Hi all:
Lindybird: I responded to your post at the end of the last Weekly Chat.
Yeah Maureen!! Welcome back. Congrats on the new PC - it'll work wonderfully for about - oh - two years. :-)
The girls are fine. Rothes is in Guinea-Bissau in West Africa; Mallachie is tootling about in Portugal. Everyone else (on the blog) seems okay and I know they'll be thrilled to see you! (So porridge puts hair on your chest? I was wondering what was going on......)
Lindybird said: Caerann: I often pop in to look at Palemale & Lola, they are so beautiful, and the pics are really well done, he must be a good photographer to catch them so well. Friends of mine are currently in N. Zealand, having gone round via Dubai, Hong Kong & Sydney: they planned the trip carefully to get lots of breaks in between 'planes & of course its a great excuse to see lots of the world on the way. I keep getting exotic postcards: last one was of Fairy Penguins and a Kookaburra, besides the usual kangaroo & ostrich. The penguins are really cute, AQ.
Caerann: I often pop in to look at Palemale & Lola, they are so beautiful, and the pics are really well done, he must be a good photographer to catch them so well.
Friends of mine are currently in N. Zealand, having gone round via Dubai, Hong Kong & Sydney: they planned the trip carefully to get lots of breaks in between 'planes & of course its a great excuse to see lots of the world on the way. I keep getting exotic postcards: last one was of Fairy Penguins and a Kookaburra, besides the usual kangaroo & ostrich. The penguins are really cute, AQ.
Lindybird: I don't check on Palemale often enough but I'm glad you are looking after them. They are gorgeous, aren't they?
If this link works, this is another Red-tailed Hawk photo that a fellow member of the Illinois Birders Forum posted. The plumage patterns on this particular bird are just amazing:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12083626@N03/3883202878/in/pool-ilbirds
So much going on this weekend! As someone has already mentioned the World Porridge Championships took place at Carrbridge - which is about 5/6 miles as the Osprey flies NW from Loch Garten. The winner of the Golden Spurtle (Scottish word for a stirer) was won by a man from Milwaukie.
As has been said elsewhere this blog is a good idea and allows chat other than taking up the Osprey chat pages. It really is nice to be "talking" to so many in places near and far.
Caerann: Truly remarkable color on that hawk - brilliant link; thanks!
Liz LFW: Hallo there - Was that man from Milwaukie, Oregon, USA? If so, what are folks from Oregon doing winning porridge contests in Scotland? Now I'm wondering who won the Conker contest!
Caerann/Diane: Did you guys get to see Nature on PBS this evening? The whole program "Raptor Force" is devoted to all kinds of raptors, including the very specific biology that protects (in the part I'm currently watching) falcons' eyes and lungs as they dive at high speeds. Amazing footage of a falcon defending its nest against a red-tailed hawk; the poor hawk didn't even see what hit it! They've equipped several birds with cameras so we can fly with them! Pretty amazing shots.
Adelaide 2 pm. After yesterday's warm day, spring has changed its mind - today's max temp is expected to be same as yesterday's min 16 C. Currently a very windy 14 C. I rescued washing and transferred it to garage just before the shower of rain. Not complaining as the pollen has been settled.
auntie, yes indeed. Not only travel broadens the mind, but also just learning about other places. What a wonderful tool the internet can be.
Caerann. Thank you for the reminder about palemate. I had been looking daily, then got myself distracted and had forgotten it. Stupid me.
Original Goldfish. Lovely pic of horses. Adelaide has a set of draught horses which draw an old brewery wagon for shows and events. Such lovely docile creatures despite their size.
Today's newspaper has pics of a baby southern right whale west of Ceduna (on Great Australian Bight). It was actively chasing and surfing the waves. The whales are expected to head back to Antarctica any day now.
Welcome back Maureen. Losing everything is ghastly. BTW my prediction is that your computer will last a few days longer than its guarantee LOL
Hey AQ: Howzit going down under? (What do Australians call the Northern Hemisphere? Up Over?)
The California gray whales will start the southbound part of their migration from Alaska to the breeding lagoons of Mexico in November. Then, come February, we'll be out on the bluffs counting them on the way back north. And so the world turns....
I didn't know that raptors have a built-in telescopic lens in their eyes. Or that owls' ears are located at different levels on the sides of their heads. This program is wonderful. If anyone's interested, the link to Nature's home page is http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/
Oh shoot I missed Raptor Force! I saw it back in 2007 and would loved to have seen it again, it's really a great program. Thanks for providing the Nature link, Annette, it's got some great information on it, plus one can relive footage of the Peregrine's successful and dizzying stoop for prey.
Woo hoo! Maureen is back! Patriciat, too! Original Goldfinch: Beautiful horses. Such nice old fellas.
Annette: I saw the "Raptor Force" program. I liked the explanations of the raptor biologies. I have read on several owl sites that owls' eyes are so big, relative to their body size, that if humans had the same proportions, our eyes would be as big as grapefruits. I like that image. :-)