Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)

[Pseudonym]

They're everywhere pretty much, though perhaps less noticeable in cities. If you like birds and wildlife the New Forest is a fantastic place to go. 

[Artemis]

38 minutes ago, Pseudonym said:

By the way, I forgot to say, you can feel free to bitch to me about your course whenever you want to too

Thanks Pseud!  I hope you won't regret that, because I may take you up on it someday. 

You don't have robins where you are, Carol?  They're all over the place here.

There are both albino squirrels and non-albino squirrels with white fur, and I've seen both around.  (Here's an article about it if you're curious.)  It depends on which genes are expressed (and/or mutated).  You can tell the difference between the two by the eyes: Albinos have red eyes, the others don't.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

34 minutes ago, Artemis said:

You don't have robins where you are, Carol?  They're all over the place here.

There are two not-very-similar birds that are called robins.  The original European robin is fairly common in the UK (though apparently never where I've been).  It's more the size our bluebird, and it has a red chest and face.

The American robin (apparently given its name by homesick British colonists) is very closely related to the Eurasian blackbird (in fact there are reports of interbreeding on the rare occasions when the two species meet), but has a brick-red front.

(Added:  There's apparently another bird called "robin" in Australia, but that's all I know about it.)

[Artemis]

Ooh, I didn't realize that.

I'm still waiting to see a bluebird.    I've always wanted to see one, but never have.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

That's one of the birds that we see at our house.  I think they're in the area all the time, but they mostly live in the nearby woods.  In the late summer, though, the adolescents come to splash around in our birdbath.  So be sure to time your visit accordingly!

 

[Pseudonym]

Artemis, you can have the shrub next to mine. 

[Artemis]

I'll join Pseud and take up residence in your garden shrubbery. 

 

[kimber8ada]

This weekend my brother in law caught an albino raccoon at his feed store. He contacted our local game warden who said he had only heard of one other albino in the state and had never actually seen one. My brother in law released it at the state park here.

[Arcadia]

3 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

 

@Artemis -- are the white squirrels albinos, or do they just have white fur?  I'd never heard of them either.  But I've seen black squirrels at Niagara Falls.  I suspect they're simply the black version of a red squirrels, just as a panther is the black version of a leopard.  I've got some photos somewhere.

They are gray squirrels, actually. As are the white versions, apparently. Supposedly there are quite a few of the white ones in this area, but I've never seen one. I have, however, seen black squirrels a few times, especially at Great Falls. (Tourist alert! If you're ever in the area, you must see Great Falls! Especially after a big rain. Fannnnntastic.) Never seen one in my yard, though.

We also have flying squirrels. Anyone else?

[Arcadia]

Here's a white squirrel doing his morning warmup routine. Strrrretch!

[Carol the Dabbler]

This article has some nice photos of black squirrels (and agrees that they're the same species as gray squirrels).

[Pseudonym]

can't believe my seeing a squirrel on the train tracks turned into this

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, Pseudonym said:

can't believe my seeing a squirrel on the train tracks turned into this

Squatters in my back yard, you mean? 

Upon further reading, I must report that what's been raiding Mom's bird feeder are actually fox squirrels -- which also have a black version, but judging by the photos, are normally just as red as (and bigger than) our so-called red squirrels (which I don't recall ever seeing; apparently they live mostly on conifer nuts, which aren't native around here -- or maybe I have seen them and assumed they were young fox squirrels?).

So, depending on which type of "red squirrel" you had in mind, Pseud, you might need to camp out elsewhere.   

[Carol the Dabbler]

Ooh, your red squirrels are even smaller than ours -- cute li'l fellas!

Added: Sad quote from that article:

In Great Britain, Italy and Ireland, numbers have decreased drastically in recent years. This decline is associated with the introduction by humans of the eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) from North America and habitat loss. Due to this, without conservation the species could be extirpated from Britain by 2030.

[Pseudonym]

Yep, that's why they are practically impossible to see here - there are a few remote areas but the evil grey squirrels have pretty much decimated them.

I like their tufty little ears. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Why in heaven's name did somebody think it'd be a good idea to import the gray squirrels????  (Quite possibly the same government naturalist who reintroduced deer to Indiana and brought in the non-migratory strain of Canada goose -- to say nothing of multiflora rose and Russian olive.)

