As a person who has kestrels visiting me on my window sills en masse every year, I can confidently say they are complete vindictive assholes. The kākāpō deserves to win this one.
I have no idea why I didn’t see this before, but… kestrels hang out on our 24th-floor ledges. At first it was just one or two but then it was groups of them (sometimes up to 10 at a time). And they are CREEPY.
Example: A few weeks ago there were two that kept staring at us for about ten minutes without even moving. They flew away but then about five minutes later there was a bunch of bird chaos happening on the ledge and it turned out they were doing recon for bird murder — there were 4-5 kestrels who had brought their prey to eat on our window ledges. (On two different sides of the apartment – east and north – at the same time!)
So now even though we have a pretty nice view of the lake from 3 different angles of our apartment, I have to be ready to close the blinds at a moment’s notice unless I want to see bird murder go down.
It’s a rental apartment that hasn’t been renovated since probably 1985 (we still have one of the ovens with the clock numbers that flip over), so it’s not like it’s super fancy, but other than these damn kestrels it’s ridiculously quiet and peaceful given that we are in the middle of a very large city.
The Steller's Jay vs. Great Blue Heron is currently locked at 50% each and I have a hunch that will end up coming down to the final vote. Two outstanding birds face to face!
Oddly enough, I had a friend text from out west yesterday asking me to ID a bird -- "it's got a crest like a cardinal but it's black and maybe kind of blue" was the description. Steller's jay it was. Yeah, this could be a sign, but I remain faithful to my favorite bird and voted heron.
Bushtit vs. penguin was a tossup for me, but channeled my Bloom County obsessed younger self and went with the penguin.
Hello @ChinaB kindly support us by donating to save the lives of climate activists in hospitalized after brutally beaten by Ugandan police for protesting against the EACOP project and fossil fuels in Africa . Thank you 🙏
In past years, I have been utterly bewildered by some of the choices y’all made. But this time around, there’s not a bird here that doesn’t deserve the crown
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The bottom half of this bracket is a gauntlet compared to the farmers’ league that is the top half. Still, I’ve faith in my beloved emperor penguin to emerge victorious.
The ball of angry fluff that is the Bushtit has my vote. People don't realize how dangerous small balls of fluff that are burds really are.
As a person who has kestrels visiting me on my window sills en masse every year, I can confidently say they are complete vindictive assholes. The kākāpō deserves to win this one.
ok PLEASE say more
I have no idea why I didn’t see this before, but… kestrels hang out on our 24th-floor ledges. At first it was just one or two but then it was groups of them (sometimes up to 10 at a time). And they are CREEPY.
Example: A few weeks ago there were two that kept staring at us for about ten minutes without even moving. They flew away but then about five minutes later there was a bunch of bird chaos happening on the ledge and it turned out they were doing recon for bird murder — there were 4-5 kestrels who had brought their prey to eat on our window ledges. (On two different sides of the apartment – east and north – at the same time!)
So now even though we have a pretty nice view of the lake from 3 different angles of our apartment, I have to be ready to close the blinds at a moment’s notice unless I want to see bird murder go down.
It’s a rental apartment that hasn’t been renovated since probably 1985 (we still have one of the ovens with the clock numbers that flip over), so it’s not like it’s super fancy, but other than these damn kestrels it’s ridiculously quiet and peaceful given that we are in the middle of a very large city.
The Steller's Jay vs. Great Blue Heron is currently locked at 50% each and I have a hunch that will end up coming down to the final vote. Two outstanding birds face to face!
Oddly enough, I had a friend text from out west yesterday asking me to ID a bird -- "it's got a crest like a cardinal but it's black and maybe kind of blue" was the description. Steller's jay it was. Yeah, this could be a sign, but I remain faithful to my favorite bird and voted heron.
Bushtit vs. penguin was a tossup for me, but channeled my Bloom County obsessed younger self and went with the penguin.
Loons and kestrels in the other ones.
What is it about you people and those stupid trash ducks?!?!
If Bushtit doesn't at least make it to the Finals I don't know what we're even doing here.
Hello @ChinaB kindly support us by donating to save the lives of climate activists in hospitalized after brutally beaten by Ugandan police for protesting against the EACOP project and fossil fuels in Africa . Thank you 🙏
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-students4climate-justice-to-end-fossil-fuels
In past years, I have been utterly bewildered by some of the choices y’all made. But this time around, there’s not a bird here that doesn’t deserve the crown
Patriots, Democracy is under attack. Please donate to our Super PAC where we purchase Discourse.blog subscriptions to make sure our democracy is managed appropriately.
bit.ly/k4k4p0
The bottom half of this bracket is a gauntlet compared to the farmers’ league that is the top half. Still, I’ve faith in my beloved emperor penguin to emerge victorious.