://www.flickr.com/photos/janos1930/4211540452/
I was also honored to hear the Great Horned Owls being very vocal last night. hoo--h'HOO--hoo-hoo!!! Don't know what had them all wound up, but they were sure loud.
I hope you can enjoy Caerlaverock. Sounds very interesting. I imagine that the bumpy pathways can be a problem. Stay right side up. :-)
Tiger: Thanks for that link. Wonderful photography!!!
Afternoon all from TI,
Tiger : Thanks for the links to the pics. I had seen the owl ones in another newspaper this week.
Diane : Thanks for the blue jay vid. They look similar to our jays but I think yours are more colourful.
This morning we visited Huntingdon Garden & Leisure but for once did not buy anything and came home for lunch. Wall to wall sunshine today but it is deceptive as the air is very cold and temps around 3or 4c. Watching the footie on the tele today as it is FA cup quarter finals day.
Sad news from Starr Ranch owls : "
The direct link to the De Mortel webcam seems to be working now:
http://www.alticam.nl/
2nd egg for Aria and Vento in Rome:
http://www.birdcam.it/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4639&start=30
Morning all: First, a correction: It wasn't a water spout I saw yesterday (though we did have one down the road at the beach); it was a funnel cloud, one of several that were spotted during the day. Apparently (I now find out, thank you Google), a funnel cloud becomes a tornado when it's more than halfway between the "mother" cloud and the ground. But a water spout is a tornado over water. (That's my "basic" interpretation.)
Diane: Sorry to get you excited about water spout! The funnel cloud was just as thrilling. The herons were Great Blues; I still can't get over the way they perch waaaaay at the tops of the trees; very hard to miss! We have Westerm Scrub Jays here, which aren't as pretty and don't have crests, although the Stellar's Jay, which is found at higher elevations, looks somewhat like yours. Scrub Jays are very bold and will take the food off your plate if you don't watch them!
OG: Hope you managed to avoid the bumps at WWT event! Tiger: Great variety of shots on the Telegraph link. I didn't realize how owls' faces helped them zero in on their prey. But.I knew it - cats don't care who pets them as long as they get the attention!
Alan: Another garden center outing. I have to say, I love to wander through the local nurseries (garden shops), just to look at the plants (no complimentary lifestyle departments though!).
Odd-shaped clouds up high today with showers forecast, but should be cleared by the time the Oscars start. I think I must be one of a handful of people in the U.S. who watch the show (which actually starts mid-afternoon with a lot of celebrity hoo-haa). It's a great thing to have on while doing ironing and other mindless chores. But first a walk!!
4th egg for San Francisco falcons:
http://www2.ucsc.edu/scpbrg/nestcamSF.htm