The General Chat Thread (2016-2022)

[rascal]

Tonado watch going on. The tornado sirens are wailing. I've got the local news on with live coverage. No tornado at his point. Just rotation showing aloft on Dopler Radar. Big hail over Lake Lewisville (Western Border of Frisco).

They are saying that the tornado sirens went off mostly due to the very large hail, so people can get home if they are out. Golf ball to tennis ball size hail.

CD

Biden on CNN and fox ATM, adress to congress, thought I might have seen the weather over there??

Russ

 

[Duck59]

House martins have returned and are back nesting under the roof of our town library. This is a relatively recent thing - they only started nesting there about three or four years ago. We've got quite a lot of house martins in the area. The old Alcan plant that used to be here was demolished a number of years ago and there are now lots of new houses there. Whether by accident or design, the housebuilders gave the houses just the type of overhanging eaves that house martins need and they needed no encouragement to build their houses on the new development.

 

[caseydog]

House martins have returned and are back nesting under the roof of our town library. This is a relatively recent thing - they only started nesting there about three or four years ago. We've got quite a lot of house martins in the area. The old Alcan plant that used to be here was demolished a number of years ago and there are now lots of new houses there. Whether by accident or design, the housebuilders gave the houses just the type of overhanging eaves that house martins need and they needed no encouragement to build their houses on the new development.

Are you familiar with Mockingbirds? They are the Texas State bird. They can be mean SOBs. Imagine a Blue Jay with anger management issues.

CD

 

[caseydog]

All the storms have passed. I came away in good shape. There was terrible damage on the other side of town from hail. Cars with no windows left and hundreds of dents.

CD

 

[Duck59]

Are you familiar with Mockingbirds? They are the Texas State bird. They can be mean SOBs. Imagine a Blue Jay with anger management issues.

CD

I'm only familiar with mockingbirds in the sense that I know of them and I've seen them on nature documentaries. I've never seen one in the flesh. They are, I believe, excellent mimics, though not related to other mimics such as starlings and myna birds.

 

[caseydog]

I'm only familiar with mockingbirds in the sense that I know of them and I've seen them on nature documentaries. I've never seen one in the flesh. They are, I believe, excellent mimics, though not related to other mimics such as starlings and myna birds.

Yes, their ability to mimic other birds is how they got their name, as I understand it. In the summer months, they are everywhere here. They have no fear. I've often seen them chase and dive bomb hawks five times their size.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4akkz46t_Vg


CD

 

[Timenspace]

Yes, their ability to mimic other birds is how they got their name, as I understand it. In the summer months, they are everywhere here. They have no fear. I've seen them chase and dive bomb hawks five times their size.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4akkz46t_Vg


CD

Applaude to the hawk, he is not responding to provocation!

 

[caseydog]

Applaude to the hawk, he is not responding to provocation!

It doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes the hawk has a light lunch of Mockingbird.

CD

 

[Timenspace]

It doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes the hawk has a light lunch of Mockingbird.

CD

Hawk eats the mockingbird? Well yes, hawks are great hunters.
I wonder what is in the mockingbirds' dna that leads them to such behaviour...

 

[TastyReuben]

Are you familiar with Mockingbirds? They are the Texas State bird. They can be mean SOBs. Imagine a Blue Jay with anger management issues.

CD

I love watching the birds at the feeders in the yard, mainly to see which ones are the biggest a-holes, and right now, it's one of these fellows:

He sits in the tray feeder, doesn't eat the food, but prefers to peck the daylights out of any bird who dares even think about having a snack. He even manages to peck them while they're still flying. Nothing like seeing a flying bird do a tumble in midair after taking a beak to the rear end.

 

[LissaC]

My mole biopsy results came back and I'm good they were just regular moles

 

[caseydog]

I love watching the birds at the feeders in the yard, mainly to see which ones are the biggest a-holes, and right now, it's one of these fellows:
View attachment 62231

He sits in the tray feeder, doesn't eat the food, but prefers to peck the daylights out of any bird who dares even think about having a snack. He even manages to peck them while they're still flying. Nothing like seeing a flying bird do a tumble in midair after taking a beak to the rear end.

Looks a lot like a sapsucker. I hate those. I had one really tear up one of my trees once.

CD

 

[JAS_OH1]

House martins have returned and are back nesting under the roof of our town library. This is a relatively recent thing - they only started nesting there about three or four years ago. We've got quite a lot of house martins in the area. The old Alcan plant that used to be here was demolished a number of years ago and there are now lots of new houses there. Whether by accident or design, the housebuilders gave the houses just the type of overhanging eaves that house martins need and they needed no encouragement to build their houses on the new development.

I just woke up (been lying in bed since 7) and got my cup of tea...apparently my eyes are not in focus because upon first glance I thought that read "House Martians..." until I got to the nesting part and backtracked. Maybe I should go back to bed, LOL.

 

[JAS_OH1]

I love watching the birds at the feeders in the yard, mainly to see which ones are the biggest a-holes, and right now, it's one of these fellows:
View attachment 62231

He sits in the tray feeder, doesn't eat the food, but prefers to peck the daylights out of any bird who dares even think about having a snack. He even manages to peck them while they're still flying. Nothing like seeing a flying bird do a tumble in midair after taking a beak to the rear end.

He's beautiful, though. We have one who looks like him but is a quite nice fellow and doesn't harass anyone. We call him Woody.

 

[Duck59]

I just woke up (been lying in bed since 7) and got my cup of tea...apparently my eyes are not in focus because upon first glance I thought that read "House Martians..." until I got to the nesting part and backtracked. Maybe I should go back to bed, LOL.

This reminds me of a time when a friend of mine was staying with one of his friends in the north of Scotland. They were sitting in the chap's cottage one evening whereupon some scraping and scratching noises came from above. "What's going on in your roof?" my friend asked. "Oh, there's martens nesting up there," the chap replied.

Not being quite switched on at the time, my friend said, "Martins? Must be some size of house martin to make that noise." The chap who owned the cottage, once he had recovered from his fit of laughter, said, "Martens. Pine martens."

Oops.