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Birds 🐦🐦🐦


Has anyone experienced a bird attack? I have not, but maybe I should be ready.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48993220

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It's not unusual for geese or turkeys to be aggressive on the ground, but if it's an air attack by a much smaller bird we're supposed to be more afraid.

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It would be startling enough to be walking when it happened, but while riding a bike? Yikes. I'd probably crash the bike.

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I guess you're right. I got chased by a goose once when I was a kid. Really no big deal.

Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkgwmPUak70

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I got chased out of a local park by a huge angry Swan when I was a kid...Swans are jerks!

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Somehow I missed watching this video when you first posted it. Near the end - that poor kid lying on the ground with the goose trying to bite him and the adults are sitting around laughing?? How terrifying for that young boy. Not funny!

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The one I didn't understand was the dad telling his daughter to "grab one by the neck" when the birds were minding their own business.

Geese are fearless!

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I didn't get that one either. Why was he telling her to do that? Were they planning to take it home and cook it for dinner?? Sheesh.

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Yeah, he didn't sound like the best dad ever:/

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This just proves my point...Canadian people, pretty awesome
Canada Geese, total psychos!

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I was mowing the grass one day and a red-tailed hawk completely demolished a Morning Dove in my garden...I was at least as shocked as the Morning Dove...He had a pretty call, I was unhappy to see him go, but I suppose
hawks need to eat too:(

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Better to be the bird of prey than the prey of bird.

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I like that expression...unfortunately I grabbed the garden hose and sprayed that hawk like I was attacking Iwo Jima...he did manage to carry off my little Morning Dove buddy but he he never came back for any more... the lawn turned out great!

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LOL. Quite the visual. The Garden Hose vs the Hawk. Who will win? Film at 11.

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Spoiler alert... I tanned his ass and he never came back LOL

The lawn remained lovely and well trimmed, no lawn ever looked better!

Only one bird was harmed during this story, but he was a very chubby dove and should have been paying more attention to his surroundings!
I never sat him down and had the 'hawk talk' but I probably should have:/
I suppose I'll have to live with this...

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I don't really want to hurt creatures so I just try to make it uncomfortable for them to hang around. I figure if you harass them enough they'll go elsewhere. It doesn't always work, but worth a try.

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Speaking of making it uncomfortable for unwanted creatures I bought those little sonic blasters you plug in from Walmart some time back...I've not seen a mouse in ages!

This is not a paid advertisement lol, those little sonic blasters really do scare off the mice

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The only mouse problem I ever had was the one my little miniature poodle caught outside. When I let her in I didn't realize she had it in her mouth until she dropped it in the middle of the kitchen floor. To my horror, it was alive, but apparently stunned or something. I grabbed a nearby mixing bowl and quickly plopped it over the mouse. I paced around that bowl all day trying to decide how to catch the critter when I removed the bowl. I pictured it running like crazy to who knows where and then how would I find it?? When I finally gathered the courage to lift it I discovered it had died. Little 4-pound Brandi gained the nickname "Killer" after that.

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You should have called Lewdy Judy...I bet she has had some experience dealing with vermin😁

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I didn't know Lewdy Judy then. This happened about ten years ago where I used to live. Tee hee. I bet she would have taken care of it.

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The nudist bicycle guy with the rubber girlfriend would have been totally useless!

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🀣 Um, he wasn't the nudist bicycle guy. His rubber girlfriend was. Dang you! I'm laughing so hard I'm crying.

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I do love your wacky neighbor stories lol!

Sounds like Lake Wobegon out there!

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Ya know, I never listened to Lake Wobegon, which is probably some kind of blasphemy around here.

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You didn't miss much, your stories are way betterπŸ˜‰

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I'm a bit of a rebel. If something becomes hugely popular I usually go the other way.

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This is why you are loved!

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I never ran with the crowd - I, the munchkin, couldn't keep up! 😊

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Munchkins are cute, be proud!

And I doubt the crowd could keep up with you sweetieπŸ˜™

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I bet you didn't now how that bird acquired its name

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4hZO-TEpzE&t=2m44s

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BTW I always thought it was morning dove, because I hear them in the morning, but it's mourning dove because of their plaintive coo

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I suppose it's their little coo but since I tend to hear them every damned morning I just call them Morning Doves...They are lovely, chubby little birds but a bit rowdy in the morning if I'm being honestπŸ‘Ž

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I think chubby is part of their charm. Doesn't stop me from chasing them away at 6:00 am

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I'm in New York and I'll tell you this man...these chubby little coo-ers are all over the state!

I tend to love 'em but they are terribly annoying at first light...just shut up birds!

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I knew it was 'mourning' not morning, but either one makes sense. Around here the birds start up around 4:30 am. I don't even have to look at the clock to know what time it is once they start up.

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Same here...I shout at them to keep it down but they never listen

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I won't holler at them since all that does is really get me fully awake. Can you roll your eyes when you're asleep?? πŸ™„ I think that's what I do but I don't know.

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Just about every single Spring.

Anyone who lives in Australia near magpies knows what I'm talking about.

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I'll take your word for it.

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Haha. Yeah, they get very protective when they nest and will swoop and peck if you walk near their nesting area. Beautiful, quite friendly birds at other times, but assholes in Spring.

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Is it true that magpies steal things, especially shiny objects, or is that a myth?

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I haven't known them to do that. You might be thinking about the bowerbird. Those little bastards will steal anything shiny for their nests, especially if it's blue.

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I took a quick look on Wiki but it doesn't say anything about this. It does say that Australian magpies are not related to the European magpie.

Magpies have been observed engaging in elaborate social rituals, possibly including the expression of grief. Mirror self-recognition has been demonstrated in European magpies, making them one of only a few species to possess this capability. The cognitive abilities of the Eurasian magpie are regarded as evidence that intelligence evolved independently in both corvids and primates. This is indicated by tool use, an ability to hide and store food across seasons, episodic memory, using their own experience to predict the behavior of conspecifics. Another behavior exhibiting intelligence is cutting their food in correctly sized proportions for the size of their young. In captivity, magpies have been observed counting up to get food, imitating human voices, and regularly using tools to clean their own cages. In the wild, they organize themselves into gangs and use complex strategies hunting other birds and when confronted by predators.

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Interesting! I always thought of parrots and crows as the smartest birds but (European) magpies too! They are in the crow family I just learned. Maybe I heard this myth about stealing shiny objects because "magpie" used to be an expression of someone who was a hoarder, not the mentally ill hoarder, but someone who liked to save things.

Edit: "The Eurasian magpie is one of the most intelligent birds, and it is believed to be one of the most intelligent of all non-human animals."

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I didn't know either, that they are part of the crow family until I looked it up. I suppose we could have taken the "shiny objects" thing from movies and TV. I mean, Hollywood is SO accurate about these things. πŸ™„ Well, to be fair, their motive is to entertain (and make tons of $$).

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Possibly the most unique grouping in the animal kingdom is a murder of crows, lol.

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I've known that but never used the term. It sounds weird, even though it's proper.

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True, it's archaic and would probably raise eyebrows if used but I find it amusing.

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You know, I looked it up and apparently it's not used by scientists. Technically it's not wrong to use, though. It originated back in the 15th century.

https://www.audubon.org/news/no-its-not-actually-murder-crows

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i was biking through a residential area near a city park earlier this week when i saw a wild turkey very casually strolling down the middle of the street. i briefly thought that i ought to try shooing him off the street before a car came careening along - but i decided to just move along. i've heard turkeys that adapt to city life can get a bit aggressive & this thing was huge. very nice looking bird, though.

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I get them in the yard from time to time and a big Tom seems to have taken up residence out in my woodlot

You're right, they are very nice looking birds but it's best to keep your distance!
Imagine being the big dummy in the obituaries that was slain by a turkey lol!

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Death by turkey. Revenge for Thanksgiving.

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I'd certainly have it coming😁

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There are a few of us who do. As in millions. They could remake The Birds. The Turkeys! Hmm. πŸ¦ƒπŸ¦ƒπŸ¦ƒπŸ¦ƒπŸ¦ƒπŸ¦ƒ

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That movie would be very scary and would probably make me very hungry:)

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A new Thanksgiving horror movie - Turkey: Now it's His Turn to do the Carving

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πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ€£ Excellent!

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No, but I've had to duck out of the way of a flying bird before. That, and a bird bumped against my ankle during a cross-country run in gym class. See, he was being lazy and took off almost too late to get out of the way, and the other kids did that shocked laugh when they saw it.

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His timing was off, apparently. I guess it made you the talk of the day.

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It's so rare to catch birds off-guard. I've only seen it happen twice in my lifetime. All other birds know to fly away long before humans (or even other animals) get anywhere near them.

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That's what I thought. It's a matter of survival.

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The guy in Desperation got pretty worked over by a cussin' vulture.

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Can't say that I have. But I did once have a cat I saw get attacked by a swooping mockingbird. My cat probably got too near the nest.

We are encroaching on wildlife's habitats. Our population is growing out of control.

Wonder why the crows in BC are attacking. We've got a ton of them around here and I've never heard of anyone getting attacked by them.

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We can't blame the birds because, yes, we're encroaching on them. Also, I've seen a few videos of people who harass the birds and then wonder why the birds attack. They deserve what they get.

We have plenty of crows around here - dang, they're big. A few months ago I saw four crows fighting over a doughnut. One finally got a hold of it, tried to escape, and dropped the doughnut. It cracked me up to see the doughnut actually rolling along the street with the other birds chasing it. One finally got it and took off flying with the other three in hot pursuit. It was entertaining.

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"Also, I've seen a few videos of people who harass the birds and then wonder why the birds attack. They deserve what they get."

Yes! That's like poking someone in the eye and then wondering why they turned around and punched you out.

I saw a video of a woman hysterically complaining about how some coyotes chased her into her house. Watched the video and saw as soon as she saw them, she started screaming and yelling like a bunny rabbit. IOW, acting just like prey, and then wondering why they chased her. Geez, if you live in an area where there's wildlife, it doesn't make any sense to not learn enough to know how to act around them.

Ha, hilarious, the crow doughnut fight!

Ours are big too. They're everywhere in these here parts. They're very intelligent and have families just like we do. Very social creatures.

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geese are nasty sobs especially when they have goslings. very protective.

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Don't mess with geese. Nasty is right.

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