(no subject)
28 Sep 2009 15:04![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shichahnWell, my speakers are officially dead. Ugh. They started failing about two weeks ago - often, one would work but the other one wouldn't, unless I laid one on its side. No, I don't understand, either. But suddenly today, it seems neither will work reliably, and often whichever one does "work" is quiet and buzzy. I just don't get it. They're Logitech, come on. My dad's computer has Logitech speakers that have worked just fine for like ten years now. These died after a year. Lame.
Anyway, last night was awesome. Parents and I went to go see the Vaux's swifts at the Chapman School here in Portland. I may have talked about doing this a year ago, I can't remember. But basically the school has a huge old chimney, and all the swifts in the area roost there during the month of September, so at dusk you get these huge swirling clouds of swifts that spiral around the chimney opening like a tornado of birds, and then at some unknown signal they all funnel down into it. Cool on its own, for sure, but I know half the crowd (myself and my dad included) are there to cheer not just for the swifts but also for the opposing team. And when I say cheer, I mean it literally. Last night we had a Cooper's hawk swoop through the flock, to the audience's great joy. He missed his first strike and landed on top of the chimney, and sat there for at least ten minutes with his little head swiveling around as he watched the swifts just above him and waited for one to get within grabbing reach. After a couple false starts, he did finally manage to grab one and take off into the trees.
Just afterward, a peregrine who I'd seen waiting on earlier in the evening, made his attempt now that the Coops was out of the way. He stooped the flock but missed, and the entire flock of swifts chased after him in huge circles around the sky until he broke off and left. The swifts went back to tornado-ing, and started to go down. I hear this cry of "C'MON, PERRY!" from some guy just in front of us, and here comes the peregrine right over our heads, heading straight for the chimney again. He misses once more, loops around, then goes up under the flock and flips onto his back, grabbing one while upside-down. Freaking awesome. He flies off with his dinner, and the last few clusters of swifts make their way down to the chimney - but not before the Cooper's shoots out of the trees and gets seconds! He must've eaten the first one fast, haha. By then it was just starting to get dark, and it was evident that there was no room left in the chimney as the stragglers attempted several times to funnel in, only to spill back out the top.
Today, I sent in a new capture permit request. Much as losing a bird sucks, being without one for an extended period of time is worse. I don't know how I lived up until this point, man. I just don't know.
Anyway, last night was awesome. Parents and I went to go see the Vaux's swifts at the Chapman School here in Portland. I may have talked about doing this a year ago, I can't remember. But basically the school has a huge old chimney, and all the swifts in the area roost there during the month of September, so at dusk you get these huge swirling clouds of swifts that spiral around the chimney opening like a tornado of birds, and then at some unknown signal they all funnel down into it. Cool on its own, for sure, but I know half the crowd (myself and my dad included) are there to cheer not just for the swifts but also for the opposing team. And when I say cheer, I mean it literally. Last night we had a Cooper's hawk swoop through the flock, to the audience's great joy. He missed his first strike and landed on top of the chimney, and sat there for at least ten minutes with his little head swiveling around as he watched the swifts just above him and waited for one to get within grabbing reach. After a couple false starts, he did finally manage to grab one and take off into the trees.
Just afterward, a peregrine who I'd seen waiting on earlier in the evening, made his attempt now that the Coops was out of the way. He stooped the flock but missed, and the entire flock of swifts chased after him in huge circles around the sky until he broke off and left. The swifts went back to tornado-ing, and started to go down. I hear this cry of "C'MON, PERRY!" from some guy just in front of us, and here comes the peregrine right over our heads, heading straight for the chimney again. He misses once more, loops around, then goes up under the flock and flips onto his back, grabbing one while upside-down. Freaking awesome. He flies off with his dinner, and the last few clusters of swifts make their way down to the chimney - but not before the Cooper's shoots out of the trees and gets seconds! He must've eaten the first one fast, haha. By then it was just starting to get dark, and it was evident that there was no room left in the chimney as the stragglers attempted several times to funnel in, only to spill back out the top.
Today, I sent in a new capture permit request. Much as losing a bird sucks, being without one for an extended period of time is worse. I don't know how I lived up until this point, man. I just don't know.
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no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 06:16 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 06:18 (UTC)Sounds like you guys had a good time in Walla Walla anyway, though. I'm jealous of that, man. I didn't even know you were going until the day before. XD;
no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 06:33 (UTC)I didn't know you didn't know. This group kind of fails at communication a lot. I felt like you should've maybe come too, but fuck, I feel like I'm the one always inviting people to other people's birthdays/activities, and I feel really awkward about it.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 06:36 (UTC)Yeah, we really do, don't we? Hey, it's okay, though. It's probably best that I stayed, just cause if I or Wayne or someone had found Amelia, you know, I'd want to be here. Of course, that didn't happen, but eh, no way to have known that in advance.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 06:40 (UTC)...I miss your birdie! T_T
no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 06:41 (UTC)Me too. D: Baww.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 06:49 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 06:51 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 06:57 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 07:06 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 07:07 (UTC)