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hookem2010

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by hookem2010

  1. The akikiki, native songbird of Kauai, is down to likely one individual and will almost certainly go extinct in the wild this year. There haven't been many bird extinctions in North America the last few decades, and this is the first one I've been aware of as it happens. Pretty sobering stuff.
  2. I don't know, dude. That's some pretty disturbed shit. If he's in a cage, how are the sharks supposed to get to him?
  3. Pelicans spurred a bit of a feeding frenzy out at Meadow Lake in Round Rock today. 30 pelicans, probably an equal number of cormorants and about 50 ring-billed gulls, with some great egrets spying the action from shore.
  4. Just saw my first cybertruck in the wild out in Round Rock. It looks like a Lego, so I bet my toddler would like it
  5. Roy Guerrero seems to be the new Hotspot in town recently. Tons of ducks and herons, good number of passerines in the woods, including several rarities this winter. No reason to try anywhere the next several days though.
  6. Good idea. Cold birding is no fun. Windy birding is...
  7. I learned about 'firehawks' today. Apparently, some kites and falcons in Australia will take advantage of wildfires by grabbing a smoldering stick and dropping it an unburned area to start a new fire and stir up prey animals. Wild...
  8. 20ish years late to the party, but I think I watched this at the right time. I put it on as background while doing some housing projects, and wasn't particularly hooked immediately, but started paying closer attention as the series went on. I don't think this would have hit nearly the same as a high school/college kid. But as I approach middle-age, have a young child, and will likely be going to my MIL funeral in the next couple weeks, the end definitely doesn't feel like this abstract concept anymore.
  9. Juvie red-shouldered hawk, I believe.
  10. I FINALLY got on one after about 6 tries this winter. Seems like they've been everywhere. My looks were nowhere near as satisfying as that photo though.
  11. Do it. Really easy to see a ton of birds out there, especially in the winter. There are probably a couple thousand ducks on the water right now. The "pond 3" swamp down the river trail is a really good spot for things you won't see driving around.
  12. I've really slacked on my feeder game as of late. My suet tended to get raided by starlings in the past.
  13. Nope, I haven't had any in 2023 either, actually. Even at Mueller in Austin, where they seem to be very regular, I haven't seen many reports.
  14. I helped out with the Round Rock Christmas Bird Count this morning at Lake Pflugerville. Absolutely perfect day, and our crew of 5 recorded just over 50 species in 3 1/2 hours, despite very few ducks on the water. Highlights were marsh wren, a couple northern harriers, a pair of hidden soras calling from the reeds, and an osprey as our very last bird. I highly recommend checking out a CBC if you're interested in getting more into the hobby. You can see a ton of stuff, often with people more knowledgeable than you, who are happy to share what they know.
  15. Man, that's some bullshit. My wife grew up as a Korean adopted into a white family in Colorado Springs. I'm white, grew up in Spring, TX. I'm sure we have it easy compared to other mixed race families, with our little one being light-haired and light-skinned. I know my wife dealt with plenty of racist shit growing up though. I got to experience some in-your-face racism when our cars and driveway got vandalized while living in Decatur for 18 months. I never gave a thought as to where I would feel comfortable raising a family until the last few years. I'm so sorry your daughter has been made to feel unwelcome where she lives and goes to school. The Houston suburbs seemed liked a great, albeit boring, place to grow up as a white boy. As an adult, I see my parents and the friends they surrounded themselves with, and know that my hometown is not where I would want my kid to grow up. I just hope Round Rock ends up being a good place for our little guy.
  16. Good luck, man. Sometimes, the frustration, fatigue and occasional boredom that comes with raising a toddler is really exhausting. The emotional toll dealing with a teen/young adult though sounds like a whole different level. Our 18 month-old is becoming a lot more fun. The words are still coming very slowly, but he is at least attempting to communicate what he wants rather than immediately throwing a fit, and playtime is waaaay more fun than when he was younger. He's also made it through 3 straight weeks of daycare without getting sick, a new personal record!
  17. I love how this dude, who was in high school this time last year, stops runners in their tracks without giving up a single extra yard. He could be at a standstill and the ball carrier with a full head of steam gets wrapped up and put down without Hill giving up an inch.
  18. Yea, that's some bullshit. It should be at an island nation that could be underwater by the end of the century. That way, at least the decision-makers have to look the people who are most fucked in the eye as they kick the can down the road.
  19. Nations Agree to Phase Out Fossil Fuels at COP28 I'll believe it when I see it, and seems like something that should have been done at the very first summit. But it's something, I guess?
  20. And native Madagascar people do not like them, perhaps because they are the creepiest little fuckers you could dream up. Just imagine hearing a Tap-Tap-Tap while walking through the forest at night and seeing this freak staring back at you, long finger extended menacingly. Unfortunately, that's probably part of the reason they're endangered, jn addition, of course, to Madagascar's forests vanishing. Oh, badass skull though.
  21. The leucistic red-tailed hawk that I usually see way up on a radio tower was hanging out in a neighborhood tree for great looks.
  22. How brilliant by the fsu punter to take a hit, knowing Louisville would have to move the ball at least a few yards, rather than attempting to kick it with the potential for an ST score.
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