Watching The Birds

[AussieTrees]

 

This mornings pic.

[AussieTrees]

 

 

 

Flock of Corryong,looks similar to a crow/raven,they are getting a feed from the fig trees.

[Kar3n]

Woodpeckers, starlings and grackles do a number on my fig harvest. I have to watch very closely and pick at the right moment or I will be lucky to get one or two, but the birds are fat and happy.

[manitou]

Woodpeckers, starlings and grackles do a number on my fig harvest. I have to watch very closely and pick at the right moment or I will be lucky to get one or two, but the birds are fat and happy.

 

One or two figs makes for a mighty small figgy pudding.  

[AussieTrees]

Pied currawong,voice;"kadow-kadang"or"curra-wong "loud whisle;"quok".

The pictures give no idea of how loud a flock of currawong(spelt it wrong before).

[AussieTrees]

We have had good soaking rains over past weeks,the local swamp did not dry out over summer,these black swan family,mum dad and four chicks nearly full grown.

 

 

[Marblehead]

I sure wish I could get some rain.  There was a 90% prediction for rain yesterday but I got nothing.  Not a single drop.

 

However,

 

Looking out the window a little earlier I saw butterflies and one hummer partaking of the flowers.

[AussieTrees]

I sure wish I could get some rain.  There was a 90% prediction for rain yesterday but I got nothing.  Not a single drop.

 

However,

 

Looking out the window a little earlier I saw butterflies and one hummer partaking of the flowers.

Hi Marblehead,

 

The eucalyptus trees will sprout new leaves,sometimes weeks before rain.Suggest having a look around your area for native Australian trees for a clue to the next downpour.

Can be very discouraging when regular rain patterns change,best wishes for rain.

We talked about this last year,you were going to learn a dance of precipitation.

[Kar3n]

My neighbor has a huge eucalyptus tree in his front yard.

I will have to take a closer look at it more often.

Thanks for the tidbit!

[AussieTrees]

North America Edit

Julia M. Buttree (the wife of Ernest Thompson Seton) describes the rain dance of the Zuni, along with other Native American dances, in her book The Rhythm of the Redman.[2][3] Feathers and turquoise, or other blue items, are worn during the ceremony to symbolize wind and rain respectively. Details on how best to perform the Rain Dance have been passed down by oral tradition.[4] In an early sort of meteorology, Native Americans in the midwestern parts of the modern United States often tracked and followed known weather patterns while offering to perform a rain dance for settlers in return for trade items. This is best documented among the Osage and Quapaw Indian tribes of Missouri and Arkansas.[citation needed]

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainmaking_(ritual)

[cold]

In my opinion around here the weather has changed, from historical averages.

 We are getting greater and greater swings in temp. and precipitation.

Today it is extremely windy an indication of change, (generally the stronger the wind the greater the change).

 

This year March was colder than February!

[Marblehead]

North America Edit

I once knew a Medicine Woman but I pissed her off and she stopped talking with me.

 

I've got my turquoise though.  Maybe I should sprinkle some on the driveway?

[Marblehead]

 

This year March was colder than February!

 

This year March I had two days of over 100 degrees.  That has never happened before.

[cold]

I tried tinkling on the driveway... and the sidewalk too.

Brief but fleeting very local relief.

[silent thunder]

Just read last week that a female American Blackbird has been positively id'd up in Scotland.  First one ever.

 

At last count there were four planes full of birdwatchers chartered to fly up and descend on the small town to try for a glimpse of her.

 

That's some dedication to bird watching... and just points out... how relative everything is...

 

 most common bird in the Americas, folks here don't bat an eye when they flitter about...

there, it's like The Beatles are back together and folks are nigh on foaming at the mouth for a glimpse.

 

fun stuff... I wonder how she crossed the Atlantic?

[Nungali]

Its raining here now .   Maybe my beans will sprout out in the garden.  

 

Things are changing here too , tropical fish from the Great Barrier Reef seem to be moving down the coast each summer with the warmer .... and the reef ......    errrghhh ;

 

" Two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef has now been devastated by severe coral bleaching, with the most intense damage occurring further south this year, Queensland scientists say.

Key Points:

• Of the 2,300km of reef, 1,500km is bleached
• Middle third section has most intense bleaching, southern third unscathed
• Caused from record-breaking temperature
• The fastest growing coral will take a decade to recover

 

An aerial survey of the reef's 2,300-kilometre length by the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies showed 1,500km had been bleached.

