Bird Call

Mew Gull

This is a Mew Gull.

I don’t hate it. Some of you may think so. But I don't. True I did disclose some bad gull behaviors. And yes they can seem cantankerous and dumb. But they aren’t dumb. As an example they can find a meal anywhere. And that’s often when they’re cantankerous.

I also implied they don’t have fans. I take it back. The Illinois Ornithological Society certainly appreciates them. Think about it. Watching Gulls. In Illinois. In winter. Near the lakes. That’s love.

But what I meant was no one was truly ga-ga over them. Wrong again. I found someone. And this lady is truly ga-ga.

She started a project to counter “the hostility of the human community” toward gulls. How? Quoting Gandhi and plagiarizing innumerable hippies she says she’s going to do it with love. No arguing. No negative energy. Just love. Bless her heart.

And she’ll spread the love with happenings and flash mobs (whatever that is). She plans to use poetry, painting and positive love energy to shock people into loving them.

You go girl! : )

 

Boring Fact: “Mew” in this context simply means gull. But it can also be the past tense of mow as in:

Did you mow the lawn? Yes I mew it. : )

 

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Bird Gentleman

Some people love backyard birds like robins and wrens. Others like colorful birds like bluebirds or orioles. For still others it’s hummingbirds. And all birders love warblers.

But I don’t think I’ve ever met someone ga-ga over gulls. When they’re all white, they’re kind of pretty. And you have to admit they are graceful flyers.

So why no fans?

Here’s a guess. They steal potato chips.

And run in gangs. Hang out at dumps. Steal. Whine. And are common to a fault.

To boot, some birders have a problem with them because they are nest raiders. Especially in large colonies of birds. Some can be downright destructive.

All that having been said there are some I still kind of like anyway. Bird gentlemen and ladies so to speak. Word is they have a sweet face.

Here’s one of them.

I agree. I mean is that the face of a killer?

They may do the things other gulls do. But a little mellower.

And no matter what they do there’s still one thing about it that makes all the difference.

They do it with a kind expression. : )

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Bird-nerd-word: Drag

Of Birds and Drag:

Movement creates friction. Friction in flying is called drag.

Birds’ wings provide lift and propulsion. Everything else creates resistance. That's drag. Even the wings.

Then there’s induced draft produced by the way air comes off the wingtips. So flying even makes its own drag.

For the bird it’s like being pulled through the air with a bungee cord tied to its tail.

It’s not that simple of course. (And to tell the truth I don’t really understand it all that well.) So I thought a photo would help illustrate the forces involved. Lift. Propulsion. Weight. Induced drag. Resistance.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find the perfect photo. Still I think this one of Daisy gives a pretty good idea of the concepts:

  :)

 

Boring Fact: Drag also plays a part in a stall. As a bird (or plane) slows it begins to lose lift. To compensate it tilts up its wings. This creates more lift but more drag too. And so on. Eventually it reaches a tipping point or stall when it's no longer flying. Birds use this maneuver to gracefully slow from a sprint and land gently on a branch. For planes it doesn't turn out as well. :)

 

 

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Barrow's Goldeneye

This is a Barrow’s Goldeneye. Beautiful. 

In a duck sort of way. Interesting too.

What’s interesting? Well monogamy. But with a twist.

It all starts in Canada or Alaska in the spring. A young couple will pair up for the first time. The male will stick around a while to protect their territory and nest. But when summer comes he takes off. All the males do. To somewhere secret and mysterious.

A very quiet and reedy pond. With places to hide. You can hardly blame him. He needs to molt. They all do. Whether or not they’re embarrassed to be seen without those striking feathers I can’t say. But it is a fact they won’t be able to fly for a few weeks. So they lay low.

Once that’s over they meet at a staging area and all migrate south together for winter (which is how I saw them on the Columbia).

And finally here’s the interesting part. The next spring--despite being apart all that time—that same male and female hook up for another go round. Then so on and so forth. Every year.

Kind of sweet. And just goes to show long distance romances can work.

For ducks. :)

 

Distinguishing marks: Males--black and white with a purple sheen on their head in the right light. Graceful white spots on their backs and a single white quotation mark in front of their golden eye. Females are brown with a dark brown head and the beautiful golden eye.