I know I don't check the Quest map often enough, so thanks for the reminder, Watchers. Sure is living up to her name, isn't she? I too wonder, as does Donna, where Pickering is in relation to ROC - ie how far. And is there also an active group of Watchers in the area? What a great day you must have had.

(I see ROC is in for another weekend of heat... poor you!)

Re Shaky's movie:  Are you sure that was Archer kakking?  My birds went crazy when they heard the calls.  I think they were calling back to him.

Isn't that something?? What kind of birds do you have, Bonnie?

Donna not all butterflies migrate. Monarchs do, not sure what others do. But for those that do its the last ones hatched born what ever of a season that do. They fly south spend the winter then they come north again and start the cycle over. Lay eggs, hatch become caterpillars, morph into butterflies, mate, lay eggs on and on until close to fall then the last ones once again fly south. What is amazing is this must be imprinted (or God directed which ever you prefer) for these guys to know where to go on there migration.

some butterflies spend the winter as caterpillars, some as pupa depends on the butterfly. Amazing creatures and beautiful too.

Thanks, BC. There are lovely little ones here called Red Admirals that have a habit of "hibernating" inside houses for the winter... usually in the folds of curtains, for some reason. Every now and then, on a warm winter's day, they will come fluttering into the room, leaving us to wonder whether to let them out (we do) or try to discourage them (how an we?). They must do what you have described, except they do not migrate.

  Thanks ladies! You two make a good "tag" team!!

 

Can't you just see all those little guys winging their way to warmer climes? Hardly seems possible, does it? Seems even more impossible that butterflies would make such long journeys.  We are surrounded by wonder.

Ok, here's what I don't get about Butterflies. My niece has a butterfly garden, all have morphed into beautiful "Painted Ladies". It says in the directions, after they emerge from their Chrysalis, feed them sugar water for a few days then let them go outside. They will stay around for a few days then lay their eggs and die after 14 days. Sooooooooo, how do they migrate if they die after 2 weeks?  ???

Good one. I would love to know too... as I said, tho - surrounded by wonder! I did not (BTW) know that there were Painted Ladies over there. We had a big arrival last year, and everyone was talking about it. Not so for 2010 - who knows why. Hope someone gets back with an answer for us.

What I am thinking is that those eggs hatch into the next generation, and it is these young that migrate... Yes? No? Maybe so??

8:02am: B on top Ibeam and A on 2nd Ibeam OCSR. MAK/Larry/Cleo

Looks like Our Watchers are in for a busy day - can't wait to read what happens!
 
BTW, Donna - how do you get all this info to pass along to the rest of us??? I am ever amazed at the pix you post from the falconcam... I could just about identify a rather large heron from the pix, never mind a specific falcon. Way to go!

  it's top secret!  NO, I get text messages from MAK and then I post what she texts me. It's that simple.   

TEXT messages!?? Boy! Talk about 21st century! Since I have (and this is official...) Ireland's oldest mobile (cell) phone, texting has yet to enter my area of expertise. Get you! For my sake, I sure am glad you can do it!

8:02am: B on top Ibeam and A on 2nd Ibeam OCSR. MAK/Larry/Cleo

Looks like Our Watchers are in for a busy day - can't wait to read what happens!

BTW, Donna - how do you get all this info to pass along to the rest of us??? I am ever amazed at the pix you post from the falconcam... I could just about identify a rather large heron from the pix, never mind a specific falcon. Way to go!

Can't you just see all those little guys winging their way to warmer climes? Hardly seems possible, does it? Seems even more impossible that butterflies would make such long journeys.  We are surrounded by wonder.

I don't know whether this reserve is named after Sir David Attenborough (his brother is the film director ["Ghandi"] Sir Richard Attenborough). It is Sir David who presents those splendid BBC series "Life on Earth", "Life in the Freezer" - and many more. His most recent is simply called "Life" and has the most spectacular natural history photography I have ever seen. Worth getting on DVD, as is anything he does. He opened many eyes, and is still doing so. On this side of the pond, he has been elevated to a well-deserved Hero status in the wild world.

(Still looking for that gorilla encounter footage but have to wind up Little Mac... thanks to Donna for hers!)

Gorillas are so smart and fun to watch. Thanks Bobbie.

Can't you just see it, Donna? Did not see a video link for this - but I would love you - everyone! - to see some footage of mountain gorillas from that seminal BBC natural history series, "Life on Earth". I will have a look... gotta do it on Little Mac, tho! Big Mac (called "Hawkeye") is in his dotage...

FYI re gorillas - Dublin Zoo is in the process of making a new enclosure for their gorillas, to be more in keeping with their own mountain habitat, with greater stimulation, more foraging opportunities. I await with interest.

