Things you often Wonder

[brommy]

8 hours ago, Xela said:

I saw one documentary and it was a youngish girl, early teens at a guess, and she had a habit of when she saw a black person, would shout the n-word. You can imagine the reactions from people before they realised she had tourettes. They lived, from memory, in a fairly white area, in the home counties, but her Mom took her to a shopping centre in London on a day out. I felt so bad for her. 

I saw a TV show where a man with Tourette’s shouted ‘massive tits’ at woman with large breasts. It’s what 90% of men would be thinking but he was so embarrassed to have actually said it.

Edited March 21, 2021 by brommy

[brommy]

7 hours ago, brommy said:

 

Double post.

Edited March 21, 2021 by brommy

[mjmooney]

13 hours ago, brommy said:

Double post.

Massive tits are always worth a second look. 

[bickster]

Why do pigeons prefer to sit on your fence or roof, why don't they sit in trees? What did they do before man made such things?

[AVFC_Hitz]

Just now, bickster said:

Why do pigeons prefer to sit on your fence or roof, why don't they sit in trees? What did they do before man made such things?

Also brings me back to the question of what did barn owls do before we invented barns?

[mjmooney]

41 minutes ago, AVFC_Hitz said:

Also brings me back to the question of what did barn owls do before we invented barns?

On that subject, I recently saw a TV item about the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles to Scotland. They explained that they like to reuse the same nests year after year - but the humans had to build some starter nests for them. Which raises the question - how did they ever get started without humans? 

[BOF]

44 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

On that subject, I recently saw a TV item about the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles to Scotland. They explained that they like to reuse the same nests year after year - but the humans had to build some starter nests for them. Which raises the question - how did they ever get started without humans? 

I guess there was a time before they were white-tailed eagles, but never a time before white-tailed eagles didn't have a pre-existing nest.

[Seat68]

This is a limited audience thing. 
 

I have a bird feeder here on a pole and three branches so to speak that have the individual bird feeders on them. I have squirrels, being squirrels and scaring away birds, robbing the food and digging small holes in the garden to bury food. 
Any advice on how to deter squirrels, no I am not going to harm them. 

[mjmooney]

23 minutes ago, Seat68 said:

This is a limited audience thing. 
 

I have a bird feeder here on a pole and three branches so to speak that have the individual bird feeders on them. I have squirrels, being squirrels and scaring away birds, robbing the food and digging small holes in the garden to bury food. 
Any advice on how to deter squirrels, no I am not going to harm them. 

 

[bickster]

44 minutes ago, Seat68 said:

This is a limited audience thing. 
 

I have a bird feeder here on a pole and three branches so to speak that have the individual bird feeders on them. I have squirrels, being squirrels and scaring away birds, robbing the food and digging small holes in the garden to bury food. 
Any advice on how to deter squirrels, no I am not going to harm them. 

Grey Squirrels are vermin, it is your patriotic duty to get out your six shooter and kill every goddam last one of them

[BOF]

48 minutes ago, Seat68 said:

This is a limited audience thing. 
 

I have a bird feeder here on a pole and three branches so to speak that have the individual bird feeders on them. I have squirrels, being squirrels and scaring away birds, robbing the food and digging small holes in the garden to bury food. 
Any advice on how to deter squirrels, no I am not going to harm them. 

Can't you grease the pole to make it unclimbable? I realise I'm setting myself up for all sorts of Kenneth Williams here.

[bickster]

59 minutes ago, Seat68 said:

This is a limited audience thing. 
 

I have a bird feeder here on a pole and three branches so to speak that have the individual bird feeders on them. I have squirrels, being squirrels and scaring away birds, robbing the food and digging small holes in the garden to bury food. 
Any advice on how to deter squirrels, no I am not going to harm them. 

The more serious answer would be...

Quote

Fix cones and baffles to the string of a hanging feeder, or try plastic drinks bottles, large domes and discs.

If the feeder is hung from a washing line, thread the line through a length of hosepipe or a plastic drinks bottle on each side.

Use a downward-opening cone or a biscuit tin fixed to the pole below a bird table to prevent squirrels climbing up it. Vaseline or other grease on a smooth pole will also help.

Remember that all these methods will only work if the squirrel cannot jump directly onto the feeder, but will have to approach via the defended route.

A feeder with a spring-loaded cover is on the market. The weight of the squirrel will lower the cover, preventing it access to the food.

Feeders with a cage around them are squirrel-resistant, although not squirrel-proof, and a small individual will be able to fit through.

Strong chilli powder or pepper sauce (eg Tabasco) can be dusted onto bird food. Birds are not bothered by the chilli, but most squirrels cannot put up with the burning sensation, and will leave the food alone.

RSPB

[BOF]

13 minutes ago, bickster said:

A feeder with a spring-loaded cover is on the market.