Compared to its 2016 survey, where the northern third was worst off, this year the central third — Cooktown down to Townsville — recorded the most intense bleaching " 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-10/great-barrier-reef-severe-coral-bleaching-hits-two-thirds/8429662

 

The sea surface temperatures on the Great Barrier Reef were the hottest on record during February, March and April last year — a degree or more above the long-term monthly averages.

The resulting coral die-off was the largest ever recorded on the Great Barrier Reef, with about two-thirds of corals dying in the 700 kilometres north of Port Douglas in far north Queensland

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-23/great-barrier-reef-coral-bleaching-new-normal-2050/8273314

[Marblehead]

 

fun stuff... I wonder how she crossed the Atlantic?

 

Maybe she was a hide-away on a cruise ship?

[Marblehead]

 

 

Things are changing here too , tropical fish from the Great Barrier Reef seem to be moving down the coast each summer with the warmer .... and the reef ......    errrghhh ;

 

 

I just recently saw a documentary on that as well as on the Galapagos.

 

Seems that coral are very temperature sensitive and even a couple degrees C difference for more that a month or so can cause vast bleaching.

 

But then, the changing temperature patterns means that other areas will be better suited for coral growth so maybe all is not lost.

Edited May 4, 2017 by Marblehead

[manitou]

Marbles, you're probably used to stuff like this, being from Florida - but I'm just new to the area and the other day here in Ocala it was bright blue, nice and sunny.  I was playing the keyboard out in the lanai when suddenly I noticed a huge flying saucer shaped black cloud over our area, and it immediately started pouring.  No lead-up, just pouring from the first drops.  It rained so hard for about 30 minutes I couldn't believe it.  I'll be we got nearly an inch in that half hour.  Unbelievable.    The next couple days were horribly humid - you could see the mist rising from the grass in the mornings and the humidity was horrible all day.  The weather's getting a little oppressive in central Florida right now - looking forward to returning to Ohio next week.  Right after the $2400.00 transmission repair....aaaargh.

[AussieTrees]

Going a little off topic?

 

Swamp people live around Florida,love watching that show.

Birds are in it,usually as chicken bait for the alligators.

[Marblehead]

Marbles, you're probably used to stuff like this, being from Florida - but I'm just new to the area and the other day here in Ocala it was bright blue, nice and sunny.  I was playing the keyboard out in the lanai when suddenly I noticed a huge flying saucer shaped black cloud over our area, and it immediately started pouring.  No lead-up, just pouring from the first drops.  It rained so hard for about 30 minutes I couldn't believe it.  I'll be we got nearly an inch in that half hour.  Unbelievable.    The next couple days were horribly humid - you could see the mist rising from the grass in the mornings and the humidity was horrible all day.  The weather's getting a little oppressive in central Florida right now - looking forward to returning to Ohio next week.  Right after the $2400.00 transmission repair....aaaargh.

 

Too bad about the transmission thing.  Almost a cost/benefit question between getting a new car or getting the old one repaired.

 

Anyhow,

 

Yes, I am very familiar with that kind of weather pattern although it hasn't been happening here for the past two years.  In fact, I experienced the same weather patterns whenever I was stationed at Fort Gordon (Augusta), Georgia.  When I moved here it wasn't a surprise for me.

 

I long for a return to those days.

 

PS  It might actually rain here today.

[Marblehead]

Going a little off topic?

 

Swamp people live around Florida,love watching that show.

Birds are in it,usually as chicken bait for the alligators.

 

My threads have no topic.  Can't go off.  And besides, birds love the rain as long as the winds aren't too strong.

[Marblehead]

BTW  I was out back sitting, taking a break and glanced over at some movement at the far end of one of the ponds and noticed it was a squirrel getting a drink of water.  Apparently not enough water in the food they eat.

[manitou]

Going a little off topic?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, you're right.

 

While it was pouring, I saw nary a bird.

[AussieTrees]

Yeah, you're right.

 

While it was pouring, I saw nary a bird.

Hi manitou,

 

I meant I was going off topic talking about alligators,haha

 

How did things work out with the new transmission?

 

Workmate last year had to get his ford transmission replaced and it cost him $2500.

Dave really cracked it,he reckons it was to replace a computer chip inside the transmission,that's all they replaced.

He was so pissed off he bought a new car,haven't seen it yet.

 

That cars for ya,best wishes.