HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: quezon@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Antonio Quezon)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: bluebirds return
Date: 8 Apr 92 13:17:19 GMT
Reply-To: quezon@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Antonio Quezon)
Organization: Carderock Division, NSWC, Bethesda, MD

In rec.birds, palmer@isye.gatech.edu (Michael T. Palmer) writes:
$>Hi!  Since you are in the Bluebird Recovery Program, how do you handle
$>Starlings and House Sparrows?  Are they not a problem in your area?  I am
$>a Purple Martin landlord, and I have LOTS of problems with them.  Do you
$>have any experiences or advice you could share?
$>
$>Thanks!
$>
$>--
$>Michael T. Palmer, M/S 152, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA  23665
$>Temporarily a Techie: Center for Human-Machine System Research, Georgia Tech
$>Voice: 404-894-4318,    FAX: 404-894-2301,    Email: palmer@chmsr.gatech.edu

I live in Herndon, VA which is near Washington Dulles Airport, roughly
15 miles west of Washington D.C.  In my front yard I have erected a typical
aluminum 12 compartment Purple Martin condo and more recently, a bluebird
box.  The bluebird box went up this past winter when I noticed about six
male and female bluebirds hanging around the Purple Martin house.  A pair
of bluebirds are now hanging aroung the box that I place about 15 feet
away from the Martin house and hopefully they will be successful in
nesting there.

Now, about starlings and house sparrows.  Those that are squeamish should
beware, and maybe skip to the next posting.

Starlings do not seem to be interested in the aluminum Purple Martin
house.  I have read that they prefer darker cavities.  As the aluminum
houses tend to be brighter on the insides, they seem to show little more
than a passing fancy.  Bluebird boxes with a 1-1/2 in. diameter entrance
hole do not allow them access.  These facts do not mean that I ignore
the presence of starlings in my yard.  When they visit the feeders in my
backyard, which unfortunately they often do, I dispatch as many of them
as will sit still long enough for me to shoot them with my pump action
pellet gun.  But they do not seem to be competitors for the houses that
I have erected on my property.

House sparrows, on the other hand, will nest almost anywhere they can
find a niche, including Purple Martin and bluebird houses.  I have
replace one of the doors of a compartment of the martin condo with a
trap door that the house sparrow trips upon entering the compartment.
After extracting the sparrow, I quickly dispatch him to that great
bird nest in the sky.  This trap is very effective.  My neighborhood
is not infested with house sparrows, so I only have to worry about a
few of them at a time.  My pellet gun is not as effective on house
sparrows as it is on starlings since they are quite a bit smaller
and harder to hit, and I wouldn't want my neighbors to see me running
around shooting at birds in my front yard.


A.J. (Tony) Quezon
Carderock Division
Naval Surface Warfare Center (CDNSWC)
Code 1282
Bethesda, MD  20084-5000
Work: (301)227-1645
Home: (703)435-3965
From: palmer@chmsr.gatech.edu (Michael T. Palmer)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: looking for the ideal pet
Date: 7 Apr 92 00:34:36 GMT
Reply-To: palmer@chmsr.gatech.edu (Michael T. Palmer)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

In rec.birds v102pcak@ubvmsc.cc.buffalo.edu (WAYLAND'S WONDER) writes:

>I am interested in getting a pet bird, but my housemates are not keen on the
>idea of haveing a noisy, crazy bird around. Can anyone suggest a quiet calm
>bird that will not be much of a disturbance to the house?


Hi!  You might have better luck checking the rec.pets.birds newsgroup, since
this group is for people involved with *wild* birds; i.e., birdwatchers,
bluebird and purple martin landlords, naturalists, etc.  Since in the past
day or so someone complained about "pet" questions being posted here, you
may get some nasty mail.  Ignore it.  The names of the two groups do not
distinguish their content very well, so it is a perfectly honest mistake.

Good luck with your search for a "nice" bird!

