The Swamp

Check out this awesome moth...

Jerloma wrote: ↑Wed Mar 11, 2020 8:51 am Check out this awesome moth...

And yet you still don’t believe in gd.

Could also be in the "Nature is Horrifying" thread...

Looking forward to the follow up correction story about the grad student who was too embarrassed to admit who could only had enough money for microwavable burritos.
https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-a ... ters-away/

Fish eggs can hatch even after being eaten and pooped out by ducks

Great headline too.

I don't want to go to there.

2020 Audubon Society Photography Awards

Birds, birds, birds!

Pruitt wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:13 pm 2020 Audubon Society Photography Awards

Birds, birds, birds!

Yeah. That's the good stuff.

In these troubling times, sometimes we need to see something simple like this.

I still get excited every time I see a bat flitting about, hopefully doing cool bat things like eating all of the mosquitoes in our neighborhood.

rass wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 5:43 am I still get excited every time I see a bat flitting about, hopefully doing cool bat things like eating all of the mosquitoes in our neighborhood.

It’s all fun and games til it flies into your house.

A_B wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 6:13 am

rass wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 5:43 am I still get excited every time I see a bat flitting about, hopefully doing cool bat things like eating all of the mosquitoes in our neighborhood.

It’s all fun and games til it flies into your house.

Yeah but cmon, when else do you get a chance to swing a tennis racket?

A_B wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 6:13 am

rass wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 5:43 am I still get excited every time I see a bat flitting about, hopefully doing cool bat things like eating all of the mosquitoes in our neighborhood.

It’s all fun and games til it flies into your house.

Could be worse ...
This was in our dining room in the middle of the night back in January. (Apologies if I've posted it before.)

We don't even have owls anywhere near us.

Did you just move?

A_B wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 2:21 pmDid you just move?

Lol.

It was surprisingly easy to capture and release. (By my wife; I was too busy freaking out and being useless.)

The best we can figure, one of our cats had grabbed it and lost control while bringing it through our cat door, and it ended up in the dining room. But we still have no idea where our cat would have found an owl - or had the skills to capture one.

Um... how big is your cat?

P.D.X. wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 2:42 pm Um... how big is your cat?

“Oh, he’s feral. We call him Bob.”

Steve of phpBB wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 2:39 pm

A_B wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 2:21 pmDid you just move?

Lol.

It was surprisingly easy to capture and release. (By my wife; I was too busy freaking out and being useless.)

The best we can figure, one of our cats had grabbed it and lost control while bringing it through our cat door, and it ended up in the dining room. But we still have no idea where our cat would have found an owl - or had the skills to capture one.

Jebus, that is crazy! We had an owl in the woods behind my house. We'd hear him in the late evening, and saw him perched in a tree a bunch of times. Way bigger than I imagined owls could be. Never got within 100 feet, but it freaked me out a bit. They just stare at you and their heads spin weird.

Used to see bats around the house, too, and yeah, they are sweet to watch. As kids, we used to play baseball in a clearing in the woods. Every night right as it got too dark to play, a bunch of bats would come out. Like idiots, we'd throw are gloves in the air, and watch the bats dive bomb at the gloves.

The Sybian wrote: ↑Sun Aug 23, 2020 9:43 pm

Steve of phpBB wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 2:39 pm

A_B wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 2:21 pmDid you just move?

Lol.

It was surprisingly easy to capture and release. (By my wife; I was too busy freaking out and being useless.)

The best we can figure, one of our cats had grabbed it and lost control while bringing it through our cat door, and it ended up in the dining room. But we still have no idea where our cat would have found an owl - or had the skills to capture one.

Jebus, that is crazy! We had an owl in the woods behind my house. We'd hear him in the late evening, and saw him perched in a tree a bunch of times. Way bigger than I imagined owls could be. Never got within 100 feet, but it freaked me out a bit. They just stare at you and their heads spin weird.

Used to see bats around the house, too, and yeah, they are sweet to watch. As kids, we used to play baseball in a clearing in the woods. Every night right as it got too dark to play, a bunch of bats would come out. Like idiots, we'd throw are gloves in the air, and watch the bats dive bomb at the gloves.