Ah yes, a trebuchet system or squirrel launcher. Sounds fun.

13 minutes ago, bickster said:

Strong chilli powder or pepper sauce (eg Tabasco) can be dusted onto bird food. Birds are not bothered by the chilli, but most squirrels cannot put up with the burning sensation, and will leave the food alone.

Clever. I like it.

[Mark Albrighton]

Considering the increase In contactless payments, I think about how much longer we’ll see charity boxes on shop counters, whether it’s for RNLI or those dog shaped coin boxes that you get for guide dogs. Or those charity boxes where you put a coin in and it spins round and round before dropping in. 

I would guess over the past year, they’ve moved significantly closer to being a thing of the past. I don’t know how feasible it would be to have a contactless point to stick in a quid as you’re buying something or whether it would take as swiping your card over another reader is a bit different to sticking a quid in a cancer research box because you personally can do without the change.

[Seat68]

8 hours ago, Mark Albrighton said:

Considering the increase In contactless payments, I think about how much longer we’ll see charity boxes on shop counters, whether it’s for RNLI or those dog shaped coin boxes that you get for guide dogs. Or those charity boxes where you put a coin in and it spins round and round before dropping in. 

I would guess over the past year, they’ve moved significantly closer to being a thing of the past. I don’t know how feasible it would be to have a contactless point to stick in a quid as you’re buying something or whether it would take as swiping your card over another reader is a bit different to sticking a quid in a cancer research box because you personally can do without the change.

I went in a museum in Dorset last year and they had a big coin collection tub, on top was a contactless terminal. Not seen that elsewhere, maybe cosford if memory serves but unsure how on counter collection boxes will fair. 

[sidcow]

On 23/03/2021 at 10:16, Seat68 said:

This is a limited audience thing. 
 

I have a bird feeder here on a pole and three branches so to speak that have the individual bird feeders on them. I have squirrels, being squirrels and scaring away birds, robbing the food and digging small holes in the garden to bury food. 
Any advice on how to deter squirrels, no I am not going to harm them. 

There are about 10 Oak Trees in the gardens adjoining mine plus a ton of other trees.  We have billions of squirells, literally they are everywhere. 

They kept nicking all of our bird feeder food. 

I bought one of these last Autumn. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0747SZCF8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_RZP80AKARZHQ7Z4P0QCP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

We have not had a single squirrel attack since. 

Have to make sure it's high enough up the pole that they can't jump into it (and it's amazing just how high they can jump) or that it's not too too near to a fence or something they can jump from. 

Working from home it's right in out sightline all day.  Seen loads of squirrels looking at it but it's been 100% effective at keeping them out. 

 

 

Edited March 27, 2021 by sidcow

[mjmooney]

13 minutes ago, sidcow said:

Have to make sure it's high enough up the pole that they can't jump into it (and it's amazing just how high they can jump) or that it's not too too near to a fence or something they can jump from. 

Unfortunately, there's a 'swings and roundabouts' dilemma in play, there. Placing the feeder away from trees and fences discourages many birds, who don't like to feed out in the open, presumably preferring the camouflage of being nearer to stuff they can hide in. They're wrong, of course. Birdbrains. 

[Seat68]

41 minutes ago, sidcow said:

There are about 10 Oak Trees in the gardens adjoining mine plus a ton of other trees.  We have billions of squirells, literally they are everywhere. 

They kept nicking all of our bird feeder food. 

I bought one of these last Autumn. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0747SZCF8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_RZP80AKARZHQ7Z4P0QCP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

We have not had a single squirrel attack since. 

Have to make sure it's high enough up the pole that they can't jump into it (and it's amazing just how high they can jump) or that it's not too too near to a fence or something they can jump from. 

Working from home it's right in out sightline all day.  Seen loads of squirrels looking at it but it's been 100% effective at keeping them out. 

 

 

I am going through trial and error, I have a baffle and the caged feeders. I am monitoring it all. 

[sidcow]

1 hour ago, mjmooney said:

Unfortunately, there's a 'swings and roundabouts' dilemma in play, there. Placing the feeder away from trees and fences discourages many birds, who don't like to feed out in the open, presumably preferring the camouflage of being nearer to stuff they can hide in. They're wrong, of course. Birdbrains. 

We get plenty on it, it's not in the middle of the lawn, just far enough so a squirell couldn't jump on it. 

[sidcow]

50 minutes ago, Seat68 said:

I am going through trial and error, I have a baffle and the caged feeders. I am monitoring it all. 

I have a cage feeder and I'm thinking of putting that somewhere else now and putting a normal feeder back on it. 

As an aside when we have black sunflower seed in the feeder we may as well not bother with anything else, it'll just get ignored till the black sunflower seeds have gone. Even if we put out sunflower hearts, birds are dumb.