[Gorillas 'play games of tag like humans']

Gorillas 'play games of tag like humans'

Rebecca Morelle, Science reporter, BBC News
 
Gorillas play "tag" in a similar way to humans, scientists have discovered. By studying footage recorded in zoos, the team found that the great apes would hit a playmate and then run away, chased by the gorilla they had struck. Occasionally, the roles would then reverse, with the chaser hitting back, and then getting chased.

The research, published in the journal Biology Letters, suggests the primates are testing the limits of acceptable behaviour within their social group.

Marina Davila Ross from University of Portsmouth said: "This shows a strong similarity to the game of tag in children.

"We cannot say it is exactly the same as the game of tag, because games involve rules and the individuals need to be aware of these rules, but the behaviour does looks similar."
Hit and run

The researchers looked at footage of playing gorillas taken from five zoos, which had been recorded over a period of three years. Dr Davila Ross, who carried out the research with scientists from the Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover, Germany, said the team found examples of this behaviour on 86 occasions.

She told BBC News that the films had enabled the researchers to study how the apes would respond to an advantageous or disadvantageous scenario. She said: "That was really interesting - hitting represents an inequity. When you hit someone that represents an unfair situation. Because of this, it allowed us to assess for the first time how animals respond to an inequity in their natural social setting."

She added: "We found the hitters moved first and ran away - it was a hit and run behaviour. And this indicated that the hitters created for themselves an advantage and they tried to keep this advantage."

She said that this implied that the gorillas were capable of changing their behaviour in unfair situations.

The researchers also found three occasions where the gorillas did not run if they had hit another ape very gently, suggesting that they could judge how roughly they were playing, and alter what they do next accordingly.

Dr Davila Ross said the hit and run games could help the animals to learn how to better judge social situations.

She said: "It seems to me that they can learn through this kind of behaviour about limits and how far they can go in a social setting, and also about their specific group members and how far you can go with them."

Thanks for the report on the Wild Night of Falcon Watching, MAK! Keep your eyes on the skies for all of us.

[Purrfect ending as Tweets solve mystery of highly trained kitty]

Ok... I'll stop now. And we don't even have cats at the moment. This, however, (from The Irish Times) should serve to amuse on a Friday afternoon as ROC awaits another blazing weekend...

Purrfect ending as Tweets solve mystery of highly trained kitty


It was not a case of the cat catching a bird but of a tweet finding the cat. A fare-evading feline which travelled by Dart [Dublin Area Rapid Transit] from Malahide to Dublin’s Pearse Street station was reunited with its owner yesterday after an appeal was posted by Iarnród Éireann [Irish Railroads] on Twitter.

Five-month-old Lilou managed to make her way undetected as far as the city centre station on Wednesday morning before she was handed in by a concerned passenger at 11am. Using CCTV, Iarnród Éireann managed to trace her movements back to Malahide in north County Dublin where footage revealed that she boarded the train at 10.30am.

Human resources staff looked after the stowaway and temporarily christened her “Dart�. A staff member brought her home to mind on Wednesday night.

After ringing animal welfare societies for advice, the company decided to try using Twitter to post an appeal to its more than 3,000 followers. The tweet at about midday read: “Is this your cat? Arrived Pearse Stn yesterday 11am, off Malahide Dart�. The company also later put out a media appeal.

Iarnód Éireann’s tweet was reposted more than 100 times, and about 2 pm yesterday, the owner contacted the Dart station. Parisian Eric Bieci said he received a number of calls from people who knew his cat was missing and had heard that a cat from Malahide had been found.

Lilou had been missing since Monday night after Mr Bieci left the window open in his home near Malahide Dart station. Because he manages the local Seabank Bistro, he was not always there at night, he explained. Mr Bieci said he spent all night on Monday looking for her.

Noting that Lilou “looks tired� after her adventure, Mr Bieci joked: “She decided to go shopping in the city centre. However, I didn’t give her my credit card.�

Some of my big-time Irish "twitcher" pals say the sight of this migration over Israel is beyond words. Not sure of the route most of them take to get there... if they have survived the shooting in places like Malta, Italy, Cyprus et. al, they have a good chance. Excellent to hear there is involvement by the State as well as the farmers. A lesson for other areas which experience the twice-yearly spectacular.

(In the Totally Inappropriate category, does anyone remember Tom Lehrer's song "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park"?)

Yep...we have some Tom Lehrer albums (haven't bothered to replace them with CDs), and they're classics.

Patti

Hangin' on to the vinyl, Patti?? Rock 'n' roll, Girl! Rock 'n' roll!