Turnstones take the easy way
Bird behaviour can often be a fascinating part of birding. Most of the time it is interesting, some of the time it can be amusing and from time to time it can be downright amazing. I recently was alerted to the amazing exploits of a pair of turnstones in England.
A pair of turnstones, birds that fly thousands of miles across oceans, are taking the ferry to save themselves a three-mile commute.They catch the 8.30am boat from Falmouth to St Mawes, where they are served a breakfast of breadcrumbs by the skipper. They land after 20 minutes then spend the day feeding, before catching the 4.15pm back across the River Fal.
To read the original article click here. The pair has been named Fred and Freda.
A very strange chicken
Some very strange and bizarre things happen in the natural world. I recently came across a story about a chicken with webbed feet – just like a duck.
To read this unusual story and to see the photos click here.
The story is featured on a blog called Living the Scientific Life (Scientist, Interrupted) which features some beautiful photographs of the natural world, including birds. One amazingly beautiful photo is of a Western Scrub-Jay in California. Worth a visit.
Trials of being a birder
Being a birder for many years I have had my fair share of amused people look at me in a peculiar way with the realisation that here was a seemingly “normal”, sane person passionately interested in birds.
You get that.
Get over it – I did three decades ago.
In my circle of friends – and most of my family, I’ve developed a resilience and thickness of hide to the point where they no longer think I belong in a loony bin. Quite the opposite. I’ve lost count of the number of conversations that start, “Trevor, thought of you the other day when I saw this interesting bird. Don’t know what it was but…” This opening is usually followed by a series of interrogating questions from me until I establish what bird they have seen.
I have also become something of a resident guru, receiving many phone calls soliciting my help in identification or help with injured birds. All this has escalated on this blog with readers’ comments and questions.
So it comes as a pleasant surprise that there are some very famous – hopefully also sane – people who are also birders. Bill Oddie (of BBC television “The Goodies” fame) is possibly one of the better known celeb birders, though reading his books one could question the “sane” tag in his particular case. Evidently former president Jimmy Carter is a birder. And so are the following celebrities better known for their non-birding exploits:
- Billy Fury (singer)
- Eric Morecambe (comedian)
- Harold Wilson (PM of UK)
- Princess Takamado of Japan
- Ian Fleming (author of James Bond stories)
And now it seems we can add the name of former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney to this list of celebrity birders.
To read about Sir Paul McCartney’s interest in birds click here.
Eagle attack
I always thought that paragliding seemed to be a somewhat dangerous pursuit. Like all extreme sports, the prospect of danger seems to be one of the main adrenalin surging elements.
One paraglider received a little more of an adrenalin rush than normal. Her glider was attacked by a pair of Wedge Tailed Eagles.
Britain’s top female paraglider has cheated death after being attacked by a pair of “screeching” wild eagles while competition flying in Australia.
Nicky Moss, 38, watched terrified as two huge birds began tearing into her parachute canopy, one becoming tangled in her lines and clawing at her head 2,500 metres (8,200ft) in the air.
“I heard screeching behind me and a eagle flew down and attacked me, swooping down and bouncing into the side of my wing with its claws,” Moss told Reuters on Friday.
Read the story in the Melbourne Age here.
Beware of the Pelican!
I’ve always had a deep respect for the pelicans of this world. Sitting on a park bench quietly eating my picnic lunch (a meat pie from a wonderful bakery across the road) it was quite disconcerting to have an Australian Pelican waddle up and stand only a metre in front of us and eyeball us – or at least our lunch.
Snail over at A Snail’s Eye View writes poetically about pelicans. Then she goes and shatters the peace by including a video of a London park dwelling pelican with a taste for pigeons!
Check it out here:
- A Wonderful Bird is the Pelican. Be warned – the video clip is not for those with delicate stomachs.
A related article I have written about aggressive birds can be found by clicking here.