Birders' Nest

[Elgarian Redux]

hahahahahahaha!!! I'm not sure the title is snappy, exactly, but it is definitely something!!!

A few things for your possible amusement... payin' the thread tax (mostly)

Northern Wheatear bird-watching

With the OED as its source, Wikipedia says: "Its English name has nothing to do with wheat or with ear, but is an altered ... form of white-arse, which refers to its prominent white rump."

It took me a while to figure out just what sort of creature I was looking at, and then I saw the tip of its beak and it all made sense.

Green-winged Pytilia

Serious bird being serious

This bird reads Dostoevski, his favourite philosopher is Schopenhauer, and he eats only the very finest Stilton cheese.

Lesser Kudu

Posting because he's such a beauty

And so Egyptian. I'm sure I've seen him on an ancient Egyptian cartouche somewhere, doing Egyptian God-like stuff.

Vulturine Guineafowl

Hear one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGxLWqWdxl0 Might make a good ringtone or alarm, hmmm?

Oh my. This is one of those creatures that no one could possibly invent, yet here it is. Fantastic is literally the word. The call, however, made three of my fillings drop out.

Vervet Monkey

Posting because he's such a cutie

Cutie is an understatement. And not just a cutie, but a thoughtful cutie:
'It's been lovely to meet you, Owlice, but you will take great care on the roads, won't you?

To summarise: Oh my!
Oh wow!
Wonderful, wonderful images.
And that Egyptian God!
And that irresistible monkey!
Unforgettable.
Thank you.

[owlice]

Neither can I.

🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

[Iota]

Yes!! Oh, soooo many! Successful hunting by fish eagles, for example, or even kingfishers (and other birds), flying ("BIF" -- birds in flight; I can occasionally get such pics, but mostly not. So not!), hatching, parents feeding baby birds, and so on.

I am super good at shots showing where a bird just was, however! Also at butt shots, not just for birds but for pretty much any wildlife. It's uncanny the number of times an animal turns around just in time for me to photograph their southern end rather than their front.

Haha, well I seem to remember you saying something along the lines of needing a bit of an upgrade from your camera to get good flying shots (unless that's another invention of my unruly mind ...), but that you were happy with your current one. And I must say I am too (happy with your current one that is) with the wonders you produce with it! As indeed you have again with this latest batch!

To single out only one, and perhaps not as glamorous/cute as others in the line-up, but the one below is just an extraordinary sight! As Elgarian says, what a creation!

Vulturine Guineafowl

Hear one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGxLWqWdxl0 Might make a good ringtone or alarm, hmmm?

[Iota]

And so Egyptian. I'm sure I've seen him on an ancient Egyptian cartouche somewhere, doing Egyptian God-like stuff.

So true!

The call, however, made three of my fillings drop out.

.

[owlice]

It took me a while to figure out just what sort of creature I was looking at, and then I saw the tip of its beak and it all made sense.

Here's another example of a Northern Wheatear; not the cleanest/clearest shot, but it does show the bird pretty well.

This bird reads Dostoevski, his favourite philosopher is Schopenhauer, and he eats only the very finest Stilton cheese.

I almost called him Dostoevski!!

And so Egyptian. I'm sure I've seen him on an ancient Egyptian cartouche somewhere, doing Egyptian God-like stuff.

It does look Egyptian! That hadn't occurred to me. Its range probably did not historically include Egypt; that said, your comment had me going through pictures from Egypt. (There will be a post or two as a result; you have been warned! Also: know that it's all your fault!! )

Oh my. This is one of those creatures that no one could possibly invent, yet here it is. Fantastic is literally the word. The call, however, made three of my fillings drop out.

hahahahahahaha!!! Oh, so funny!! Curious as to how you will explain this to your dentist!

My guide and I were walking around the property of the lodge we were leaving that morning to see what we could see -- most of our wildlifeing had been in the park, not at the lodge -- and that sound pierced the air over and over and over and over. My guide (and certainly I) did not know this call (but boy howdy, do we now!), so we went to find the source of it, and we were very surprised to find it coming from members of a flock of these birds.

I've seen these Guineafowl on previous trips, but never so well and so near as on this one. They are usually very skittish. A few days after our encounter with that sound, we stopped on the side of the road to eat our boxed lunches, and a flock of these birds came to investigate, standing on the low berm of the roadside to peer into the vehicle and watch us.

