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The "Other" things you see when Birding


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4 hours ago, Clip said:

@Aidan BHere are a couple more fish I'm hoping you can help me id? Photos taken in May 2021 in the Florida Keys. I would say they were likely in a mix of salt and fresh water (brackish water) though I don't remember for sure. They were good size fish.

444.JPG

450.JPG

They're one of the Parrotfish, most likely a male and female Spotlight Parrotfish as that's the most common nearshore species. In addition, the colors look right for that species. 

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On 1/21/2022 at 4:44 PM, Birding Boy said:

Dang that is...wow! What is that?

 

13 hours ago, Clip said:

What is it and where did you see it?

Eastern Collared Lizard. It lives around our church (which is out in the country in some awesome Flint Hills habitat).

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On my recent birding trip there was one spot I kept birding where there were cows on the other side of the fence. One evening when I got there, I saw that a young calf had somehow gotten through the fence, and was living his best life, frolicking around by himself in the new area. I was slightly worried for him, since the weather was going to be really cold that night.

I came back the next day, and he was still there, alone. I watched as he seemed ok, but was really hanging out by the fence near where the other cows were. I hoped the owners would realize something was up soon and get him. He wasn't newborn, but not very old, either.

That evening, I went back again (I was looking for Whooping Cranes that had been in the spot recently, so I kept trying) and he was STILL next to the fence, and seemed kinda down. That's when I noticed that inside the same area he was, there was a new cow. One that was female and mooing a lot. When he heard her, he perked up but couldn't seem to figure out how to get to her. He had somehow gotten where he'd have to go through water. She mooed and mooed, and finally, as I was watching, he gathered up some courage, and swam through the water. He jumped and ran to the other cow, who was his mother. They got reacquainted, and he started nursing. He nursed a long time. No idea how he got in there, but glad his mama finally figured out how to get to him.

Video of the reunion:

 

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1 hour ago, meghann said:

On my recent birding trip there was one spot I kept birding where there were cows on the other side of the fence. One evening when I got there, I saw that a young calf had somehow gotten through the fence, and was living his best life, frolicking around by himself in the new area. I was slightly worried for him, since the weather was going to be really cold that night.

I came back the next day, and he was still there, alone. I watched as he seemed ok, but was really hanging out by the fence near where the other cows were. I hoped the owners would realize something was up soon and get him. He wasn't newborn, but not very old, either.

That evening, I went back again (I was looking for Whooping Cranes that had been in the spot recently, so I kept trying) and he was STILL next to the fence, and seemed kinda down. That's when I noticed that inside the same area he was, there was a new cow. One that was female and mooing a lot. When he heard her, he perked up but couldn't seem to figure out how to get to her. He had somehow gotten where he'd have to go through water. She mooed and mooed, and finally, as I was watching, he gathered up some courage, and swam through the water. He jumped and ran to the other cow, who was his mother. They got reacquainted, and he started nursing. He nursed a long time. No idea how he got in there, but glad his mama finally figured out how to get to him.

Video of the reunion:

 

❤️❤️❤️ 

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4 hours ago, RobinHood said:

Content warning - deceased racoon.

Came across this yesterday. I'm not sure if it succumbed to the cold (a few very chilly days recently) or it has been stashed for a future meal, eagle territory - do eagles and/or hawks do this?

Racoon SunC2-7537045.jpg

World’s biggest shrike…

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4 hours ago, RobinHood said:

do eagles and/or hawks do this?

 

48 minutes ago, Trevor L. said:

World’s biggest shrike…

 

I once watched a Red-tailed Hawk skewer a cottontail rabbit on a barbed-wire fence. Unlike the shrikes, the hawk didn't return for the meal. This happened totally by accident when the hawk didn't have enough lift to get the rabbit over the fence in time. The hawk was clearly carrying it's maximum limit, or close to it, and only had enough runway to get itself over the fence. It might have gotten away with the rabbit bouncing over the fence if the barbs weren't there to snag it from the Red-tailed's grasp. 

Just speculating, of course, but I suppose the tree might have been similar to the fence and been an obstacle that a bigger bird of prey might not have cleared with it's prey. I could speculate a few dozen other scenarios too, so...

Edited by lonestranger
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19 minutes ago, stitch58 said:

One of my all time favorites ?.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG-AYVb3LGA

In all seriousness though, the last time I saw a train full of tanks was just prior to the start of the first Gulf War. Hope it's not an indication of something to come.

Nah, if you live near military bases, you see this kind of stuff all the time.

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17 minutes ago, stitch58 said:

Mostly Naval & Air Force around here. Guess we see them when they're being shipped out somewhere.

Yeah, don't see too many tanks strapped to a jet or on a boat. ? (We're an army family, so tanks don't phase me at all.)

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3 hours ago, meghann said:

Yeah, don't see too many tanks strapped to a jet or on a boat. ? (We're an army family, so tanks don't phase me at all.)

I watched a show that talked about a Russian experiment at attaching a glider to a light tank, and towing it behind a large plane for rapid deployment nearly anywhere.  The tank then just need to unhook the glider to be battle ready.  I recall only one attempt was made.  The glider-tank was detached early because the drag was so great it threatened the plane.  The tank driver survived the rough glider landing.  I don't remember why it what it was scraped in favor of

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8 hours ago, MacMe said:

Speaking of models, check this one out.  This is the Space Shuttle Independence, a life size replica.  Not sure where it was being transported

IMG_0418.JPG

It's currently in Houston. I'm originally from Houston, and I remember how mad everyone was when Houston didn't score one of the real shuttles. I mean, it's where mission control is!

Anyway. I do get lots of pics of military planes and stuff when I'm birding.

Navy Plane

 

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