A great big Forum welcome to Gary Sanders!  Join in the fun, Gary... it's addictive! (Take it from "One Who Knows"...)

this is really getting ridiculous pretty soon they will never take Christmas down. Grumble Grumble they should at least wait until after Halloween if we can't get them to wait until Thanksgiving. No wonder summer seems fleeting and winter seems to last forever.

What ever happened to the day after Thanksgiving? Oh, those were the good old days, (when Christmas meant something).

you got that right

And I refuse to buy cards that do not say "Merry Christmas". (That oughta put the Cat in the Dustbin in with the Poisoned Pigeons...)

I was just checking out the main cam and there is a light on the perch that keeps moving. weird like a little ghost bird. I watched from o8 to 11 and Ok so I'm  

(movie) This BC? I think it's a web but if you believe it's a    , then so be it.

yep that is it but it seemed more glowing live moves a lot for a web

"The Truth is Out There..."

You know, just how fast do we have to be these days! With everything! I am told my computer is "too slow" - ya think?! Too slow for what - that's my question. It gets there, as do I. No, I am not an old fogey about things, but I wonder: What's the rush!?

And if these boaters "did it on purpose" - Shame! Shame! Aren't these poor creatures having enough trouble with the oil spill?!

I am beginning to think my "signature" on this site should be I despair!

Thanks, Donna - don't you love Bob Marcotte's Bird Blog? It has stolen many moments of what should have been work. How I envy him - his time in the field and his eye and ear for birds. He has written (a few years back now) about the history of birding in (I think) the Genesee Valley... someone can remind me, I'm sure. Splendid text, wonderfully illustrated.

And speaking of the Genesee... I really gotta spend more time along that river when I am home. So much to see... and only for the Watchers, I would not have realised (duh!). Another reason to thank them.

I always thought it to be one big piece of flat ice. I can't wait for more pics. They have bars and bowling alleys and movies....(who knew)?

We all do know that Antartica is a Continent (the 5th largest) - a land mass with mountains and a LOT of snow and ice?

Ahhh, I know but in my minds (eye), it always seemed flat and never-ending. It's BEAUTIFUL!   I'd LOVE to go there.

Bye-Byeeeee! Don't forget to write...

I always thought it to be one big piece of flat ice. I can't wait for more pics. They have bars and bowling alleys and movies....(who knew)?

We all do know that Antartica is a Continent (the 5th largest) - a land mass with mountains and a LOT of snow and ice?

Thanks, "Teach"!

...and I'm still not going there!

I always thought it to be one big piece of flat ice. I can't wait for more pics. They have bars and bowling alleys and movies....(who knew)?

We all do know that Antartica is a Continent (the 5th largest) - a land mass with mountains and a LOT of snow and ice?

Thanks, "Teach"!

[Hope for insights into Slavonian grebe]

I love grebes - from the Little Grebe (we call them Dabchicks here) to the Great-Crested, I think they are "Birds with Bling". So far, tho, I have never seen the young as they hitch a ride on the back of an adult. Wouldn't that be a sight?


Hope for insights into Slavonian grebe

Slavonian grebe have had one of their best breeding seasons this year


New research is to be done into the behaviour of one of the UK's rarest birds.Breeding pairs of Slavonian grebe can only be found in northern Scotland, according to RSPB Scotland. The number of pairs has fallen to 22 - the lowest level since monitoring records began.

But this year has been one of the best breeding seasons with 17 chicks - six at Loch Ruthven where there were no young in the previous two years.

What made 2010 a good year for the birds remains unclear, but RSPB Scotland suspect a drier and less windy spring may have helped.Stormy conditions can damage nest sites.

Stuart Benn, RSPB Scotland's conservation officer for the south Highlands, said there was much to learn about the birds' behaviour. He said: "What is clear is that while populations are thriving in Iceland and Norway, things aren't going so well here. It would be good to find out why that is and what things we, as conservationists, could be doing to turn around the fortunes of Scotland's Slavonian grebe population.

"To do this, we'll need to focus our research on key areas such as the role of weather and climate, when and why chicks die, and compare our results with other countries whose populations are faring well."

Rafts are also to be built and placed on lochs to provide the grebe with potential nest sites.


(Have a look at the Slav here)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11095980

What fun, Anne. A travel tale well told. I am not a city person at all... but I make an exception with Chicago. Delighted to hear that you have had such a lovely summer.

Slainte!

Bobbie

[WanderingFalcon (Carol P.):]

WanderingFalcon (Carol P.): 2 very tired but very happy Watchers returning home after finding 2 pefas at Pickering. Fairly certain it was Quest and her mate!

Awwww! Lucky you guys! What a weekend? DO give us all the details when you can.

   Great pics! I think they all speak for themselves. Thanks alot Donna.   

Moi aussi! What an adventure... still... I think I would prefer the vagaries of the Irish winter to an Antarctic spring...

[IRONDEQUOIT POLICE reports: Estate-sale fight]

Here's the other one I was looking for...

IRONDEQUOIT POLICE reports: Estate-sale fight

Two men got into a fight during an estate sale on Angora Drive on Aug. 5. The men were fighting over a snow blower [speaking of winter...]. One man was accused of hitting the other with a metal chair and a metal shelving unit.

Sheesh, what next? Yard sale fights, crazy. Thanks for the chuckle Bobbie.

Never mind THAT, Donna! I love your take on who's watching whom in Downtown ROC. (Actually, I think I have another yard sale story from ROC itself... lemme look...)

AND... I just heard the "W" Word on the radio... "Winter". Just wait til I tell you how early we hear the "Christmas" word on this green isle... Any bets?

[Yard sale patron allegedly hits man with pan]

While the Watchers watch, and "The Indomitable Donna" reports their progress, here's something so completely OT that it's right off the radar... the Silly Season between nesting and migration? You gotta wonder how much someone can love corn bread...

Yard sale patron allegedly hits man with pan

(AP) SONORA, Calif. - A 70-year-old yard sale shopper is facing charges after things apparently got a bit out of hand. Tuolumne County authorities said Jon Joslin was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly hit another man over the head with a corn bread pan at the sale Friday. A sheriff’s spokesman said Joslin hit the fellow shopper with a five-pound, cast iron pan to prevent him from getting to the sale first.

It seems the two men arrived early at the yard sale and were walking up a long driveway when investigators said Joslin first attempted to trip 64-year-old Joseph Brown.

Brown suffered a head laceration but refused medical treatment.

It was not known if Joslin had retained an attorney.