With this lovely video, I will say farewell to 2014 and welcome to 2015. Also best wishes for a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous year for all our Forum and Gabfest friends as well as all our feathered friends, especially EJ and Odin and their 2015 family.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtajxo8d7js
That is so cool, June. Seems quite primal - wish we had something like that here. I remember a friend's father making us Atholl Bross for New Year's - yum, and talking up Robbie Burns and haggis! Myself, last night I finished Alexander McCall-Smith's most recent Isabel Dalhousie book "The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds". Highly recommended light reading!
Imagicat || Tiger's links || 2022 LG Obs
Common Starlings have arrived mob handed at Ithaca. Squawking and squabbling just like they do in the UK
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Tony
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Good afternoon CC and TeeJay (Maybe I should get used to calling you TONY since you sin your posts that way) and Gabbers ALL.
Starlings - my least favorite bird, probably the only bird I actually dislike and with good reason. As a child, I personally watched them take over a beautiful colony of purple martins in our yard as well as the nests of every colony in our neighborhood. With no homes the martins disappeared entirely within 2 or 3 years, never to be seen again.
Speaking of Robert Burns and Haggis (a little patience please, I'm working on it)
See later post.
Yes, June this is the problem of introducing non indigenous species. Believe it or not the Starling is in decline in Europe.
We have the same issue with the American Grey Squirrel which has ousted our native Red Squirrel from most of the UK except Scotland and a few isolated pockets in England. It is believed there are in excess of 6 million and they are the No 1 pest as endearing as they might look.
When we ever learn.
And yet people have soft hearts for the grey squirrel and protect or refuse to harm them. By doing so they are making a choice: FOR the gray squirrel and AGAINST the native red.
From the Scotsman
Now I have eaten haggis, American style. The real thing cannot be imported here from Scotland. On a scale of 1 to ten I would give Haggis a 5 (neutral),. I would love to taste the real thing - in Scotland, of course, with Scottish friends. I think it would thus rate much higher. But Haggis ice cream!???!! I can't even imagine such a thing. I'm pretty adventurous with strange foods so probably would try it, but surely it rates a zero or a resounding UGHH!!!
Indeed, it's a big dilemma for conservationists and those opposed to any sort of cull. I'm just glad that I don't have to make the decision about what to do.
In mainland Europe most of the squirrels are of the Red variety but I found this article in one of our national newspapers which is alarming.
www.theguardian.com/.../red-squirrel-population-northern-italy
EEEK June. I would try haggis in Scotland (as I hear it is good if done right), not here, but never as ice cream!
And as for starlings and gray squirrels, I ike watching them as they are comical, but I agree they are quite aggressive. The house sparrows here also travel in (motorcycle) packs, squabbling and squawking, messily tossing seed over the sides of the feeder.
If it is true as I have read that the red and grey squirrels cannot coexist, then I can tell you that the Grey squirrel will win out hands down. If you want to save the red squirrel the only choice is to destroy EVERY grey squirrel that you can as quickly as possible. while there are any reds left to save. Scotland can't undo what is done and send the Grey back to the USA
The choice lies with the people of Scotland. Red or Grey?