Wild Side Ornithology Club

[Spoonman]

ducks

 

[Spoonman]

more geese

 

[freedombecki]

ducks

I really love mallards. They're so unbelievably beautiful to me. You know where the cuties hang out!

 

[freedombecki]

more geese

The snacks must be mighty good around there.

 

[koshergrl]

we have a bunch of them living in the eves of the shed. i think it was sleeping and just blew out. it was super windy that day. it flew away with in a few minutes. i just went to get a box and it was gone

I like bats in theory. I don't want to see them except when they're flying overhead.

I do enjoy watching them hunt in the light from street lights, though. And I don't mind watching them hunt over water...they come in at dusk in a big group and whirl around, getting the bugs that come up off the water, it's wild. They stay until the bugs are picked off, then they move onto their next spot.

i enjoy them. they never bother you. yea, they swoop kind of close often, but they never hit you.

Hey check this out..I found this article on Drudge of all places:

"
Experts sound global alert over deadly bat virus
A grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), a native Australian bat, stretches its leathery wings as it flies high over Sydney's Botanical Gardens on 17 August 2005. Experts on infectious diseases Thursday warned people to stay away from bats worldwide after the recent death of an eight-year-old boy bitten in Australia.


AFP - Experts on infectious diseases Thursday warned people to stay away from bats worldwide after the recent death of an eight-year-old boy bitten in Australia."

"
The boy last month became the third person in the country to die of Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV), for which there is no effective treatment."

Experts sound global alert over deadly bat virus - FRANCE 24

 

[Spoonman]

I like bats in theory. I don't want to see them except when they're flying overhead.

I do enjoy watching them hunt in the light from street lights, though. And I don't mind watching them hunt over water...they come in at dusk in a big group and whirl around, getting the bugs that come up off the water, it's wild. They stay until the bugs are picked off, then they move onto their next spot.

i enjoy them. they never bother you. yea, they swoop kind of close often, but they never hit you.

Hey check this out..I found this article on Drudge of all places:

"
Experts sound global alert over deadly bat virus
A grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), a native Australian bat, stretches its leathery wings as it flies high over Sydney's Botanical Gardens on 17 August 2005. Experts on infectious diseases Thursday warned people to stay away from bats worldwide after the recent death of an eight-year-old boy bitten in Australia.


AFP - Experts on infectious diseases Thursday warned people to stay away from bats worldwide after the recent death of an eight-year-old boy bitten in Australia."

"
The boy last month became the third person in the country to die of Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV), for which there is no effective treatment."

Experts sound global alert over deadly bat virus - FRANCE 24

we don't have those buggers over here. lol you have a risk of being bitten by any animal. a bat really doesn't carry more of a risk than any other animal in that respect. you have more risk from a bat, or any animal that is a carnivore. less from herbivores.

 

[koshergrl]

All bats, spoonman. The warning is to avoid ALL bats.

"ABLV has proved fatal in all cases reported to date. There is a need for increased public awareness of the risk associated with bat contact," Francis said. "In short, people should stay away from bats."
"ABLV was first identified in Australian bats and flying foxes and is common in both, though human infection is extremely rare.
"Two adult cases were confirmed in 1996 and 1998. One was a woman bitten by a flying fox after wrestling it off a child, the other a carer who looked after the animals.
Other lyssavirus strains circulate in bats in the United States and Europe and the experts said their warning applies to wherever bat or flying fox populations exist."

 

[Spoonman]

All bats, spoonman. The warning is to avoid ALL bats.

"ABLV has proved fatal in all cases reported to date. There is a need for increased public awareness of the risk associated with bat contact," Francis said. "In short, people should stay away from bats."
"ABLV was first identified in Australian bats and flying foxes and is common in both, though human infection is extremely rare.
"Two adult cases were confirmed in 1996 and 1998. One was a woman bitten by a flying fox after wrestling it off a child, the other a carer who looked after the animals.
Other lyssavirus strains circulate in bats in the United States and Europe and the experts said their warning applies to wherever bat or flying fox populations exist."

there have been 3 cases since 1996. while it may be fatal, it is hardly an epidemic

 

[koshergrl]

It's an epidemic among bats.

Most people are very seldom around bats. You have them in your yard and hanging off your shed. You're at higher risk. Just saying. It's foolish to handle them, unless you know what you're doing.

 

[Spoonman]

It's an epidemic among bats.

Most people are very seldom around bats. You have them in your yard and hanging off your shed. You're at higher risk. Just saying. It's foolish to handle them, unless you know what you're doing.

i have them in the eves of my sheds, under my siding in places. I have nests for them along the fence. it's like a bat haven around my house. they keep the mosquitos in check though

 

[koshergrl]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to live in close proximity to that many bats.

So where do the mosquitoes come from? Are you on a marsh???

 

[Spoonman]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to live in close proximity to that many bats.

So where do the mosquitoes come from? Are you on a marsh???

and i do understand your position. but then neither do the coyotes or bears that I often run into when i walk out the door or through the woods. I guess it is all what you are used to. I don't live in a marsh. I live in a heavily wooded area and I am at the highest point of that area. but there are marsh lands that are around us. There are also lots of ponds in the general area

 

[Spoonman]

when i look closely at this eagle i realize he is carrying a twig in his talon back ot the nest.

 

[Spoonman]

mom and pop on the nest

 

[freedombecki]

mom and pop on the nest

Wow, Spoonman. Just wow! American parent watches over nest from tallest tree. What a lovely tribute to parenthood.

 

[Spoonman]

mom and pop on the nest

Wow, Spoonman. Just wow! American parent watches over nest from tallest tree. What a lovely tribute to parenthood.

pretty wild eh? i'd never seen that before

 

[freedombecki]

I've seen one bald eagle nest before somewhere...except on a cliff. But over the rocks, the branches/twigs looked same as the eagle's nest you posted.

 

[koshergrl]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to live in close proximity to that many bats.

So where do the mosquitoes come from? Are you on a marsh???

and i do understand your position. but then neither do the coyotes or bears that I often run into when i walk out the door or through the woods. I guess it is all what you are used to. I don't live in a marsh. I live in a heavily wooded area and I am at the highest point of that area. but there are marsh lands that are around us. There are also lots of ponds in the general area

Coyotes and bears aren't nesting on your property.

 

[Spoonman]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to live in close proximity to that many bats.

So where do the mosquitoes come from? Are you on a marsh???

and i do understand your position. but then neither do the coyotes or bears that I often run into when i walk out the door or through the woods. I guess it is all what you are used to. I don't live in a marsh. I live in a heavily wooded area and I am at the highest point of that area. but there are marsh lands that are around us. There are also lots of ponds in the general area

Coyotes and bears aren't nesting on your property.

no, but i'll walk out the door and there they are standing in the driveway. I had one black bear in the neighbors garbage who wasn't letting me walk out of our driveway to get to work. he was protecting his food source

 

[Spoonman]

I've seen one bald eagle nest before somewhere...except on a cliff. But over the rocks, the branches/twigs looked same as the eagle's nest you posted.

hey, did you see the picture of the mink I caught?