New/Improved 4 the Birds #9

[Nuthatch]

It looks like a new thread is in order. A new thread and a fond farewell. As you know I've been on the road travelling but now my adventures will take flight to South American then onto Antartica. I'll not be taking my computer with me because I intend on doing a lot of backpacking and don't want the extra weight. LOL I DON'T want the extra weight! I've done well in losing almost all the weight I wanted to and feel confident the hiking and more rugged living will take care of the rest. It's been fun chatting with you all. I wish you well in your weight loss endeavors. :bcbsalute

[PattiG]

Wait a minute. You're kidding right? South America and then Antarctica? Hot, hot, hot and then cold? LOL You'll crack! No seriously, what about your mobile home? ROTFL are you taking that hiking with you?!

[Maple]

Nutchatch! What on earth are you doing? I suppose by now you are off line and having the adventure of your life. Patti I think the motorhome thing was just part of a whole excursion. I bet Snickett does these kinds of things too. Remember, he went to the Galapagos this summer. My cousin's son spent some time in Antartica cooking for the ongoing exploration teams they house. By the sounds of it, it was an amazing experience. Mybe Nuthatch is planning on doing something similar. I know they "hire" all kinds of professional people there for just room and board. Birding in South America will be very special so I wish her luck, safe travels and amazing experiences.

I'm doing a small design project and have been run off my feet locating products and tying it all together. This project will include a landscape design too so I'm going to be busy for the next couple of weeks. That said, I will still post, but sometimes my post might be short. I look forward to hearing Foxworthy's next installment to the 4 the Birds educational log.

[Action Potential]

So Maple,
Have you ever heard of or seen the common brown-eyed looby? There is great diversity among them and they can be found in many different types of habitats. Ironically, I've been studying them since early summer and I've come to learn that they can be almost parasitic in their behavior. I suppose (in theory) it's a good survival mechanism to try to expend the least energy possible while claiming the same niche as other closely related species, but it's been my observation that their lifespan is curbed tremendously as a result.

The fall plumage of the brown-eyed looby is interesting. Much darker-toned than in the summer andtheir coat is getting progessively heavier due to cooling temps. Their call is odd as well...sort of a continuous, high-pitch, whine. Like "eeeeeeeeye eeeeeeye eeeeeeye"

Have you ever seen one?

[Maple]

Action P, I've never observed a brown-eyed looby myself and find it interesting that you referred to their plumage as a "coat" Do they have fur? I've heard of a LoobyLu which has a call similar; it goes like this eeeeeeye eeeeeye yo. Do you suppose they are of the same species? Of course it might have been a typo, and you meant a sula lecogaster which in layman terms is a Brown Booby.

Since Foxworthy came back I've been doing a bit of reading myself and consider the "Brit" fortunate to have so many sweet lille Parus caeruleus in the lowlands beech forests in his area. The chadadrius dubius is well worth noting as well due to the special protection status it was granted by Dr. Maxine Cooper, Conservator or Flora and Fauna in 2002. In fact the Brown Booby was granted the same status.

[Foxworthy]

Interesting conversation ladies. Of course we don't get any loobys over here but I have been reading about something extremely interesting happening in your country about the return of the Ivory-billed woodpecker. What a coo that would be on your life list. It's almost tempting me into a special trip over seas. The following is an part of an article I read in the Worldwide Wildlife News. I hope the photo posts as well.


Have You Seen an Ivory-Billed Woodpecker?

The rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker will likely drive ornithologists and amateur birders into the forest in search of the elusive bird, formerly thought extinct.

http://www.worldwildlife.org/action/images/pileated_woodpecker.jpgSubtle differences distinguish this pileated woodpecker, itself a secretive species making a comeback.
photo: David Meardon/USFWSIt may also cause a run on false identifications. Although you think you saw an ivory-billed woodpecker, what you might have seen a pileated woodpecker, a secretive species that is making a comeback across the eastern half of the U.S. Although smaller than the ivory-billed, the pileated is still an impressive bird with a large, flaming crest atop its head.

