The same to you. Thanks for the vote of confidence...but...you say that as if it's a bad thing, lol.Happy Father's day John. You probably would survive in the Alaska wilderness with no problem
Birding!
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Not a bad thing. A bad thing for me I'm terrified of Grizzlies but keep watching documentaries of people living off the grid in Alaska.The same to you. Thanks for the vote of confidence...but...you say that as if it's a bad thing, lol.
The crows have been pretty vocal lately, training their young all of the various survival skills they will require before the cold weather sets in.
I ran across the following this morning and thought that I would share.
Counting Crows - Not Just a Band, But A Reality! Meet the Mathematicians of the Sky | Watch (msn.com)
I ran across the following this morning and thought that I would share.
Counting Crows - Not Just a Band, But A Reality! Meet the Mathematicians of the Sky | Watch (msn.com)
Thanks for posting that,
RD.
Interesting stuff, and it immediately reminded me of a humorous piece published in Field & Stream magazine by the great Ed Zern, who wrote a regular humour column on the back page of that mag for many, many years. It dissolved me into tears of laughter when I first read it and did exactly the same thing now when I re-read it. I can't seem to link it here, so I just cut'n'pasted it. Trust me, you don't need to be a hunter to laugh at this:The system is based on a study of crow behavior conducted by research biologists at Phelps University which showed that crows have a relatively high level of intelligence and are actually able to count, but only in multiples of three or less, so that the conventional procedure for fooling crows-by sending several men into a blind, then having all but one of them leave-is not likely to work except with very young birds, if at all. Thus, even if six crow hunters go into a cornstalk blind and only five come out, the crows probably won’t be fooled, as they will have counted off the hunters in trios and will realize that one of the groups is short a man; as a result they will stay the hell away from there until the frustrated gunner gives up and emerges.
My system for successful crow hunting is childishly simple, and consists of the following steps:
1. Build a blind overlooking a cornfield frequented by crows.
2. Assemble a group of twenty-five hunters, all dressed more or less alike and of nearly equal height, build, and facial characteristics. All the hunters should be clean-shaven, but twelve of them should be wearing false mustaches. The group should assemble in a barn or some sort of building not less than 350 yards from the field. (It would be prudent to have a few spare hunters on hand, to substitute in cases of pulled muscles, heart attacks or other contingencies.)
3. All of the hunters should be equipped with 12-gauge shotguns, but it is advisable that these be fairly light in weight, as it is important that all hunters going to and from the blind must travel at a dead run, so that the crows will not have sufficient time for their calculations.
4. As soon as a flock of crows comes into the area, eleven of the hunters are dispatched from the old barn to the blind, running at top speed. The instant they arrive, seven of them turn around and rush back to the barn.
5. When the seven hunters get back to the barn, they are joined by six other hunters and the thirteen of them sprint back to the blind as fast as possible; on arrival there, ten of them immediately turn around and dash back to the barn.
6. Before the ten arrive, eight more hunters are sent from the barn to the blind. When they meet the ten returning from the blind all of them switch hats and false mustaches while milling around in a tight huddle, then break it up and resume running to their respective destinations.
7. As soon as the eight hunters arrive at the blind, five of them turn around and rush back toward the barn; on the way they meet nine hunters running from the barn toward the blind, whereupon the hunters divide themselves into two groups of seven, one of which runs back to the barn while the other rushes to the blind, changes hats and mustaches, leaves two of its members there and dashes back to the barn.
8. Of the twelve hunters now in the blind, nine now rush across the fields to the barn while twelve of the thirteen hunters in the barn charge en masse from the barn to the blind; on arrival they immediately turn and sashay back to the barn taking two of the three hunters still in the blind with them, leaving a single hunter.
9. It is, of course, essential that all this be done at the highest possible speed, so that the crows will fall hopelessly behind in their arithmetic and in the consequent corvine confusion fail to realize that a hunter is concealed in the blind.
10. Eventually the crows will learn to count faster, so that the system must be modified occasionally to keep ahead of them. In addition to having the hunters run faster, it may be necessary to introduce false beards and quick-change toupees as well as false mustaches, and to build a second blind on another side of the field so that the traffic will be triangular instead of simply linear, requiring the crows to start working on trigonometric permutations and geometric progressions in order to cope. In severe cases the hunters may be equipped with numbered jerseys from 1 to 25 but with the number 17 omitted and two number 21s. (This can also be done with roman numerals, when birds are very wary.)
Well, you asked for it, readers, and you got it. Watch this space next month for an equally simple, foolproof system for outwitting that wily old woodchuck in the back pasture, requiring no special equipment other than a stuffed Guernsey cow and a milkmaid’s costume. Remember you saw it here first!