[Pseudonym]

'They were imported as fashionable additions to estates, but grey squirrels soon became the main threat to the survival of the native red population. Native to the eastern half of North America, grey squirrels were first introduced to Britain in the 1870s and are now widely distributed across the UK.'

So... because they were cool apparently. 

[Artemis]

Due to this, without conservation the species could be extirpated from Britain by 2030.

^ Maybe you could go into squirrel conservation too, Pseud!    Save the squirrels!

Yes, the American red squirrels are quite small and live mostly in pine forests, so you will only see them in areas with conifers.  In my area there are conifers and deciduous trees, so we have a good mix of gray squirrels and red squirrels.  Red squirrels are louder and meaner, lol.  But maybe they have to be, being smaller.

People are always bringing in non-native species, which then get loose and spread and turn into invasive species.  Around here it’s mostly invasive plants that are introduced, but we’ve had problems with invasive insects and fish, and a few other things.  Certain kinds of wasps and bees here are not native to North America, I curse the people who brought those over, lol.  A few years back I learned that Japan is having a raccoon problem.  Some popular anime featured a kid with a pet raccoon, so some Japanese people decided they wanted one too.  They imported the raccoons, and upon discovering they did not make good pets, they released the raccoons into the wild; and now the raccoons are overrunning their ecosystem and destroying their ancient temples.  (Raccoons chew and make nests inside the roofs and such of buildings, and they produce a lot of waste, which then rots the wood.)  People...  

 

[Artemis]

Speaking of interesting variations of species, have you guys heard of leucistic crows and ravens?  Pretty neat-lookin’, I think.

 

[Pseudonym]

46 minutes ago, Artemis said:

 Maybe you could go into squirrel conservation too, Pseud!    Save the squirrels!

Leave it to me! 

A lot of countries have huge problems due to invasive species... cane toads in Australia are always the ones that spring (pun!) to my mind.  I went to a falconry centre a couple of weeks ago, and he said that if one of his birds escaped he'd have to track it down and kill it, because if he didn't it would interbreed with the indigenous buzzard population and cause a threat to the entire avian ecosystem of the area. Seemed harsh, but it makes sense, shows the way attitudes have swung. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

On 6/1/2018 at 10:09 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

What has become of peanuts?  I seem to recall that they used to be larger and have their skins left on and come in a metal can (not a plastic jar) and taste like peanuts instead of like peanut butter.

Somebody please tell me I'm not imagining things!

I think I may have stumbled onto the answer, or rather Alex stumbled for me.  For lack of anything better, I've been eating Planters dry-roasted peanuts.  (For those of you not from the US, Planters is the old traditional brand that used to be synonymous with peanuts.)  Couple weeks ago Alex got me a few more jars of what we both took to be the same as what I'd been eating.

I opened a jar and started munching -- then thought whoa, these taste just a little *too* good!  I checked the ingredients, and sure enough, there was quite a long list, including several things that I'd just as rather avoid.  I compared the front label with the one on an empty jar, and finally saw the difference:  What I'd been eating were

Lightly Salted

 

Dry Roasted Peanuts

whereas the new jar said just Dry Roasted Peanuts.  The former has two ingredients (peanuts and salt), whereas the latter has over a dozen:

PEANUTS, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: SEA SALT, SPICES (CONTAINS CELERY), DRIED ONION, DRIED GARLIC, PAPRIKA, NATURAL FLAVOR, SUGAR, GELATIN, TORULA YEAST, CORNSTARCH, DRIED CORN SYRUP, MALTODEXTRIN

... and I suspect that's the kind I remember munching on at Mom's.

[Pseudonym]

So the first kind didn't have than dry roasted coating on them? I love dry roasted peanuts with the coating. 

[Arcadia]

Me too. Now I'm hungry for some. Drat.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Oh, they're tasty, all right, and the coating is kinda subliminal, so it should be possible to make them with a similar coating that I'd be happy to eat.  But that one ain't it.  I guess I'll just stick with the plain ones.  At least now I know why they don't taste like I remember.

I will say, though, that the slightly-coated ones are far more to my liking than the sugary peanuts they sell on British trains.  

[Pseudonym]

The honey roasted ones?