Fantastic indeed, and oh, the feathers! So beautiful!!

Cutie is an understatement. And not just a cutie, but a thoughtful cutie:
'It's been lovely to meet you, Owlice, but you will take great care on the roads, won't you?

This young vervet has an old soul.

Thank you.

You are most welcome, and thank you!

[owlice]

Haha, well I seem to remember you saying something along the lines of needing a bit of an upgrade from your camera to get good flying shots (unless that's another invention of my unruly mind ...), but that you were happy with your current one. And I must say I am too (happy with your current one that is) with the wonders you produce with it! As indeed you have again with this latest batch!

You remember well! There may be a way to take better photos of BIF with my camera, but I don't know them. (There is a lot I don't know about the camera. I could say the same about my car.) Also, I myself would need a speed upgrade; most birds are just way too fast for old me.

To single out only one, and perhaps not as glamorous/cute as others in the line-up, but the one below is just an extraordinary sight! As Elgarian says, what a creation!

Yes!

Here's one of the Vulturine Guineafowl's more widely-known cousins, the Helmeted Guineafowl; though endemic to Africa, they are raised as pets or for food in the US and other countries.


Birds are so weird. So weirdly wonderful.

[Kalevala]

That guinea fowl was quite striking! 

K

[Elgarian Redux]

Here's another example of a Northern Wheatear; not the cleanest/clearest shot, but it does show the bird pretty well.

Ah! So this is in fact the common wheatear that I know? A female, if I'm not mistaken. I say 'I know' but I've probably only seen a handful of wheatears in my life, so it's shaky knowledge.

It does look Egyptian! That hadn't occurred to me. Its range probably did not historically include Egypt; that said, your comment had me going through pictures from Egypt. (There will be a post or two as a result; you have been warned! Also: know that it's all your fault!! )

I accept with humility that any Egypt-related images will be my fault.

My guide and I were walking around the property of the lodge we were leaving that morning to see what we could see -- most of our wildlifeing had been in the park, not at the lodge -- and that sound pierced the air over and over and over and over. My guide (and certainly I) did not know this call (but boy howdy, do we now!), so we went to find the source of it, and we were very surprised to find it coming from members of a flock of these birds.

A flock of them all hooting their horns doesn't bear thinking about!

[Elgarian Redux]

Here's one of the Vulturine Guineafowl's more widely-known cousins, the Helmeted Guineafowl; though endemic to Africa, they are raised as pets or for food in the US and other countries.


Birds are so weird. So weirdly wonderful.

Weirdly wonderful indeed. I embiggened (ooohh!) the image to see the head more closely. It looks as if it were modelled out of papier-mâché and painted!

[Elgarian Redux]

We had to go to Morecambe (by the sea) today so I could buy a new handsaw (two, actually); and having accomplished this, we decided to go to the art deco Midland Hotel (situated on the promenade) for a mug of hot chocolate. It was windy and sometimes wet, but we sat in the warm by a big window overlooking the sea. Here we saw a herring gull, and later, walking along the stone jetty, we observed a lesser black-backed, a common gull, an oystercatcher, a comic tern that zoomed by faster than the speed of sound, and something that was probably a redshank digging about in the mud. I have two observations:

1. I've never been able to get very interested in gulls, and that hasn't changed. I don't know why.

2. You will notice there are no photos. This is because I thought we were going to buy handsaws, and since I expected to see no birds in the tool shop, I did not take my camera. #owlice will say I am the victim of my own false expectations and should know better. This I accept.

[Iota]

Here's one of the Vulturine Guineafowl's more widely-known cousins, the Helmeted Guineafowl; though endemic to Africa, they are raised as pets or for food in the US and other countries.

It may be more widely known (not to me though), but again there's something quite unreal about it! It's like he's been packed into some giant ceremonial robe and is wondering when somebody might come along and let him out .. 

Birds are so weird. So weirdly wonderful.

So true, but I'd never realised quite how much until I started reading this thread!