I'm all for dressing up in wigs and such and, being a sporty type, I enjoy running around too, but honestly, if I was a hunter I think I'd just go for ducks instead, lol.
Ya know...it's bad enough when I see an avid bicyclist on a city street or, worse still, along the side of a country highway, wearing that sprayed-on garishly coloured Spandex gear that looks like high-tech underwear. I watch those guys furiously pumping those pedals, hunched forward over handlebars that are way too low, their most-fragile external parts precariously suspended above saddles that look like sharpened wood-splitting wedges, usually topped off with those tear-drop shaped helmets that must contain some sort of mind-control apparatus utilized by their alien overlords...and I just shake my head, pull over a bit, and speed past without looking at their grim facial expressions.
But, I'm telling you right now: if I ever see a bunch of these whackos charging across a cornfield, armed with shotguns...I'm calling the cops.
Rest easy my friend. My skinny tyred racing bike is wholly unsuitable for off road cornfield type terrain, so you won't catch this lycra clad whacko charging across one crazily brandishing his weapon........what I need is a mountain bike, lol.But, I'm telling you right now: if I ever see a bunch of these whackos charging across a cornfield, armed with shotguns...I'm calling the cops.
Holy Crap! I was referring to a pack of Lycra Loonies charging across the field on foot, as described in that article! But you're talking about doing it on a bike!?!?!?!
Forget the cops; if I am in a hunting blind and see a squadron of bicycles piloted by those guys charging across the field towards me...I'm opening fire myself!
I'll take my chances. If you're going to open fire on me whilst wearing a blonde wig, a black handlebar moustache and a milkmaids outfit, all whilst pretending to milk a wooden Guernsey cow, then that picture would be worth a whole load of buckshot up my skinny cycling arse! Lol.Forget the cops; if I am in a hunting blind and see a squadron of bicycles piloted by those guys charging across the field towards me...I'm opening fire myself!
Im on the island of Hawaii, I’ve only birded once, but I still have a list (ill add to it as i stay here). The majority of the birds here are introduced but introduced long times ago, so they are well-wild. It’s kind of funny hearing someone say ‘bird’, me scramble for my binocs just to see a Mockingbird, which I’ve seen abour 300 times, but hey, its a Mockingbird on Hawaii
Ive been to Hawaiian islands before, but i wasnt really into birding, and i never kept a bird list, so any endemic species are ‘new’ to me (except the hawaiian goose, i have a pic of that), as i dont have proof they arent, even though im relatively sure ive seen some of them.
Common Myna (piha ‘ekelo) (introduced) (seen)
Japanese White Eye (introduced) (seen)
Zebra Dove (introduced) (seen)
House Sparrow (introduced) (seen)
House Finch (introduced) (seen)
Rock Dove (introduced) (seen)
Wild Turkey (introduced) (seen)
Hawaiian Goose (nēnē) (endemic Hawaiian Chain) (seen)
Red-crested Cardinal (introduced) (seen)
‘I’iwi (endemic to Hawaiian Chain) (life bird)
Hawaii ‘Amakihi (endemic to the island of Hawaii) (life bird)
Northern Mockingbird (introduced) (seen)
Gray Francolin (introduced) (life bird)
Great Frigatebird (‘iwa) (native) (seen)
Tomorrow I am going to aim for more endemics, and try for the Palila, very tiny range and population - 4,300 birds.
Ive been to Hawaiian islands before, but i wasnt really into birding, and i never kept a bird list, so any endemic species are ‘new’ to me (except the hawaiian goose, i have a pic of that), as i dont have proof they arent, even though im relatively sure ive seen some of them.
Common Myna (piha ‘ekelo) (introduced) (seen)
Japanese White Eye (introduced) (seen)
Zebra Dove (introduced) (seen)
House Sparrow (introduced) (seen)
House Finch (introduced) (seen)
Rock Dove (introduced) (seen)
Wild Turkey (introduced) (seen)
Hawaiian Goose (nēnē) (endemic Hawaiian Chain) (seen)
Red-crested Cardinal (introduced) (seen)
‘I’iwi (endemic to Hawaiian Chain) (life bird)
Hawaii ‘Amakihi (endemic to the island of Hawaii) (life bird)
Northern Mockingbird (introduced) (seen)
Gray Francolin (introduced) (life bird)
Great Frigatebird (‘iwa) (native) (seen)
Tomorrow I am going to aim for more endemics, and try for the Palila, very tiny range and population - 4,300 birds.
