Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Nov 26th Happy Thanksgiving ! (+ a Turkey Trot Prospect List)






From the Kingsboider wishing you all a safe and wonderful holiday!




Trivia

How the Turkey Got Its Name
*
There are a number of explanations for the origin of the name of Thanksgiving's favorite dinner guest. Some believe Christopher Columbus thought that the land he discovered was connected to India, and believed the bird he discovered (the turkey) was a type of peacock. He therefore called it 'tuka,' which is 'peacock' in Tamil, an Indian language.
Though the turkey is actually a type of pheasant, one can't blame the explorer for trying.
The Native American name for turkey is 'firkee'; some say this is how turkeys got their name. Simple facts, however, sometimes produce the best answers—when a turkey is scared, it makes a "turk, turk, turk" noise.
*
Turkeys have great hearing, but no external ears. They can also see in color, and have excellent visual acuity and a wide field of vision (about 270 degrees), which makes sneaking up on them difficult. However, turkeys have a poor sense of smell (what's cooking?), but an excellent sense of taste.

*
Domesticated turkeys cannot fly. Wild turkeys, however, can fly for short distances at speeds up to 55 miles per hour. They can also reach speeds of 25 miles per hour on the ground.
*
Turkeys sometimes spend the night in trees.
***********************
A short "turkey trot " into Prospect this morning (while a "Turkey Trot " race 5 miler was in progress) didn't produce any of those celebrity birds for which this day is known for , but rather an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER still lingering around. I first saw the bird quickly fly into a bush in front of the Wellhouse, before it took off for the phragmites along the lakeshore.About 20 minutes later, I again saw the Orange-crowned quite well for a long time, feeding on the mugwort and ground cover in the Peninsula Sumacs, on the left side if you stood on the lawn. Quite a "hungry " little fella.
^
Another keen observation was seen on Three Sister Islands: right where the Great Blue Heron was perched on a tree branch was a higher up adult Red-Tailed Hawk perched on a snag ,towering over the heron. I guess the Great Blue is "thankful" he is a bigger bird and not any potential delicious meal. Speaking of food, I'm off for my holiday at my sisters. Have a thankful meal and good holiday memories.
^o^
^o^
"Kingsboider"
^o^
^o^
List
Orange-crowned Warbler- Wellhouse to phragmites to Peninsula Sumacs
also there Song Sparrows,WT Sparrows, Tufted Titmouse, 3 Cardinals ( Wellhouse)
On lake
86 Ruddy Duck
about 8 Northern Shoveler
Mallards,Canada Geese
2 Greater Black-backed Gulls, Herring, Ringbilled
Three Sisters : Great Blue Heron, Red-Tailed Hawk,Pied-Billed Grebe
Duck Island : Great Blue, Black-crowned Night Heron, Pied-Billed Grebe
Peninsula: Sharp-shinned Hawk ( also obs Glenn Davis)