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I did my daily log feed into NOOL and saw the top banner displayed with Retro and the picture of the Golden Eagle. I just looked at it and thought "that is a truly magnificent creature". And in the summer I saw a few Buzzards and Red Kites (hey, I do live in the West Country!) and it really got me just how cool and majestic these things are.
Agree?
I vote that they are well cool (as my kids would say) and you are most certainly not a geek!
craig's digitalwaters wrote: The modified bird of prey that can fire photon torpedos when cloaked is best!
ditto
Not too common round here. But I nearly broke my neck on the train recently watching something....I'm no bird dude, but it was crow sized,....hovering, moving, hovering. The train moved off before something had a bad morning.
That sounds like a Buzzard you saw there Mr Campbell...
I saw my first one in a mini bus with a few mates. It was coming out of a hedge and we were like "wow, an eagle!" just like a kid would, and someone else (more knowlegeable on the subject) said "no, you only get eagles in Scotland"
Me small... (said in Waynes World way when Garth and Wayne's piss taking is rumbled)
All birds are cool, you don't sound like a geek. Can't say we've got too many birds of prey in das capital, but I always stick on a bit of tuneage and wander round Regents Park of a lunchtime to clock our fine feathered friends. Those who know me here, also know I've got three stuffed herons in me living room. Have always appreciated nature, and am I right closet twitcher at heart, though can't even remember the last time I had a wander through a wood or a field, am such an ingrained city boy these days.
Do they kill pigeons? If so then they are clearly cool and we need more of them round here. (The same thing could be said about Sean Ryder, come to think of it).
Sorry to any PETA types but the old ladies in my council block insist on feeding the pigeons and concequently the place gets covered in guano.
Not a geek.I spend EVERY day out in the woods watching NATURE.Brilliant place to chill out.I can even tell what animal has left it's trail by it's SHIT.Great to see owls or foxes.Deer are getting quite common and as for birds of prey it is superb to watch them dive when hunting.Ii even had to buy ORDNANCE SURVEY Explorer 19 WEST PENNINE MOORS to study where i go walking around CHORLEY.People think it is really strange that i go WALKING.They seem to think i spend all my time in pubs and jail.Not so.
GO WILD IN THE COUNTRY
Rocket Roving Mick
404 error wrote: Do they kill pigeons? If so then they are clearly cool and we need more of them round here. (The same thing could be said about Sean Ryder, come to think of it).
Sorry to any PETA types but the old ladies in my council block insist on feeding the pigeons and concequently the place gets covered in guano.
Only Peregrine Falcons kill pigeons..
Guilty Partner wrote:
404 error wrote: Do they kill pigeons? If so then they are clearly cool and we need more of them round here. (The same thing could be said about Sean Ryder, come to think of it).
Sorry to any PETA types but the old ladies in my council block insist on feeding the pigeons and concequently the place gets covered in guano.
Only Peregrine Falcons kill pigeons..
And SHAUN RYDER the git.See 24 Hour Party People for details!
Al Jarvis wrote: All birds are cool, you don't sound like a geek. Can't say we've got too many birds of prey in das capital, but I always stick on a bit of tuneage and wander round Regents Park of a lunchtime to clock our fine feathered friends. Those who know me here, also know I've got three stuffed herons in me living room. Have always appreciated nature, and am I right closet twitcher at heart, though can't even remember the last time I had a wander through a wood or a field, am such an ingrained city boy these days.
Man the number of times herons have scared crap ouuta me you would no believe. They don'y make ANY noise in flight the weirdos. You look round and there's one on a rock 30 feet away giving you the eye. You look back it's gone. But their real party piece is at like 4am...dead still. dead of night...just steve his (hopefully untroubled[1]) conger gear and the sea...standing there minding my won business when a heron goes right past my road type at about 40 mph... banked RIGHT up to 90degrees in it's turn...I nearly went in the fookin sea I jumped so hard. They seem to be a very nocturnal bird. which is odd...unless that's just the only time they feel like taking on the fish sticks round the harbour.
