Great Tits - watch in real time

[Beverleyh]

I guess that got your attention ;) Precisely why I didn't post it in the Lounge (initially) >> Inappropriate? Spammy? And, although technically correct, quite possibly a good way to get my mod badge revoked on my first day, ha, ha.

It's an educational/interesting topic though, so mop up the coffee that you've just spluttered over your keyboard, and if you're interested in following the life-cycle of our on-site birds, take a peek - they'll be hatching any day now!

http://www.dronfield.derbyshire.sch.uk/index.php/featured-stories/birdcam-poll

They're on London time (GMT+1 / UTC+1), so their activity will be low if you stop by at night (obviously).

Once they hatch, there'll be about 3 weeks of grubs 'n' growth before they fly the nest. They are SO cute when their feathers come through :)

[traq]

I say, put it in the lounge! Your ,mod badge is safe with me

[Beverleyh]

OK - I guess ddadmin, John and Daniel have see this during the course of the day, and they haven't pounced on it.

Feel free to edit at will though guys!

[jscheuer1]

Those don't look like the tufted titmice (yes they're birds) I'm used to in these parts, but it was dark. I'm not even sure they were supposed to be tufted titmice, are they?

Anyways, I used to have feeders, but they were really messy and labor intensive, and I'm not convinced it was really all that great an idea, though many people will swear that feeders are essential in some way. I do still maintain a bird bath. Between it and a sort of bird friendly environment in the yard (a good number of trees and shrubs - also fairly near some woods), still get pretty much all the same species I did with the feeders.

I get cardinals, robins, tufted titmice, rock doves, mourning doves, chickadees, nuthatches. juncos, house sparrows, house finches, gold finches, purple finches, cat birds, blue jays, cow birds, wood peckers (downy and another larger variety I can't remember at the moment), crows, starlings, and others I'm not sure of their names or perhaps am not remembering. I think I had a Lincoln's sparrow once. I did have a pheasant once. When I had the feeders, hawks would sometimes come and attack the birds, often successfully. Not so much if at all with just the bath. It's protected from direct overhead viewing, and never as crowded as the feeders were.

It always makes my day a little cheerier to see them out in that bath splashing about or drinking it. Don't they know any better?

[Beverleyh]

I just Googled tufted titmice - they're very cute :) I dont think we have them here.

The school nest box used to house Blue Tits http://www.pbase.com/tirc/image/54151593 , which are much prettier than the Great Tits that got first dibs on the nest box this time (after it was replaced last year). We think it was because the new nest box is bigger and the 'sky-light' in the top makes it less private for the smaller Blue's.

I should put you in touch with our resident bird expert! You know way more than me about our feathered-friends, although I do recognise a few names on your list.

I tend to go by my own slightly-flawed bird rule;
If it's white, it's a swan.
If it's black, it's a crow.
If it's brown, it's a sparrow.
Any other colour... it's a parrot, ha ha.

It makes for a very interesting time at school. The nest box is right outside the office, so now I can hear them chirping ALL THE BLINKING TIME. Also, once the babies are un-shelled, and both parents are on the scrounge for grubs, we'll get buzzed by them on the way to the bathroom. They may only be small, but they are fiercely protective.

And yes, I totally agree, they make my day more cheerful too :)

[djr33]

(Haha, at first I thought you might be testing the spam filters on the forum ;) )

That's fun. Not very active at the moment (time difference), but looks like a fun project. I can't tell if the audio is working-- they're sleeping, but shouldn't I hear some background noise?


I tend to go by my own slightly-flawed bird rule;
If it's white, it's a swan.
If it's black, it's a crow.
If it's brown, it's a sparrow.
Any other colour... it's a parrot, ha ha.That's basically my classification system too. But--
If it's black and white, it's a penguin.

(Unless we're talking about Angry Birds-- then the colors are quite important!)

[Beverleyh]

Yes the time difference makes things a little awkward but i reckon she'll be awake again in about 8 hours from now - pretty much when you and John will be winding down for the evening.

Sadly there is no audio on the camera - just the picture, which IMO is a little disappointing too because the 'colour' is practically just a hue away from black and white. We thought it would be much richer and sharper but maybe we got a bad one, or maybe we just didn't set it up properly. Oh well, we can still see what's going on so its not a total loss.

I have to make more of an effort with Angry Birds. Since I got an iPhone, the chaps in my office have encouraged me to download an app, but I'm hopeless at it. I'm more of an old-school, 2D Super Mario Bros, with up, down, left, right, jump and fire controller, and elbows all over the place, type of gal!

[traq]

There was a couple two years ago live-streaming from a camera in their owl box. It was pretty cool.

