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Raccoon Update XIX - All are welcome in the Critter Cafe
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Uli Send message Joined: 6 Feb 00 Posts: 10923 Credit: 5,996,015 RAC: 1 |
You gave us Raccoons, we gave you wild Boars. I will take a Raccoon any day over the destruction Boars can cause. They are good eating tho. Pluto will always be a planet to me. Seti Ambassador Not to late to order an Anni Shirt |
Bill Walker Send message Joined: 4 Sep 99 Posts: 3868 Credit: 2,697,267 RAC: 0 |
And as the serious bird watchers know, Europe gave North America starlings and house sparrows. Humans can be so dumb sometimes. |
Bernie Vine Send message Joined: 26 May 99 Posts: 9954 Credit: 103,452,613 RAC: 328 |
And as the serious bird watchers know, Europe gave North America starlings and house sparrows. Humans can be so dumb sometimes. Well you can send the sparrows back, they have declined by up to 90% in London since the late 70's I for one miss seeing them! |
Angela Send message Joined: 16 Oct 07 Posts: 13130 Credit: 39,854,104 RAC: 31 |
What is doing in the sparrows of London? Cats? Street and garden tree reductions? |
celttooth Send message Joined: 21 Nov 99 Posts: 26503 Credit: 28,583,098 RAC: 0 |
Perhaps it is Raccoons? |
Bernie Vine Send message Joined: 26 May 99 Posts: 9954 Credit: 103,452,613 RAC: 328 |
What is doing in the sparrows of London? Cats? Street and garden tree reductions? Well they are not sure but this from the Wiki In Great Britain, populations peaked in the early 1970s, but have since declined by 68% overall,and about 90% in some regions. In London, the House Sparrow almost disappeared from the central city. The numbers of House Sparrows in the Netherlands have dropped in half since the 1980s, so the House Sparrow is even considered an endangered species. This status which came to widespread attention after a female House Sparrow, referred to as the "Dominomus", was killed after knocking down dominoes arranged as part of an attempt to set a world record. These declines are not unprecedented, as similar reductions in population occurred when the internal combustion engine replaced horses in the 1920s and a major source of food in the form of grain spillage was lost. But mostly due to us humans. I walk in my local park most every day and I see Robins (UK variety) Wrens, Blackbirds, Pigeons, Magpies, Rooks, Crows, Jays, the occasional Kestrel and of course loads of Green Indian ring necked parrots but hardly ever see a sparrow. |
Bill Walker Send message Joined: 4 Sep 99 Posts: 3868 Credit: 2,697,267 RAC: 0 |
I am sitting here looking at a flock of house sparrows jostling for position at my window feeder, and I am stunned. House sparrows easily outnumber all other species combined at our feeders, all year round. Here in southern Ontario they are an urban species, and are accused of crowding out native birds (including several other species of native sparrows). We have all the same bird issues here in urban areas - predators, lack of feed and nesting sites, etc. Yet the house sparrow thrives. Makes what is going on in Europe a real mystery. |
Angela Send message Joined: 16 Oct 07 Posts: 13130 Credit: 39,854,104 RAC: 31 |
Sparrows (what particular type they are I do not know) seem to be doing well in my Northern California backyard as well. I really like birds... not as much as I like raccoons of course! But still, birds do have that dinosaur-decendent-street-cred vibe going on, so what's not to love? Eric is not at all entranced with California birds. When it comes to birds, he is a total state-snot. Ok, ok, I'll admit that the birds I see in Northern Wisconsin tend to be a whole lot more colorful than the birds that frequent my backyard feeder. Eric likes to sneer, "Oh look, another non-descript brown birdie" when I feed my fine feathered friends. I ignore him. The color of our California birds is perfectly adapted to the color of our rolling golden hills. |
Angela Send message Joined: 16 Oct 07 Posts: 13130 Credit: 39,854,104 RAC: 31 |
