Hi All:
jsb: At the end of the previous Weekly Chat are two responses to your posting about the birds with French accents. One is from me and not especially profound. The other is from Diane, and reads as follows : Lovely article. I always have two pairs of house wrens (known as jenny wrens here) who return about the same time in the spring. Even though both females are house wrens, I can always tell which bird is singing, no matter where they are. I don't know whether the slight difference is because they winter in different regions or because individual wrens have distinct sounds. I always put up houses for them, but, this year, one pair decided that it would be more fun to nest in the nook above my propane gas tank, where the dials and controls are. So I had to fiercely guard the nest from the gas company employees who periodically check the gas levels. The gas company guys think I'm looney but they didn't dare to defy me and bother the wrens!
Everyone: AQ posted this one: Adelaide 10.50 am 12 C. Pumpkin soup for lunch thanks to friend giving me 2 large butternuts. Today is the Bay to Birdwood Classic for cars 1956-1977. Once upon a time they left from Glenelg (the Bay), but lack of space means they now leave from West Beach (2 km north). They travel about 70 km (44 miles) to Birdwood in the Adelaide Hills where there is a Motor Museum. Next year is the run for the Vintage cars (pre-1956). A picnic day. A bit chilly today but not as chilly as Wattle's.
And Teresa had this tip: If you delete something by mistake it is worth holding the Ctrl key down and clicking on Z. In lots of instances it undoes your last action - not always though but still worth a try.
AQ and Teresa: Hope it was okay to copy and paste your comments on this page - didn't want anyone to miss them.
Afternoon folks. It`s been a sunny day here as well, but quite windy. Today was the first morning this autumn, that I had to use ice scraper to my car`s windscreen before hitting the road.
Just started to rain, so forget the sunny weather :)
my photos in flickr
Ok, it`s actually hailing
Morning again.
Very pushy squirrel has his head in the box feeder at LG - why stand on your head (like his/her companion) and eat upside down from a bird feeder when you can sit down and eat in comfort ! Some years back a TV show filmed squirrels who were presented with all kinds of impediments to reach a feeder. No surprise that they succeeded overcoming pretty much every obstacle placed in their way. Very smart and adaptable (just like Hamish).
Carol: Fascinating about plan to reintroduce wolves - just prepare yourself in another decade or so for a different problem. We reintroduced gray wolves into Yellowstone National Park back in the mid-90s and now the population has spilled over into other areas and presents a problem for ranchers, etc.. I'm not clear on those claims. Anyway, in January 08, the Bush Administration (who else?) expanded a loophole in the Endangered Species Act that allows wolves to be killed even though they're still considered threatened by extinction. Now the same problem with a twist is showing up in Rocky Mountain National Park. See links below. Conservationists have filed lawsuits against the Bush ruling, but I can't find anything on how that's progressing or how the Obama Administration could close the loophole, assuming they have the time what with all the other messes they've got on their hands. If the lawsuit is winding its way through the courts, it could take years.... Maybe Diane or Caerann know something.
http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/wolves.htm
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_11694921
Must get on with day. Take care all.
Annette, that all made very interesting reading. My immediate thought was, if eagles are being killed and blamed for killing sheep, what hope is there for a wolf.
Good Day Everyone!
Thanks for that info on John Muir, Carol. =O)
Annette: I loved last night's soundtrack, I'm a big fan of Ragtime and the Jazz Age music.
In fact, if anyone else is a fan, there's a wonderful web radio program that plays only music of the 1910s to the 1950s, with no commercials, you should check out. It's hosted by a very young man who has wax recordings and 78s in his collection and he plays all the greats from bix beiderbecke to Fats Waller.
His program is called Soundstage with Bryan Wright on the BostonPete.com Radio Network and can be found here: http://www.bostonpete.com/station009.html
Yes, I do have information on the plight of the wolves in the northern Rockies as I'm a member of the National Resources Defense Council. Here are two articles about the current court battle:
In 1930, a federal officer shot what was believed to be the last wolf in Yellowstone National Park. Thanks to the Endangered Species Act and an ambitious reintroduction program, some 1,500 wolves have returned to the Northern Rockies, and the howling wolf is once again the icon of western wilderness.
But recently, Interior Secretary Salazar rubber-stamped a Bush-era plan to kick the wolves of the Northern Rockies off the endangered species list and leave them vulnerable to mass killing. In September 2009, a federal judge ruled that wolf hunts in Montana and Idaho could go forward, allowing up to 330 wolves in those states to be gunned down. The loss of so many wolves could be a dramatic setback to wolf recovery. Over this past year, the wolf population of Yellowstone National Park declined 27 percent -- and more than 70 percent of wolf pups in the park died of disease. However, the judge also stated that Secretary Salazar’s decision to strip the wolves’ endangered species protections was probably illegal – which means that NRDC and other conservation groups may win the larger war over wolf protection in the Northern Rockies. That war will play out in federal court in the months ahead, as NRDC fights to compel Secretary Salazar to withdraw this disastrous plan and submit it to the kind of rigorous scientific review that the Obama administration has championed on other issues.
Livingston, MT (September 9, 2009) -- Today, a federal judge found that the federal government likely violated the law when it removed Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies. While the judge allowed controversial wolf hunts to move forward this fall in Montana and Idaho, the decision finds that conservation groups are “likely to prevail” on the merits of the lawsuit. The decision follows an injunction to stop the hunts filed earlier this month by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and a large consortium of conservation groups represented by EarthJustice.
Wow. Thanks Caerann: So it's allowed to go forward even though it's probably illegal? I'm sure it's not that simple, but......
hi there
i saw on tv recently that as birds get older their song becomes more tuneful as they become more practised. loved the osprey story and as we live on 40 mins away we have been able to visit LG. now watching the red squirrels on the webcam and 1 day a lesser spotted woodpecker. we have them in culloden forest just 100 yds away but our golden retriever gets there first to alert them so i have to visit a friend 14 miles away who has a lovely wild garden and both reds and woodpeckers visit on a daily basis but of course we never tire of them
NEW BLOG FAB
to diane
i read that birdsong becomes more tuneful as they age and become more experienced at singing. wonder if this is why your birds sing to different tunes
enjoyed watching the osps and of course as we live not too far away in culloden we were able to visit. now watching the osp webcam which is focused on the bird and squirrel feeders. don't think the birds are getting much of a look in. the squirrels seem to be hogging all the nuts. one day i logged on to find a lesser spotted woodpecker. there are red squirrels in culloden only about 100yds from our house but our golden retriever gets there first to alert them so i am afraid we rarely see them. i have a friend who lives at tomatin and has a lovely wild garden so she sees both reds and woodpeckers on a daily basis but of course never tires of them