Our prime plumed pals

[Nick]

A puffin was found and rescued on the beach at Bergen (in the Netherlands) today.
They usually stay much further north.

[xilman]

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us...dian-fish-farm

Moral: don't pick on octopodes.

BTW, that was a seriously pissed-off octopus. Bright-red indicates anger. It was cooling down and turning paler by the time it was finally released.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by Nick

A puffin was found and rescued on the beach at Bergen (in the Netherlands) today.
They usually stay much further north.

The Rotterdam Zoo should check whether any of its puffins are missing
:-D

Sometimes birds are blown very from their home ranges by fronts or storms.

I found a 2003 paper on the subject, Characteristics of Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica wrecked in the Netherlands, January-February 2003

[Nick]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

I found a 2003 paper on the subject, Characteristics of Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica wrecked in the Netherlands, January-February 2003

Thanks - interesting!

[Dr Sardonicus]

A couple of bird-related news stories...

Hoot, hoot, hooray: Owl freed from vehicle's grille

SOUTHERN SHORES, N.C. (AP) — An owl that got trapped in the grille of a vehicle has lived to fly another day.

A barred owl took an unexpected three-hour ride to the Outer Banks of North Carolina over the weekend, said Lou Browning, the founder and president of Hatteras Island Wildlife Rehabilitation.

A family from Wilmington heard something hit their car on the drive to Southern Shores but kept going when nothing appeared out of the ordinary, Browning told news outlets. The owl was found after the family got to their destination, according to a Facebook post from the wildlife group.

Whoo's there? Georgia family discovers owl in Christmas tree

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia family got a real hoot from its Christmas tree: More than a week after they bought it, they discovered a live owl nestled among its branches.

Katie McBride Newman said Friday that she and her daughter spotted the bird on Dec. 12. They had bought the 10-foot (3-meter) tall tree from a Home Depot, brought it back to their Atlanta area home and decorated it with lights and, coincidentally, owl ornaments.

[kriesel]

They had bought the 10-foot (3-meter) tall tree from a Home Depot, brought it back to their Atlanta area home and decorated it with lights and, coincidentally, owl ornaments.

How sweet of them, to make the owl feel so at home, albeit unintentionally. Although now that I think about it, owls being predators, I've never seen two together in the wild. Hawks are also usually solitary. Humans being diurnal, and owls nocturnal, they were probably trying to get him to fly away during the day, when he really ought be sleeping.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by kriesel

Humans being diurnal, and owls nocturnal, they were probably trying to get him to fly away during the day, when he really ought be sleeping.

According to this CNN story, they actually did pretty well:

The family left their windows and doors open that night, hoping the bird would leave on its own -- but it didn't.

The next day, they called the Chattahoochee Nature Center, a non-profit environmental center about an hour away from their home in Newnan. An employee there told them to leave the owl some raw chicken, concerned it may not have eaten in a few days.

The employee stopped by Saturday morning. She caught the bird and identified it as an Eastern screech owl, common in the Georgia area, a spokesperson for the nature center, Jon Copsey, told CNN. She also checked for injuries and gave it some food and nutritional supplements.

The owl was pretty thin, igniting the theory that the bird must have been inside the tree since they bought it, Billy Newman said.

Returning the owl to the wild

The employee left the family some instructions: Leave the bird in a crate in a darkened room and release it after dark.

At dusk on Saturday, the family left the open crate outside. By 9:30 p.m., the owl had disappeared.

Copsey said the family did everything right in the situation -- closing it off from the rest of the house, trying to help it escape on its own and calling a wildlife rehabilitation professional.

[kriesel]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

According to this CNN story, they actually did pretty well:

It would not be surprising if an owl in that situation was unable to fly. Aside from hunger and dehydration, consider what an ordinary commercial Christmas tree goes through in harvesting and shipping, and what harm that might mean for a winged stowaway passenger.
Christmas tree life cycle, seed to shipping: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU9GBgD_fKY
Palletizer detail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO_O7FT1tE4

[Dr Sardonicus]

After residents cry fowl: Miami to relocate pack of peacocks

MIAMI (AP) — A pack of peacocks that has wreaked havoc on a Miami neighborhood will be relocated after city commissioners voted Thursday night to side with residents and agreed to have the birds taken away.

It was a big win for many residents who have complained that the birds have taken control of a Coconut Grove neighborhood, mating into the night, pooping in large piles and scratching cars as they travel in packs of 20 to 40 or more, the Miami Herald reported.

[kladner]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

After residents cry fowl: Miami to relocate pack of peacocks

I grew up in a small SE Texas town, across a small bayou from a Catholic bishop's retreat/estate where 200+ peafowl lived. The are destructive of shrubbery. They can fly very well, even in full mating plumage, in the rain. We hardly noticed the honking and screaming, but guests could be quite startled.
EDIT: The caretaker regularly threw (lots of) eggs in the bayou to try to control the population. We smashed them with our canoe paddles. You can imagine the smell on a hot summer day.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by kladner

The caretaker regularly threw (lots of) eggs in the bayou to try to control the population.

What a waste of good food. Why not just eat them? After opening them first, of course, to ensure the contents are fit for purpose.