Biology 105: What do you call a group of vultures?

On our way to our final Texas destination, we stopped for a couple days at Matagorda Bay along the Gulf of Mexico. One of the days was rainy and gloomy so we took a drive to see what we could see. There were a couple vultures flying around and Al (always the Park Ranger) asked me to look up what a group of vultures was called. We found several terms: committee, venue, volt, wake and kettle.

We came around a corner and what do we see but a large group of vultures doing what they do best: eating road kill!

What do you call a group of vultures?

They are a committee, venue or volt when they are a group in the trees:

They are called a kettle when they are a group in flight:

And they are called a wake when they are feeding together on a carcass:

Here are 20 “fun” facts in case you need to more about vultures: http://birding.about.com/od/Bird-Trivia/a/20-Fun-Facts-About-Vultures.htm

The vultures we saw that day were Black Vultures: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/black-vulture

See….I taught you something you didn’t know!

Biology 102

Geometrid Caterpillar or “geometer, earth-measurer”.

I was out on the deck the other night and saw a cool bug, thought you might enjoy him as well. From my research I THINK he is a Geometrid Stick Caterpillar. He was larger than the normal (around 2” long) inch worms we see around here, and looked just like a stick. He was pretty cool to watch.  I couldn’t find out exactly which one he was, but I think I at least have the right family.

They get their name from their locomotion, or the way they move along like this:

They mostly eat leaves and thankfully do not like tomatoes! (ok….I just made that up, but I HOPE they don’t like them, we have enough trouble with the tomato horn worms. We don’t need anything else eating them)

They turn into a very non-descript moth, which we have plenty of around our house.

In case you are interested in more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometridae

and http://bugguide.net/node/view/43986/bgimage

I got a quick video of him doing his “locomotion”.

Red sky in morning….

It was a beautiful sunrise this morning

Red sky in morning, sailors take warning.

Red sky at night, sailors delight.

We’ve all heard this old saying. But is it true?

Here is a quick link to a weather site that says that this might not just be an old wives tale. It does say that if you have a nice red sky in the morning, that rain may be on the way. And we just happen to have rain in the forecast for today.

http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/weather-sailor.html

While I was looking for this, I found a Wiki that lists all kinds of weather old wives tales:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_lore

That’s your lesson for today!

Nothing but birds....

All along the beach and water there are birds. And more birds. You can't be anywhere on the beach or by the jetty without seeing them everywhere.

The Great Blue Heron is so graceful. I love watching them, they just stand there still as can be or very gracefully walk along. They wait near the fisherman in case there might be a discarded morsel.

 

We found one that had found his (her?) dinner. He just kept laying it down on the beach, took a step or two back and then plunged his beak into the fish, over and over again. He was surrounded by people and other birds and he didn't care at all. He was intent on dinner.

Another one that you see along the ship channel is the Brown Pelican. You don't see them on the beach, but several times a day they fly up and down the beach in a long line, and they will fly over the water or just sit out in the water looking for fish. They sit near the fisherman as well, looking for a handout.

I love how they glide along just above the water.

 

I don't know what kind of gull this is, but I loved the picture.

This is a Snowy Egret. It has cool yellow feet.

There are Cormorants, these are the same kind we have in Wyoming and Iowa. They swim (?) under the water and look for fish to eat. We watched one the other day with a fish that I think might have been too big for him. He kept going back underwater and trying to get the fish to go down. It took him a while, and of course none of the photos turned out, but it was neat to watch.

Laughing Gulls were named after the crazy noise they make. It sounds like someone hysterically laughing. They are quite noisy and raucous. They are everywhere along the water.

They also wait for handouts from the fisherman. We were down the beach and Al caught a couple fish and cleaned them on the tailgate. He threw the waste on the beach and the birds went crazy.

They even chased each other in the air trying to get the fish away from the others.