We also have friendly seals....with VERY scary behaviour....like us jokingly saying to one one day..."tell you what mate you head out there and scare one of those mackerel shoals this way and you can have some fish"...2 mins later all our floats went under and as we landed the fish up pops the head as much as to say "I believe was had an arrangement". Stuck with us all day so he did and we had our fill of mackerel (in my case one, in his case it seemed to be an appreciable fraction of his body weigh). the best but was when I climbed down the rockc to give a fish to a seal who hadn't been getting as much as the others, cos it wasn't showboating for tourists...bugger started coming for me...I thought "I know they're meant to be right nasty fuckers at times, but I have a FISH! come ON" but it was just hauling out. It sat on a rock right in front of me and leaned forward and took the fish from me SO gently, tossed it up in the air and necked it, then backflipped into the sea. We always used to pull lines in and stuff when the seals were around, but now they not only avoid chasing baits and lures (what a nightmare to leave a seal with a hook in its throat)...they can even tell to leave fish that are being caught alone. VERy smart beasties.
can we add certain gull species to the "uncool feathered vermin" category please. AND they're fookin noisier than pigeons. Still you can't take two pigeons out right out of the sky by chucking two fisheads and 40 ft of monofil between them off the back of a boat.
[1] Conger gear is just an excuse to be down the pier all night, the cops automatically think you're normal if you fish. BUT the last thing you want anything to do with at 4am is 5 ft of muscles and teeth that you've pissed off by making it's dinner turn into a short trip to the surfce. there is MUCH more to fishing than catching fish.
Definitely cool! I've spent hours on end watching Buzzards circle high over the fields opposite my house.
Beats the telly any day, I say.
Guilty Partner wrote: That sounds like a Buzzard you saw there Mr Campbell...
I saw my first one in a mini bus with a few mates. It was coming out of a hedge and we were like "wow, an eagle!" just like a kid would, and someone else (more knowlegeable on the subject) said "no, you only get eagles in Scotland"
Me small... (said in Waynes World way when Garth and Wayne's piss taking is rumbled)
Not sure we have buzzards over here. I've been told we're good for kestrels and sparrow hawks. Might be right tho.
I'm definitely cool with watching birds of prey. Very fascinating avians, love watching their hunting styles.
My area is home to both bald eagles and turkey vultures. The later are here until fall when they migrate south. I once saw something like 100 of these raptors migrating. Some places I have seen literally hundreds sitting in trees over looing a lake. The bald eagles move in during the winter. They follow the river until they find a place that where the river is not totally frozen then they try to steal the food from other birds. Occasionally they will grab fish themselves. Both of these raptors are scavangers.
But my favorite bird with attitude is the redwing blackbird. They don't take shit from anyone. I have red on my bike helmet and there have been times when one will attack me.
Got to see a bald eagle in actual flight earlier this year around the Willamette River in West Salem; had to stop and double check that it really was one, and watched it fly for a few minutes in a sunny sky, a lovely image indeed.
Sometimes, when driving with some younger folks, having them look for hawks sitting on a fence along side the interstate helps to shorten the trip a little bit.
Just about got hit by some vultures last month on a country road, turned a fairly sharp curve and there were five of 'em were feasting on some unidentifiable carcass in the middle of the road. When they scattered, two of 'em almost flew into my windshield.
For the UK south based guys - if you do one thing in your life, go to the Hawk Conservancy @ Andover (just off the A303) and see a Peregrin dive-swooping at 125mph. Awesome
404 error wrote: Do they kill pigeons? If so then they are clearly cool and we need more of them round here. (The same thing could be said about Sean Ryder, come to think of it).
Sorry to any PETA types but the old ladies in my council block insist on feeding the pigeons and concequently the place gets covered in guano.
Pity they hadn't cloned Sean & Paul Ryder and sent them out here- you silly pommie bastards bought pidgeons to Australia in colonial times and they've been leaving shite all over buildings, cars and people here ever since(not to mention they could well be potential fooking carriers for bloody bird flu amongst other nice little diseases).
I'd be of the opinion that pigeons and rabbits and the like were not the greatest pestilence the "pommie bastards" bestowed on God's own Earth....I say that'd be your fookin ancestors ya goat :D