Ornithologists distinguish the two by the location of the white wing feathers. The full-width white patch in the ivory-bill's trailing wing feathers (when seen from above) folds to form a white "saddle" on its back when the bird is perched. Males have a prominent scarlet crest; the female's crest is black. (Both male and female pileated woodpeckers have a scarlet crest.)

Like a lot of birds, pileated woodpeckers are often heard before they are seen. They pound loudly on trees, boring deep into rotting wood searching for the nests of carpenter ants, their favorite food. Unlike smaller woodpeckers that peck in a rapid-fire fashion, pileated woodpeckers whack trees much more slowly, often sounding like irregular thumping. The birds are so large and powerful that they send bark flying when they peck at trees. The most obvious difference between the two birds is the white beak of the ivory-billed. The ivory-billed is larger than a pileated but not by much, with a wingspan about a half foot or so longer than a pileated which can have a wingspan of about 2 1/2 . End of article

[Maple]

Hello everyone,

Not much action in the "Birds" lately I see. What's going on? PattiG you seem to be AWOL. I feel like I should be AWOL considering my eating patterns lately but I HAVE been walking and riding my bike so I consider that a good thing in light of the transgression. I am trying very hard but I'm having trouble getting started again and have decided to read a lot of posts on BC to try to shore up my resolve.

Foxworthy I've been reading about the Ivory-billed woodpecker also. Isn't that amazing. I would dearly love to get an opportunity to be in the right location to go hunting for one. Let's stay tuned to updates about this bird and keep each other posted. It's very exciting. I get the Pileated woodpeckers all the time and am now watching closely for a ivory-billed one. Can you imagine..........."You read it here"......"Maple in the Pacific Northwest adds an Ivory-billed woodpecker to her life list" I'd be flying so high you'd never get me down again. LOL

Daylight savings time has robbed us of an hour of daylight now so winter isn't far away. I always feel a little sad when we go into darkness. I feel like hibernating. We aren't doing anything for Halloween but I did put out 3 tiny pumpkins for a joke. They are those decorative ones no larger than 3" in diameter. You should see the looks and laughs they are getting.

Have a sugarless Halloween everyone!

[PattiG]

Hi Maple,
I've been pretty tied up with things lately with hardly time to breath. I went back to my WW meeting after being off it for two weeks, fortunately I am still down from where I was weeks ago. AND I've been very good OP for the past 3 days. I'm thinking that Saturday's WI will be good.

BTW, you know our old friend Housewren? She and her husband is back on WW for the past 3 weeks now. She's right on track and losing 3 lbs a week! She'll leave us in the dust at this rate.

Let's stay on track ourselves and do this old nest proud!

Patti

[Maple]

Glad to hear you are back on track Patti. I'm not. In fact I'm up 2#s from a month ago. I think I have a brain warp or something because I just can't pull it together. I am easily swayed into having off program things. I know, we don't have off program things at WW, but it's just not true. White carbs are off program things for me because they sit on my stomach looking like an inflated beach ball. The second glass of wine are off program for me too because that uses up too many healthy points and leads to white carb cravings. Enough said.

Thanks for the update on Housewren. I wonder if she'll consider coming back to post? 3#'s a week! Yowsers! That's impressive. If you're lurking Wren, Yoohoo for you! Keep it up pal. Another thing, I really miss your posts. We had so much fun didn't we? I'm sure you will motivate me to get back on track if you come back to the nest. Please? :help:

[Maple]

Well it looks like the Birds have finally folded. Since I'm not OP 100% I'm calling it quits here too. It's been too long and the results just haven't stuck. If after 4 years I've not got it right I'm going to try something new. I sometimes look around and see the same people still struggling with the same old weight and wonder why the results aren't more exciting. This is a wonderful site for support and companionship but there is something missing and I'm going off to find the solution. Good luck everyone that reads this post. :bike: