BUZZARDS ATTACK 'LIVE' JOGGERS

This article reminded me of THE BIRDS (1963), a movie by Alfred Hitchcock. There was an actual case just up the coast near Capitola in 1961, where sea birds actually dove into houses, and dead and injured birds were in the streets.  Some say this was the inspiration for Hitchcocks film, but there is a Novelette written in 1952 by Dauphne du Maurier titled THE BIRDS.  And her book, unlike Hitchcock's version, takes place in England, like this article does.  Her book is well worth reading, and there are several radio plays based on her book and the movie that are fun to listen too if you enjoy using your imagination.

JOGGERS HURT IN BUZZARD ATTACKS

by  Roya Nikkhah, The Telegraph UK, Earth Section

JOGGERS HAVE BEEN LEFT BLODDIED AND SCARRED FOLLOWING A SPATE OF ATTACKS BY BUZZARDS

It is like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, with unsuspecting victims swooped on by avian attackers.

Stuart Urquhart, a solicitor from Bristol, was on holiday with his wife and two children in Helford, Cornwall, when he suffered three six-inch cuts to his head in a buzzard attack.

Mr Urquhart, 36, was jogging on a quiet lane near a river at around 9am, when he felt a searing pain in the back of his head before turning around to see a buzzard flying away.

He said: "I thought somebody had thrown some heavy sacking or carpet at me but I couldn't see anyone. I carried on a few paces and then saw blood running down me and noticed a buzzard flying off into the trees.

 

"I have brown hair and I wasn't sure if the buzzard had mistaken me for a big, slow rabbit, so I decided not to take any chances, and invested in a hat."

Mr Urquhart, who was given a tetanus injection after the attack earlier this month, spotted the buzzard two days later on a telegraph pole. It swooped down with its talons out but Mr Urquhart managed to dive out of the way.

Last week, Paul Powell, a plasterer from Shurdington, Glos, was also attacked by a buzzard while out jogging.

Mr Powell, 38, suffered four puncture wounds to his scalp after a bird sunk its talons into his head.

 

He said: "I felt an almighty thud at the back of my head. At first I thought someone had hit me... and then I saw this big bird flying just above me. Then I felt a burning sensation and noticed there was blood dripping on to the ground."

Mr Powell ran for cover, but the buzzard attacked him a second time. He was taken to hospital and given a tetanus injection.

Ciaran Nelson of the RSPB said that it was very rare to see a spate of buzzard attacks.

 

"These are the only incidents of buzzards attacking humans we have heard of in the last year, so to have two in such a short period is exceptionally unusual," he said.

"It is most likely that the birds are feeling territorial and are being extra defensive, as July and August is the period when their young will be starting to leave the nests.

"The buzzards won't have seen the joggers as a meal, but they will have been trying to defend their territory and dissuade anyone from coming into contact with their young.

"We would advise anyone who has seen buzzards in one particular area to avoid it as much as possible for the next couple of months until the young have left the nests."

Buzzards have a wing span of more than a yard and can weigh more than 2.2 pounds (1kg). They eat worms and grubs but also prey on rabbits and voles, and pick carrion.

 

 

 

There are between 30,000 and 40,000 pairs of buzzards in the UK. They became a protected species 50 years ago and have recovered from near extinction after being regularly shot for killing game birds.

 

 

 

 

music

  

GREAT TITS IN THE CITY; GREAT TITS IN THE COUNTRY

I never imagined this in my wildest dreams, well, honestly, maybe  I have dreamed this in a wild dream or two!! But imagine, being able to listen to Great Tits sing!!??  Can you imagine that?  They can sing!!!!  You must be quiet.  You must concentrate. You must go where the Great Tits go.  You must think like the Great Tits think.  You must become one with the Great Tits. If you can do all those things, and listen like you have never listened before, you too might hear, the song of the Great Tits. . .

CITY TITS SHUN COUNTRY TITS CLAIM SCIENTISTS. 

by Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent, The Telegraph, Telegraph.co.uk

"Rural and City birds fail to warm to each other, just like humans, because they are not attracted to each others songs."

Male Great Tits in cities respond more strongly to songs of fellow city dwellers than to their country cousins – and the feeling is mutual.

A survey of the common garden bird across the UK has shown that the average minimum pitch of their songs is higher in noisy urban areas than in quieter, rural locations just a few miles away

And when the song from the city is played to those in the country they do not respond to it like they do to their own neighbours, claims the study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

 

 

Male birds sing songs to defend their territory and to attract a mate. In urban environments the birds have adopted a higher pitch song in order to be heard over the din of the city.

 

 

 

 

But if they move into the country, they found that their song is not so effective.Dr Rupert Marshall, of Aberystwyth University, Wales, who lead the project, and his team recorded bird song in 20 different cities in Britain. They then recorded birdsong just outside each conurbation – around two miles away.

 

                                                                             

You have your Great Tits, and then you have your Bouncing Tits, same bird, different traits. . .

 

When songs from the country were played in the city and visa versa using a speaker, it was discovered that other male birds in the close vicinity did not respond to it by singing back or flying towards the speaker.

Dr Marshall said: "People speak louder and higher in noisy places like pubs and bars but still recognise their friends' voices once they go outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure which is happier, the Great Tits being held?  Or the Hands holding them?

 

 

 

 

"Great tits seem to learn the high notes from their neighbours but don't respond as strongly to lower rural tones even when it's quiet."

Dr Marshall's PhD student Emily Mockford suggests "the next step is to find out what the females make of these different songs – will they want to mate with a guy who sings too high or too low?"

 

 

 

And Next week we shall take a close up and personal look at Boobies:

CONTRAST -- PICTURE PERFECT FRIDAY

 

 

CONTRAST of PERCEPTIONS

We think of our freshly washed, waxed and polished car or truck as a spotless beauty.  But there are those who look at such a clean surface as nothing more than a unused blank surface, much like an artists' canvas. . .it is all in the way we perceive the things around us.

 

 

Camera is a Kodak Z612 EasyShare

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