Weekly Chat, Sunday, March 14

Left it late again tonight - been reading chat but also been busy - and watching cams!  Will do a few replies in the morning - meanwhile thanks to all for everything - and for being who you are my friends.

THE OSPREYS ARE COMING!

Thanks Hazel

Greta report and so good to know Nimrod is on his way back. He is one of my favourites after his night time flying exploits:)

Aww Hazel thank you so much. Fantastic news that all the birds are on their way north. I guess Henry was a bit of a slow learner. That should get Nimrod back about April 2 if he goes as fast as last year. Just goes to show that EJ must be out of Africa already.

I am really looking forward to Red 8T. He is another fav of mine after his antics at Loch Garten in 2005.

Evening all: Good grief!  Has everyone (by now) seen the video of all the excitement at Phoebe's nest yesterday?  "Unprecedented" is the word being used by the folks on the blog.  Here's what happened: At about 1 p.m. California time, a green lizard climbed up the bush and made it all the way to the nest (very interested in the eggs). Suddenly, Phoebe came zooming in and chased it away. Undeterred, the lizard launched another assault and was again driven back. All was quiet for a minute or two then - this is the amazing bit! - Phoebe flew to the nest and removed one of the eggs - info on the website says it was the non-viable egg!  Here's the link to see the video of the dramatic events http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLUWoQ5NmT0. Tune in tomorrow for more news and to see what happens next. Sunrise is at 7 a.m. California time - we're currently 7 hours behind the UK given that we put the clocks forward last weekend. Sorry AQ; not sure about where we are time-wise with you folks.   On a less dramatic note, just went to close the back door and found a good-sized skunk snuffling about - he ran away.

Diane: Cold weather folks are the salt of the earth!  :-)  Do like Gary's idea about starting some juicy rumors.

Gary: Glad you escaped the worst. Sounds like you guys are overdue for some Spring weather!

Heather:  Ain't technology wonderful, letting grandson communicate with Dad so far away? 

Alan: Hope looks a little worried there.

Tiger: Cartoon is a hoot!

Hazelwoods: Thanks for all the latest news from Roy Dennis.

AQ: Oh no!  Who was the silly person who flushed the sparkler down the john? Dramatic gesture, yes, but....  Interesting about all the multiple name changes.  Would be interesting to chart the course of history through things like that (St.Petersburg=Petrograd (St. Petersburg was "too German") =Leningrad=St.Petersburg).

dibnlib: Oh dear. When my daughter put Freeway (her old "found" dog) down a few years ago, Freeway's buddy Thunder stayed by the grave (the granddaughter insisted on a "real" burial and service) for the rest of the day.

Annette: Thanks so much for the hummingbird video link. Have been busy and didn't see the drama as it unfolded. That was fascinating. I assume that the non-viable egg was starting to rot and smell, and she removed it so that it wouldn't continue to draw predators like the lizard? Very sad about the egg, but very interesting viewing. And isn't Phoebe brave to defend against that lizard!

Why didn't you invite that skunk in for some tea and cakes? I think skunks are beautiful. We don't seem to have as many as we used to. I think Spot (the neighbor's dog whose mission in life is to pee on every one of my flowers) has run them off.

Thunder is such a beautiful dog. He's a big, powerful fella, too. I adore black dogs, but they are usually the most difficult to adopt out from shelters. Some shelters even offer black-dog discounts. Sad, I think, because they are so stunning and have such wild character.

I forgot to say that it's wonderful that you counted 20 gray whales and 5 humpback whales. I don't remember you mentioning the humpback whales before. Is it uncommon for you to see them? I imagine that they would really confuse the counting process. How do they compare in size? How do you tell the difference from such a distance? Sounds like it would take great focus and concentration (not sure I could do it right now).

Gary and Annette, don't encourage me to start juicy rumors. I have a truly wicked sense of humor, and I'm often sorely tempted to give the folks around here something to talk about. If it weren't for my Dad, I probably wouldn't be able to resist. :-) They all think I'm a bit eccentric, anyway. One time, my neighbor saw me talking to a 6-foot-long black snake in my yard. The guy's been uneasy around me ever since. LOL Sometime, when the chat is slow and I have time, I'll tell that story. LOL

Diane: Talking to snakes?  :-))   Good thing this isn't Salem, Mass or they'd've had you hauled up in front of the town fathers by now!   Aha: Didn't even think nonviable egg may have been attracting the lizard; makes sense when you think about it.    Thunder is a giant softie; granddaughter took him to Arizona with her and when she was back for my daughter's surgery, she brought him back with her and he looked wonderfully healthy.   I can't tell the humpbacks from the grays at the distance we saw them. Mike (project coordinator) can but he has more powerful equipment and has been out and about on the ocean for decades.  They're approximately the same size as grays. The only way I can tell is that the gray whales swim from East to West (our coastline isn't north/south right here) while the  humpbacks go back and forth and often mill about offshore in the same place, being year-round residents.   Skunks for tea? They sure are pretty. The downside of our new patio doors is that they're double-glazed, etc., and we tend to see reflections of what's inside rather than the critters tootling about on the patio, which is a shame. 

Off to bed; take care all!

Oh, Annette, it's only a matter of time before the town's folk try to burn me at the stake. LOL

By the way, I named the snake Stinky. He's a black rat snake, also called a pilot snake. He showed up on my 50th birthday, and he's been around for a while. We look out for each other. LOL

Hi, all.

OG: Good morning! Have a wonderful day!     TerryM: Thanks for the wind farm link. I'll read it carefully.     Gary: Glad you made it through the storm okay. I watch the weather channel at night sometimes (how sad is that?) and the storm looked horrific. We made it to 60 F/15.6 C today and had sunshine!     Tiger: I absolutely loved that Snow Crow! I'm really hoping that Pale Male can be a Dad one more time!     AQ: Great history installment!     Alan: Thanks for the reminder about the 2nd egg in the Indianapolis peregrine falcon nest. I keep tuning in at the wrong times and haven't seen the eggs. I'm so glad that Kinney and KathyQ are back this year. They are such good parents and very successful. Another 4-egg brood this year? Here's the link to the blog (for new people): http://blogs.indystar.com/falconblog/ The warmer weather here will be good for the eggs.    

Margobird: Champagne may or may not be a good stomach remedy, but enough of it will make you forget that it hurts. LOL! Hope you're well.     Cirrus: Ah, miniature irises flowering. Beautiful!     All: Where is Lindybird? Seems like she's been gone a year.    Annette: We have a failed economy, a gridlocked government, a critical health care reform bill, a crying need for financial system re-regulation, and what is the news media obsessed with tonight? Tiger Woods. Sigh...

Night, all!

Good morning everyone. Here is the White Tailed Eagle in Estonia again.

Well, now I know what you all mean about pictures that go walk about. Alan put a picture of the Estonian eagle on the chat page but I must be doing something wrong. It was a jpg though. Sorry everyone.