Until this big boy came along, that is. He pretty much just walked right up and the other gulls just stood back. After he took the fish he just gulped it down. I'm not 100% sure what kind of gull he is. There was an article in the local newspaper about a rare gull that has been seen in the area, the Lesser Black Backed Gull. It does look like a young one of those, but I found pictures of this same type of gull in my files from last year, so I don't know that it's the rare one. (Not that most of you care what their names are anyway, but it might be a little bit of knowledge that you MIGHT need someday, I guess)

This was a very cool bird, I thought. We were just driving along the beach and he was cruising for dinner (or lunch, I guess, it was early afternoon). This is a Crested Caracara. He had a beak like an eagle and was large. The other birds didn't like him, but they didn't get too close. He just cruised up and down looking for food.

It's cloudy today and windy. It's still 67 out, but it seems colder just because it's dreary and grey.

The Neti Pot....

3 1/2 weeks ago we babysat our grand daughter Ava while she had an ear infection and cold.

3 weeks ago today Al and I both woke up with that cold. Jack was in town, and since he only comes back a few times a year, we pack a lot of work into that one week, so I was very busy. I never take sick days but I could have really used one that week, I felt terrible.

2 weeks ago today we started cleaning and packing the camper. Still have the cold, and now a cough. I haven't had a cough like this since I quit smoking 8 years ago!

1 week ago yesterday we made it to the coast. By this time I don't feel well at all. Still have the cold, the cough, the everything. I make an appointment to see a local Dr. He gives me antibiotics because the cold has now turned into a nice big sinus infection and obviously isn't going to go away nicely. Dr. recommends a Neti Pot as well.  Sure, I know what that is I say, knowing all the time that the meds will make it better and I won't have to worry about knowing what it is anyway.  (I do go on the internet to see what the heck he was talking about, so next time at least I can say I DO know).

Saturday I still don't feel much better. The headache just keeps coming back, and the sinuses won't drain. While we are getting groceries I decide to jump in and at least buy it. It's only $10.00, could it hurt?

Sunday I get up and there's really no difference, so I decide that I will try the recommended device.  It is just a small teapot looking piece of plastic, a small spoon and packets of saline mix.

You mix the saline packet in the teapot with lukewarm water, bend your head over, pour it in one nostril and it magically comes out the other after going through your sinuses.  Really!

The first experience was not pleasant at all, I didn't do it for long, it just felt too weird. You have to hold your head just right or it runs down your throat. And to top it off, about an hour after that my headache was back so bad I seriously contemplated going to the ER. I think I usually have a pretty high pain threshold, but this is just wearing me down. I decide I'm going to go back to the Dr. Monday, can't go on like this.

Monday I get right up and feel great! I'm excited and ready to get my work done so I can go do something. Decide I might as well try the contraption again. It can't hurt, right? It's still not pleasant, but I made it through the whole thing.  A couple hours later, headache is back, but not as bad. At least it's manageable. Decide that maybe I don't need to go back to the Dr.

This morning I'm up and not feeling terrible again, so decide one more time. It's still not pleasant, but could it be working? Or maybe I'm just finally starting to get better.  We will see, but it's a good sign I hope!

This post is under "useless knowledge" but at least if someone asks you what a Neti Pot is, now you will know, so maybe it's not so useless!

So it's official.

We officially have tied the record for the coldest day EVER in Waterloo. It was -34 yesterday morning. Of course it really doesn't feel much different at -34 than it does at zero, but it's the mental thing of it. -34! I know it's not Wyoming cold, but it's cold. Now, after I just wrote that I was curious what the coldest and snowiest has been. Here you go:

Wyoming: coldest temp: -63 on Feb 9, 1933 at Moran, highest temp: 114, on July 12, 1900 in Basin. Annual precipitation (rain & snow): 5" to 45" depending on the year.

Iowa: coldest temp (statewide): -47 on Jan 12, 1912 in Washata (never heard of it) and again on Feb 3, 1996 in Elkader, highest temp: 118 on July 20, 1934 in Keokuk. Anual precipitation (rain & snow): 26" to 36", although last year Iowa ranged from 34" to 75" of precipitation. We had around 54" of snow last winter season, 4th highest ever. But we are on track right now to beat that. We have already had 35" this year and it's only January.

There you have it....your useless knowledge for the day!