[Iota]

We had to go to Morecambe (by the sea) today so I could buy a new handsaw (two, actually); and having accomplished this, we decided to go to the art deco Midland Hotel (situated on the promenade) for a mug of hot chocolate. It was windy and sometimes wet, but we sat in the warm by a big window overlooking the sea. Here we saw a herring gull, and later, walking along the stone jetty, we observed a lesser black-backed, a common gull, an oystercatcher, a comic tern that zoomed by faster than the speed of sound, and something that was probably a redshank digging about in the mud. I have two observations:

1. I've never been able to get very interested in gulls, and that hasn't changed. I don't know why.

2. You will notice there are no photos. This is because I thought we were going to buy handsaws, and since I expected to see no birds in the tool shop, I did not take my camera. #owlice will say I am the victim of my own false expectations and should know better. This I accept.

Haha, well I must say I find the sound of seagulls a very evocative thing, that conjures up a wealth of feelings and happy memories. Though I knew a guy, a passionate Wagner fan who lived in Brighton I think, who thought of them as little more than thugs with wings (perhaps similar to your feelings about starlings?) and hated them with a passion.

[owlice]

It may be more widely known (not to me though), but again there's something quite unreal about it! It's like he's been packed into some giant ceremonial robe and is wondering when somebody might come along and let him out .. 

What a great description!!

So true, but I'd never realised quite how much until I started reading this thread!

The variety of birdosaurs is astonishing, indeed!

[owlice]

We had to go to Morecambe (by the sea) today so I could buy a new handsaw (two, actually); and having accomplished this, we decided to go to the art deco Midland Hotel (situated on the promenade) for a mug of hot chocolate. It was windy and sometimes wet, but we sat in the warm by a big window overlooking the sea. Here we saw a herring gull, and later, walking along the stone jetty, we observed a lesser black-backed, a common gull, an oystercatcher, a comic tern that zoomed by faster than the speed of sound, and something that was probably a redshank digging about in the mud. I have two observations:

1. I've never been able to get very interested in gulls, and that hasn't changed. I don't know why.

2. You will notice there are no photos. This is because I thought we were going to buy handsaws, and since I expected to see no birds in the tool shop, I did not take my camera. #owlice will say I am the victim of my own false expectations and should know better. This I accept.

A comic tern? Was he telling jokes as he zoomed?! And if so, were the jokes any good, or did you miss the punchlines because he went so quickly out of range??
I'm so confused!! But maybe it's a typo and you meant common tern?
It's so hard to tell with you sometimes!! 

Regarding the lack of camera (again!), I admit that I cannot blame you even a little bit for not having a camera with you in this circumstance! I don't carry a camera to a hardware store, either.

Now if you were going to look at the beach, have a nice mug of hot chocolate at a place overlooking the water, and just by happenstance went to the hardware store...

(Sitting in the warm out of the wet and wind with your love, watching the sea and the creatures about, with a cuppa cocoa... well, that sounds like a perfect afternoon!)

[owlice]

Oh, for the record, I love seagulls. I often can't tell which is which, but to watch them wheel and soar and hear their cries... well, Iota, you put it very well: "the sound of seagulls a very evocative thing, that conjures up a wealth of feelings and happy memories."

[Elgarian Redux]

A comic tern? Was he telling jokes as he zoomed?! And if so, were the jokes any good, or did you miss the punchlines because he went so quickly out of range??
I'm so confused!! But maybe it's a typo and you meant common tern?
It's so hard to tell with you sometimes!!  /quote]

This was an old joke (sort of) told to me by my birdwatching mentor long, long ago. If you see a tern flying, you often won't be able to tell if it's an arctic or a common tern. So it must be ... a comic tern. See? 'Common' fused with 'arctic' = comic. You could say it was an 'arcton' tern, but that wouldn'be funny, yes?

Don't worry. Sometimes even I don't get my jokes.

Regarding the lack of camera (again!), I admit that I cannot blame you even a little bit for not having a camera with you in this circumstance! I don't carry a camera to a hardware store, either.

I confess to having been  worried about this, and am now relieved.

Now if you were going to look at the beach, have a nice mug of hot chocolate at a place overlooking the water, and just by happenstance went to the hardware store...

Oh yes, not the same at all.

(Sitting in the warm out of the wet and wind with your love, watching the sea and the creatures about, with a cuppa cocoa... well, that sounds like a perfect afternoon!)

It pretty much was. Sitting in the 'art deco' Midland, watching the sea, we could pretend to be in an Agatha Christie novel.