This owl was pretty small, at least as owls go. Because our cats are basic housecat size, and he was able to - we think - grab it and bring it at least partway through the cat door.,

But yeah, it's a hell of a way to wake up.

Bats are awesome. You can set your pocket watch by them going overhead here at night.

Also, we made a few beach day trips last week while off work and on the last day we saw like two dozen dolphins swimming about 200 yards out. That was really cool.

mister d wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 12:43 pm Also, we made a few beach day trips last week while off work and on the last day we saw like two dozen dolphins swimming about 200 yards out. That was really cool.

Were you folks out there with them or looking from the beach?

A few years ago we rented jet-skis down on the Florida Panhandle and at one point found ourselves surrounded by dolphins.

An owl recently took up residence somewhere in the vicinity of our backyard. Hearing that distinctive sound in the evening is one part awesome, one part disconcerting (for some reason.)

While hiking in Yellowstone many years back, we were in a wooded glade area, and 20 yards ahead we spotted an owl sitting on a log right off the path. Middle of the day, so the suburban brain that's been taught they are nocturnal didn't quite compute. We got a little closer, it launched and swooped right over heads... audible *whoosh*... thing had a 5 foot wingspan, easy.

Most awesome and frightening thing that's happened to me out in nature.

Steve of phpBB wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:04 pmWere you folks out there with them or looking from the beach?

From the beach. There were two people out there who looked like they intersected the groups, but if I'd been out there I would have died due to being a very poor swimmer.

Sabo wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:33 pm

Pruitt wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:13 pm 2020 Audubon Society Photography Awards

Birds, birds, birds!

Yeah. That's the good stuff.

more fun bird pictures
https://www.audubon.org/news/50-photos- ... aders-year

Easier than posting a photo ...

Time to vote for Fat Bear Week in Katmai National Park
https://explore.org/fat-bear-week

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/03/us/f ... -week.html

Full 6 minute video from a tweet that Rex Chapman posted.

Terrifying. I've battled with a 16 pound declawed housecat a couple hundred times, so I have no doubts that a 100 pound cat could destroy me in seconds. What is the best approach there? It clearly worked out for him, but I kept thinking he should throw a couple rocks to scare it off, or pick up a large rock to smash it if it attacked. I think backing away at that speed is best. If you turn, it could attack, and if you run it'll chase you and take you down. Just get away from the kittens and keep moving. Making noise didn't seem to do anything, and the bluff charges seemed provoked by his noises. I don't know, but that clip made me think about getting a gun.

Steve of phpBB wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 2:02 pm

A_B wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 6:13 am

rass wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 5:43 am I still get excited every time I see a bat flitting about, hopefully doing cool bat things like eating all of the mosquitoes in our neighborhood.

It’s all fun and games til it flies into your house.

Could be worse ...

Capture 0822.JPG

This was in our dining room in the middle of the night back in January. (Apologies if I've posted it before.)

We don't even have owls anywhere near us.

Do you have a fireplace? It could’ve entered through your flue, particularly if bigger birds of prey were swooping about.

EnochRoot wrote: ↑Sun Nov 22, 2020 10:16 am

Steve of phpBB wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 2:02 pm

A_B wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 6:13 am

rass wrote: ↑Sat Aug 22, 2020 5:43 am I still get excited every time I see a bat flitting about, hopefully doing cool bat things like eating all of the mosquitoes in our neighborhood.

It’s all fun and games til it flies into your house.

Could be worse ...

Capture 0822.JPG

This was in our dining room in the middle of the night back in January. (Apologies if I've posted it before.)

We don't even have owls anywhere near us.

Do you have a fireplace? It could’ve entered through your flue, particularly if bigger birds of prey were swooping about.

Hm. We do, but we have mesh doors in front of it. The owl would’ve knocked them over. Noisily.

Great headline
https://www.businessinsider.com/nano-ch ... tos-2021-2

Falcons hunting with head cams

That Falcon cam is incredible!

This Bird Wasn’t Seen for 170 Years. Then It Appeared in an Indonesian Forest.