Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Tuesday, May 10. 2011

90 million views!

Baby animals always steal the scene. We envy their traffic. It's time for a live-streamed eaglet reminder.


They are growing fast on their diet of fish, rabbit, squirrel, muskrat and crow sashimi. I notice that they are sleeping less. Note how they open their beaks to cool off on a warm day. More animal thermoregulation.


The chicks are such stumblebums, it's remarkable to me that none of them fall out of the crib - and that they all manage to squirt their poop off the sides of it. Clean nest. Too bad one of them hit the lens with a slight splash.


It is a full-time job for two to keep those babies fed and protected - and to keep yourself fed. It takes two.




Online video chat by Ustream
Posted by Bird Dog at 12:08 | Comments (9) | Trackbacks (0)

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If you catch them during their toilet duty they aren't any where near the edge. A foot away or so (when they were very young), rump in the air and straight as an arrow until out of camera range. Happened to catch it 3 times at various ages.
#1 Garry on 2011-05-10 16:55 (Reply)
(Garry, you've got too much time on your hands!)

Speaking of birds, I've got an issue here. I'm painting an old Victorian house, and there is a bird's nest with audibly new chicks up in some of the rafters. Pretty soon I have to pressure wash the whole place, meaning I will blast away the nest and whomever lives there.

I take no pleasure in the death of anything, except for maybe bees. Any ornithologists out there who can recommend what to do, so I don't have the little birdies' blood on my hands? I'm quite serious.
#2 Big___Al on 2011-05-10 17:02 (Reply)
No, not too much time; just one of the 90 million. I'm quite drawn to the scene. Nature's clasroom! I check in 2 - 3 times a day for 2 - 3 minutes each time. Just happened to catch the event. I had also wondered how the nest was kept so clean and my curiosity was rewarded.
#2.1 Garry on 2011-05-10 18:36 (Reply)
OK, this is rapidly degenerating into some sort of Monty Python routine:

"What are the bathroom habits of a laden swallow?"

"Do you mean a European or African swallow?"
#2.1.1 Big___Al on 2011-05-10 18:52 (Reply)
Describe the birds and the nest, please, Big Al
#3 Bird Dog on 2011-05-10 17:04 (Reply)
I haven't actually seen the nest yet. It's sort of down in a boxed-in area. I have seen the adult bird(s) flying away from it when we are near.

(Because I'm not a "bird-brain," or maybe because I am, I'm going right now to Google images to look up common house birds, and hopefully identify them. BRB.)

OK. I'd venture a guess at a starling, or something similar in size and coloring. Not exactly a protected species, right? But I still hate killing things.

Alan
#3.1 Big___Al on 2011-05-10 17:19 (Reply)
You don't say where you live, or how long ago the birds might have hatched. Birds mature quickly, and once they start flying, they won't need the nest much. Can you wait?

We faced a similar dilemma a couple of years ago, when a raccoon raised her spring litter in our chimney. State law required killing them if they were trapped and removed. She wasn't doing any damage, so we let her stay.
#3.1.1 diane on 2011-05-10 21:59 (Reply)
Central PA, Diane.

We've been on the job for about a week, and I just started hearing the little ones chirping maybe two days ago.

My thoughts exactly... I was leaning toward what you've recommended, just waiting a bit until they can live on their own. I just don't know when that might be, though.
#3.1.1.1 Big___Al on 2011-05-11 10:03 (Reply)
i have raised chameleons and have owned other assorted lizards, and they also regulate their body temps by gaping their mouths. just goes to show you how close the relation is between lizards and birds and how birds have evolved from lizard-like dinosaurs. even their demeanor and the way they scout the landscape is just so lizard-like! kool vid!
#4 Stagger Leaf on 2011-05-12 10:20 (Reply)

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