[Beverleyh]

I would have liked to have seen that :)

I'm looking forward to when this batch hatches. Daily check-ins on chick progress is addictive, especially when they start doing funny little bum-dances when they need to poo. They wave their bottoms in the air after they've eaten to let mum know that they have to 'go'. Its hilarious :D

[letom]

@Beverley
Congratulations, Nice to hear, you got the badge of moderator,
Then next time onwards , i will get infraction messages from you also. In my inbox i have 4 infractions now :)

I have a common doubt that if a moderator is breaking the rules, who will send infraction messages to him ?
I don't know but according to my previous experience i think i will get another infraction for saying congratulations to you..

[ajfmrf]

She has been a moderator for some time now letom

[letom]

Hi Bud

Nice to hear from you.. That was tricky. I am not commenting any more for this topic until i get answers for my questions..

But there is good news, not yet i had recvd an infraction for giving congratulation.

Saying Thanks to congratulations is unethical ? Oh sorry i feel so..

[Beverleyh]

Sorry I haven't had chance to reply right away letom. Of course your congratulations is appreciated. Friendliness on the forum is what makes DD such a nice place to hang out - thank you for taking the time to comment :)

[djr33]

Letom, I will try to answer your questions.

However: please do not continue this conversation here. My answer is intended to clear up any doubts you have, but beyond this, we should keep this thread on topic. If you need to talk about this more, you can start a new thread. But your posts are on the border of complaining rather than asking questions, so be prepared to receive consequences (or just have the thread deleted) if you are complaining, not asking real questions.


@Beverley
Congratulations, Nice to hear, you got the badge of moderator,
Then next time onwards , i will get infraction messages from you also. In my inbox i have 4 infractions nowYes, any moderator may give infractions. But it's not personal. We make these decisions together. If you receive an infraction, it is because you did something against the rules. If you do not want an infraction, then follow the rules. We very rarely give infractions to anyone. The fact that you have 4 infractions means that you are not following the rules. If that continues, you will NOT continue to receive infractions. You will be banned from the forum.


I have a common doubt that if a moderator is breaking the rules, who will send infraction messages to him ?We would discuss it and solve the problem. We have given you a lot of feedback (such as about posting clearly), and infractions are a last resort when normal feedback does not work. With the moderators we are all established members who know the rules well-- we also help to write the rules so that this forum is useful and enjoyable for everyone. If we disagree about anything, we discuss it. If one of us does something problematic, we would discuss it and correct each other, but not in an unfriendly way.

(If you really want to know about "who is in charge", then that would be ddadmin, who could, if there is a serious problem, take away someone's moderation powers-- but he trusts us because we all share the same goals of improving and preserving the environment of this forum. And if he has feedback for us, we would listen.)

I don't know but according to my previous experience i think i will get another infraction for saying congratulations to you.. You can of course congratulate Beverley or anyone else. That's not a problem. But I don't like the phrasing of your posts-- they come across as rude and as complaints, framed as "questions". We are not unfair. If you do not understand the rules, you can ask questions. If you do not like/agree with the rules, then unfortunately that is not something we can help with-- we can explain them to you and why we have these rules, but if you still don't agree, then you have a decision to make-- do you want to follow the rules, or do you not want to be part of this community?
(We are also generally open to feedback about the rules. But remember that we will listen to the opinion of everyone, and the rules won't change just because of what you say. They would change if a number of members have the same opinion, or if we believe your suggestion would be helpful for everyone.)



She has been a moderator for some time now letomActually, just two days. (She has been a helpful and active members for a few years, though, so that's why she was made a moderator recently.) I've been intending to make an announcement about that, so I'll do that now.

[For clarity, there is nothing against the rules in or wrong with your post, ajfmrf.]



Hi Bud

Nice to hear from you.. That was tricky. I am not commenting any more for this topic until i get answers for my questions..Ok, I have given you answers. I hope they are clear.


But there is good news, not yet i had recvd an infraction for giving congratulation to that guy.Again, this sounds like a complaint. Your tone is not appreciated.
(Also, just so that you are aware, Beverley is a woman, as in her picture.)


Saying Thanks to congratulations is unethical ? Oh sorry i feel so.. No, this does not seem unethical. I don't understand the problem.




Letom, I hope this has answered your questions. Now you have a decision to make: do you want to participate in this forum based on the current rules? If yes, then please follow the rules and post in a friendly way. If no, then you are not required to post here-- you may go to a different forum with different rules. If your posts continue to violate the rules, you will receive more infractions until you are banned. The moderators generally do not feel that you are interested in the feedback we are giving you or in following the rules. Infractions are a last resort way to explain the rules, and we would hope that you would learn from them.


Now, let's get this topic back to the original discussion. Letom, if there is anything else, please post a new thread, but also be aware that we expect you to follow the rules while doing so.

[letom]

OK..Thanks for your kind advice i am well appreciated about your right advices.. and iam not continuing this topic and will not response any more in this, but i have a humble request that you must give one more this chance to answer your questions and my brothers should hear one fact, sending an infraction message for writing a word "FINE' is not understanding for me, that made a nasty sensation for me, .