The USA is very large and the terrain is quite varied. I grew up here in California. Eric grew up in a region of our country that is very, very, very different from California. A state-snot is a person who thinks that his/her state of origin surpasses the other 49 states in every qualitative way. |
Eric Korpela Send message Joined: 3 Apr 99 Posts: 1382 Credit: 54,506,847 RAC: 60 |
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Angela Send message Joined: 16 Oct 07 Posts: 13130 Credit: 39,854,104 RAC: 31 |
rolling golden hills See what I mean???!!! State-snot! |
Bernie Vine Send message Joined: 26 May 99 Posts: 9954 Credit: 103,452,613 RAC: 328 |
Well talking about colourful birds, there are always these. This back garden backs onto my local park; Indian green parrots that have either escaped or been set free have flourished in the English countryside. There is a large flock in the park. PS This pick was taken on 28th December last year |
Bill Walker Send message Joined: 4 Sep 99 Posts: 3868 Credit: 2,697,267 RAC: 0 |
On our last annual visit to Point Pelee for the spring bird migration, we met a couple from the San Francisco area who had travelled several thousand miles just to see some birds with colour. They gave us a long list of colourful local birds they hoped to see "before we die". I didn't have the heart to tell them that they could have skipped the crowds and line ups and fees at Point Pelee, and knocked off most of their list in one afternoon sitting on our back deck. |
David S Send message Joined: 4 Oct 99 Posts: 18352 Credit: 27,761,924 RAC: 12 |
rolling golden hills Go fix the new Android Beta app! ;) David Sitting on my butt while others boldly go, Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri. |
Dimly Lit Lightbulb 😀 Send message Joined: 30 Aug 08 Posts: 15399 Credit: 7,423,413 RAC: 1 |
Well talking about colourful birds, there are always these. I had absolutely no idea there are wild parrots over here. Cool :) Member of the People Encouraging Niceness In Society club. |
Angela Send message Joined: 16 Oct 07 Posts: 13130 Credit: 39,854,104 RAC: 31 |
Meet the Western Scrub Jay, the most colorful bird in our garden. I generally get a nesting pair in our pine tree each year. They are feisty, aggressive birds who enjoy cat food. Very rarely, I get one of these. This is a Stellar's Jay. We often see them if we go hiking in a nearby redwood forest. Occasionally one of them checks out our backyard, but I don't think my yard is woodsy enough for them to feel comfortable and move in. Meet the California Towhee, my most frequent visitor. These guys can get enormously fat! It is a wonder they can fly at all. We also get many of these Ravens. They are smart and I have not been very successful at getting them to tolerate my presence when they are outside. They also like cat food! |
Wiggo Send message Joined: 24 Jan 00 Posts: 34744 Credit: 261,360,520 RAC: 489 |
Plenty of Sparrows around here all trying to avoid the Sparrowhawks, but we also have plenty of colourful birds as well and no need for feeders to attract them. Rainbow Lorikeets that make a real lot of noise when feeding. Galahs King Parrots Grass Parrots Eastern Rosellas Superb Fairywrens and many not so colourful wrens. We also have both Black and White Cockatoos, Crows, Currawongs, both Brown and Peregrine Falcons, a wide variety Finches, Kookaburras, Magpies, Wedge-tailed Eagles and Willie Wagtails around here as well. Mornings here are always full with the sounds of birds. Cheers. |
Bill Walker Send message Joined: 4 Sep 99 Posts: 3868 Credit: 2,697,267 RAC: 0 |
Here are two of my daily visitors in the winter time. (Both were on the "bucket list" of that California couple I told you about earlier.) We get the REALLY colourful stuff in the spring. male cardinal. Blue jay, male or female. |
Dimly Lit Lightbulb 😀 Send message Joined: 30 Aug 08 Posts: 15399 Credit: 7,423,413 RAC: 1 |
zapped - Esher Rugby Club I think I'll call them Hendrix Parakeets from now on :) Member of the People Encouraging Niceness In Society club. |
celttooth Send message Joined: 21 Nov 99 Posts: 26503 Credit: 28,583,098 RAC: 0 |
Talk about global warming, we get Blue Jays all winter long here now..... |
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