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>Groetsjemeu!!!!

de doofpot!

tsuwm #177738 06/24/08 05:10 PM
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De doofpot is for deafman's ears! or....
see former page.

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In BC starlings were brought from England and are taking over. The only blackbirds we have in my part are the red wings who live in or near wetlands and perch on bullrushes to sing.

Zed #177745 06/24/08 08:22 PM
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Dear Zed , my last and final word about birds is that the Yellow-headed Blackbird and the Redwinged Blackbird , whether in flocks or solemly single are Not related whatsoever to my well loved blackbirds who are not called blackbirds at all but Merel, (pr. May-rhol)and have nothing to do with starlings either.
They belong to the thrush family and they SING! (Except for deafman's ears.)
They are no pest in lands where they have a healthy set of natural enemies.

Right now at dusk, while writing this post mr. black male merel sings his heart out ! That can go on for 10 to 12 minutes. Darn de doofpot!

blackbird sound

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Dearest Bran,

You do dissemble! I don't believe for a minute that you'll never post about birds again; I certainly hope you do! I enjoy a birdly discussion now and then...

I just want to make sure you understand that although our Red-winged and Yellow-headed Blackbirds are not of the same family, they are of the same order, Passeriformes, and most definitely are not pests, and do sing very pleasantly! :0)

Red-Winged Backbird call

Your equally bird-brained friend,

twosleepy ;0)

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 Originally Posted By: twosleepy
I enjoy a birdly discussion now and then...

A much nicer adjective than the usual boring old mechanical 'avian'

Our blackbirds sing sweetly too but they are still introduced pests. I much prefer the unharmonious, harsh and raucous cries of our native birds such as black cockatoos, wattle birds, Australian ravens, and Kookaburras.

Last edited by The Pook; 06/25/08 03:00 AM.
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You better not complain about your birds! You've got some of the coolest birds on the planet flying about in your backyard airspace... The most exotic bird I get to see is the occasional Indigo Bunting. I have never even seen a Painted Bunting, and that would be closest I would ever come to a "parrot"-type bird around here. I'd probably drop my camera! But I do love the natives we have, even if their sartorial splendor doesn't stack up too high... :0)

("...gay your life must be...")

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 Originally Posted By: twosleepy
...and most definitely are not pests, and do sing very pleasantly! :0)

You're very right. It's anyhow the whole concert that counts. All the different sounds and colors. The thing is - for backyard chicks, to survive a dozen cats, a bunch of magpies, flemish jays, crows, in short the predators; that is an achievement. But truly, even the magpie, with the ugliest sound and a fierce chick robbing appetite, has a beautiful color pattern.

(Thank you also for new words ; 'birdly'and dissemble'. I was about to take the bum's rush.)(today's word)

 Quote:
ThePook: I much prefer the unharmonious, harsh and raucous cries of our native birds such as black cockatoos, wattle birds, Australian ravens, and Kookaburras.

So we all love our native birds; if the blackbirds will disappear I'll know where to get some. \:\)

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 Originally Posted By: twosleepy
You better not complain about your birds! You've got some of the coolest birds on the planet flying about in your backyard airspace... The most exotic bird I get to see is the occasional Indigo Bunting. I have never even seen a Painted Bunting, and that would be closest I would ever come to a "parrot"-type bird around here. I'd probably drop my camera! But I do love the natives we have, even if their sartorial splendor doesn't stack up too high... :0)

I wasn't complaining about our native birds, just about the European birds who are displacing them. Visiting our birch tree out the front we get Green Parrots, a kind of Rosella; Butcherbirds; a Brown Falcon who likes to disembowel his prey there; and others such as Kookaburras, though they are an introduced species from the Australian mainland. The Falcon also likes to sit on the posts of the chicken run, not to attack the chickens, but the sparrows that eat the chook food. We also see Nankeen Kestrals around here and Peregrine Falcons a little further afield.
Yellow Wattle Birds visit our flowering cherry in spring and the apple tree in autumn, as do various honeyeaters.
We often see high above us the now rare wedge tailed eagle. And sometimes we run over on our roads the totally brainless native hens , who like to put their heads down like the Roadrunner and run flat out into the path of your vehicle. I once followed one at about 15 miles an hour down the road for about 50 yards before it turned off to the right onto another road, still running flat out down the centre of the road, silly thing!

...just to name a few. We are within 12 miles of the sea, so we get to see lots of marine and estuary birds as well, from Pacific gulls and Pelicans to Sooty Oyster Catchers and White Faced Herons.

 Originally Posted By: twosleepy
("...gay your life must be...")

How'd you know that one? I learned that in kindergarten:
"Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree-ee,
merry merry king of the bush is he-ee,
Laugh, Kookaburra laugh, Kookaburra
gay your life must be."

There were variants of course, such as
"Kookaburra sits on the telephone wire,
Jumping up and down with his pants on fire..."

Tasmania has 12 species of bird that are endemic and occur nowhere else in the world.

Last edited by The Pook; 06/25/08 08:33 AM.
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 Originally Posted By: The Pook
I wasn't complaining about our native birds, just about the European birds who are displacing them.

Okay, now with the rest of that, you're just bragging! :0)


 Originally Posted By: The Pook
How'd you know that one? I learned that in kindergarten

You might not believe this, but so did I! I think many Americans know it, at least those around my age. It is used in kids' shows, especially the nature shows when they talk about the kookaburra or any australian animals. I was a little surprised that you were surprised, but how would you know? Do you know "Yankee Doodle Dandy"? I would think not, but maybe it's made its way around the world... :0)

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