I love this forum very much and no body want to teach me about the forum rules , If i am in a state i am under the laws and regulations of that state even if it is good or bad. If i am not accepting that i should leave frm there or need to submit myself under the jurisdiction of that state. According to that as far as iam in this forum, i need to accept the rules of this forum, otherwise you can ban me or i should leave from here as you said. I am very happy to accept the good rules of this forum, that why iam posting here, but cannot accept infraction messages to the subject for above leads (for using a keyword fine).

hope my brothers could understand the matter, Bye from this post evermore .....

[jscheuer1]

The word 'fine' In that context could mean "OK, fine if you don't want to help me." But the question we were asking was, "Have you solved the problem?" Which really requires a yes or no answer. And it wasn't just that one unclear answer to that question. It was the weight of all the unclear answers to that question before it as well, and all of the lack of clarity in general, failure to provide code and links when asked, that sort of thing.

So that's it. And, as you say once that is answered you will not ask about it or disrupt this thread further. I expect to not hear any more from you about it here. If you really need to have further clarification, start a new thread about it in the feedback and announcements forum.

However, we can't be much clearer than that. The very fact that you keep asking about it here, or at all might bring another infraction. I'm letting the others decide about that though.

[Beverleyh]

'Chirpy' is a mummy!

As of this morning, the first chick hatched. When Chirpy is out of the nest box, you can see the squirmy little wriggler towards the bottom left of the nest.

For now, she is continuing incubation until the rest hatch, but once they are bigger (and haranguing her for more food) she'll be out of the nest most of the time and we'll be able to see the chicks more clearly.

[djr33]

That's fun. I'll try to keep an eye on it once in a while.

[Beverleyh]

Yey - leave it a couple of days for them to get a bit more boisterous then it makes viewing a bit more interesting.

Notice how I'm using them now - those 5 chickies are all shell-free! :)

[jscheuer1]

Yes, lots more activity now, even at this hour - Well it's only 4 or 5 hours later there, right? So I guess it's early to mid to late afternoon there as I type this. Are you on Daylight or Summer time yet?

[Beverleyh]

It's just gone 4:15pm here. We switched over to British Summer Time (+1 hour) at the end of March.

I think there'll be about another 4 hours of activity left today. I know on Friday when I checked, she'd gone to sleep by 8pm. It might be different now the chicks are hatched though. The sun will set here at about 8:45pm tonight so the parents could be grub-hunting til then.

[jscheuer1]

OK, so you're 5 hours later than here. We're on our version of Summer time, we call it Daylight Savings. I call it Daylight Slaving Time. Shheesh, if you want everybody to get up and get to work an hour earlier, just tell them to. Changing the clocks seems sinister to me. It's known to lead to sickness and complications of existing conditions and to accidents, even death, especially among the infirm, the young, and the elderly. I thought society was against threats of that type. For them it's the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.

[djr33]

Changing the time seems odd to me. I don't really mind, except that first morning when I have to wake up earlier. And it's a little disorienting if I'm awake when the time changes around me. (It's 2:59am! Wait. It's 2am!)

[Beverleyh]

5 hours difference is less than I thought. I got it in my head that it was a bit more but that's got more to do with Daniel's crazy hours! I see him online when I think he should be in bed and that disorients me more than that first morning after the clocks change. There was talk of increasing our time diff to 2 hours, to improve the economy and bring us inline with the rest of Europe, but it hasn't happened yet: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1358801/Double-summertime-Coalition-clocks-forward-TWO-HOURS.html

[djr33]

I'm also one hour farther than John. So (at the moment) it's 6 hours different. But my hours can be disorienting, yes, haha.

[molendijk]

Shheesh, if you want everybody to get up and get to work an hour earlier, just tell them to.
That's exactly what Frankin proposed in a letter he wrote to the Journal of Paris, to save candles.

[keyboard]

Out of curiousity, do you all know what UTC zone you're in?
I think I'm UTC +10 or 11 :p

[djr33]

I believe Im at UTC-7, but that varies with DST, so that's ±1, since I don't know...

[Beverleyh]

I'm currently at UTC+1 because its 'summer' - I use that term very loosely because its persisting it down outside and I'm sat here with a hot water bottle.

In winter I'm UTC 0.

We (Brits) normally use GMT - Greenwich Mean Time - but it seems to be interchangeable with UTC.

[jscheuer1]

GMT is deprecated in both the javascript and PHP languages, probably others. Use UTC instead. :cool:

[djr33]

I think "GMT" is a real world thing, while "UTC" is something for computers. But I'm not sure that's always the case.

[traq]

UTC is a successor to GMT, used primarily in the scientific community and the military. UTC does not observe any "summer" or "daylight savings" time. It also has leap-seconds.

[Beverleyh]

Ha, ha, GMT is our day-to-day system for time. Human time talk rather than computer time talk. You'll never hear a Brit refer to any other time system in polite conversation thanks to the British railways. In the 1800s, station clocks were brought in line with 'London Time' (the time set at Greenwich by the Royal Observatory) so everyone could keep track of the train system timetables. Before that, people were missing their trains because they were using the sun to regulate time, and that caused problems, even on our little island ;)

[traq]

Using the sun to determine time of day! Literally absurd!

In other news, "literally" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally?show=0&t=1362503103) now also means "figuratively."

[jscheuer1]

Using the sun to determine time of day! Literally absurd!

The next thing you know, someone will suggest navigating by the stars.


In other news, "literally" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally?show=0&t=1362503103) now also means "figuratively."

Close, it says virtually actually, literally veritably. (Say that ten times fast)

[Beverleyh]

The next thing you know, someone will suggest navigating by the stars.Students are quite well known for that already.

Wait... We are talking about the practice of updating your wardrobe, based on what Rihanna is wearing in Hello Magazine, aren't we? ;)

[molendijk]

Using the sun to determine time of day! Literally absurd!
No, ethically absurd, because counties like England (and their surroundings) and Holland would be disadvantaged by that system. It always rains there, isn't that so, Beverleyh?

[Beverleyh]

Absolutely Arie. No prizes for guessing what the weather is doing right at this very moment!

Its a good job that we have the Eurovision Song Contest to look forward to in May. At a time when we can't rely on the sun, we can rely on the light from a million sequins! Are you all set to sing along Arie? Its this Saturday :p

[jscheuer1]

Whether ethically or literally absurd, or both, when the sun goes down, regardless of the weather, we all know it's nighttime. Which is when a sailor might navigate by the stars - that is (according to Beverley) if he has a candle and the latest fashion magazine.

[molendijk]

Are you all set to sing along Arie? Its this Saturday :p
Well, eh, it's not my musical taste, to be honest. But I enjoy when other people enjoy. That's what matters.

[Beverleyh]

To be honest, most of the music isnt to my taste either, but I do find the whole show and setup rather entertaining, especially the novelty acts, ha ha

[jscheuer1]

Such as? Sounds a little like a circus. Are there jugglers?

[Beverleyh]

Ha, ha - there can be. It depends how much each country wants to get noticed.

These 2 examples of novelty performers are quite tame but they're the only ones that I can think of at the moment -
Jedward (2011) "Lipstick": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLk9unzoM8I (a little bit crazy with too much hair gel)
Scooch (2007) "Flying The Flag": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KAaOxPPilc (a little bit saucy and tongue-in-cheek)

Ultimately it's a song contest but over the years the boundaries have blurred and it has become a bit of a circus in some respects. Politics play their part too - who are Cyprus going to vote for? Greece! Who are Greece going to vote for? Cyprus! (they've done it that way for as long as I can remember).

It used to be that the songs were mainly written about love and world peace and other fluffy things, but then you get the stinkers - one about a penguin from the early 80s springs to mind:confused:

Stars emerge (Celine Dion), others fall (Blue), some just bounce around doing their own thing (Jedward - link above)

BUT, some years, it's the intermission that becomes a sensation and is in fact much more memorable than any of the acts themselves - the first time we were introduced to Riverdance was during the 1994 Eurovision intermission: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mC0rWgUqTc I remember it well and got goosebumps watching it, especially towards the end when all the dancers fill the stage :o Bear with it for the first few minutes because the choir set the ambience.

One of my fave songs is the last one that the UK won with (OK, it was sung by an American but we're not splitting hairs) - Katrina and the Waves (1997) "Love Shine a Light": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR131zARCgk

Anyway, to sum up - The Eurovision Song Contest is a big disco ball of colourful fun, and it's not for everyone, but I enjoy letting it wash over me.

[Beverleyh]

Back to the birds!

There are definitely 6 chicks and they are really cute and fluffy now - mini-adults with tufts coming out the sides of their heads. Everybody say "Aawwwwwwww".

The larger few are exercising their wings inside of the nest box so I expect they'll be flying the nest very soon...

Refresher link for convenience: http://www.dronfield.derbyshire.sch.uk/index.php/featured-stories/birdcam-poll

[jscheuer1]

Cute! They're all just hanging out unless the big bird (Mom?) shows up, then they all go into a frenzy with their mouths wide open for food. Looks like a crack house. :D

[Beverleyh]

And they're all falling over themselves to get their next fix. :)

[Beverleyh]

Aw, the chicks are now fledged. They scrambled out of the nest box to take their first flights on Saturday... Farewell little birds.

It's so much quieter now in the office without them chirping outside. Quite sad really. Oh, well. Roll on next year.

[jscheuer1]

Empty nest syndrome.