P.S. to the rec.birds people: Maybe that name change idea should be examined
again.  Any of the alternatives, like birdwatching, birding, wildbirds, etc.
are ALL superior to what we have now.  Personal favorite: rec.wildbirds.
--
Michael T. Palmer, M/S 152, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA  23665
Temporarily a Techie: Center for Human-Machine System Research, Georgia Tech
Voice: 404-894-4318,    FAX: 404-894-2301,    Email: palmer@chmsr.gatech.edu
From: sjg@moscom.UUCP (Sid Gear)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Sea Swallow
Date: 15 Apr 92 22:27:49 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Moscom Corp., E. Rochester, NY



My friend and I spent July 11-12 on uninhabited (except for sheep)
Ellidaey Island off the coast Vestmanney Island which is off the
coast of Iceland.  We were guests of the local club that built and
maintains a club-house on this island. It was awesome.  Most of the
grassy slopes of the island are full of puffin nest holes.  The
parents are continuosly flying to the burrows (the sun barely sets)
with a mouth full of fish and then leaving again.  The sky is a
procession of puffins flying to and fro.  Literally thousands.
This has been one of the best summers ever in Iceland, and the
puffins do not have to go far to get their fish.  The waters around
the island are all packed with these capable fishermen.  Early in
August the baby puffins (their parents have left) leave the nest
and take off on their own.  Apparently the puffins all stay at sea
until the next breeding season.

The island also has very steep cliff sides where a variety of other
sea birds nest.  I saw guilimonts and razorbills. Every available
niche has some baby birds roosting.

In addition there is some fairly recently discovered species, locally
called "sea swallows", that fly only during a few darker hours.  They
have "apartment" burrows off of the puffin burrows.  I "saw" them 
streaking above the ground in the dusk.  Does anyone know the exact
species name?

Sid Gear - sjg@moscom.com
--------------------------------------

-- 
sjg@moscom.com
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: rybak@sequent.com (Ed Rybak)
Subject: Is birding with children an oxymoron?
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems Inc.
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 92 20:42:00 GMT

During the last week in April I am taking my family on vacation in SE
Arizona.  Our intent is camp and spend the morning birding...we are
also going to introduce my six year old to birding.  Any hints/warnings
would be appreciated ;-)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: edm@verdix.com (Ed Matthews)
Subject: Re: scopes
Organization: Verdix Corp.
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 12:58:11 GMT

In article <1992Apr7.170007.15039@ncsu.edu> ssouther@ent1.ent.ncsu.edu (P. Sterling Southern) writes:
>Recently someone posted a long composit file of comments on
>scopes and tripods.  I read through the file, but managed to
>push the right button at the wrong time and did not save it
>off as I had intended.  If possible, would the person who 
>posted the file please e-mail me a copy directly?  Thanks.

If you're prepared to wait a couple of weeks, I have about 15,000 lines of
text that I'm going to summarize for posting.

-- 

Ed Matthews                                                edm@verdix.com
Verdix Corporation Headquarters                            (703) 318-5800
Herndon, Virginia
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: porterg@nextnet.ccs.csus.edu (Greg Porter)
Subject: Bird Gifs
Originator: porterg@nextnet
Organization: California State University Sacramento
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1992 19:29:05 GMT


>GIFs of a Grosbeak, Cardinal and Goldfinch posted to alt.binaries.pictures.misc
>today.

	Would it be possible for someone to post these to a gif ftp site 
somewhere?   
-- 
 Greg Porter                                   _|_    gporter@csus.edu
 California State University, Sacramento        |     ucdavis!csusac!porterg
 University Telecommunications Services (UTS)   |     
        -- All opinions are my own and not of my employer --
Organization: Youngstown State University
Date: Tuesday, 14 Apr 1992 13:23:40 EDT
From: Vincent M. Tkac (SR) <SR190504@ysub.ysu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Cat

Greetings,
   I was wondering what the chances of a kitten and a bird getting
along would be.  The kitten is 6 weeks old and the bird is several
years (at least) old.  Is there much of a chance that they wouldn't
harm each other?

Thanks in advance

Vincent M. Tkac
savince@macs.ysu.edu

Please respond privately I don't read this group often.
From: adams@pyramid.unr.edu (Brian Adams)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Falconry
Date: 8 Apr 92 22:15:10 GMT
Reply-To: adams@pyramid.unr.edu (Brian Adams)
Organization: University of Nevada, Reno  Department of Computer Science

Try REC.HUNTING. There are several falconers over there, and at least one
that is very active with advice. Good Luck!

Brian
From: drintoul@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (David A Rintoul)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Bird GIFs
Date: 6 Apr 1992 15:01:41 -0500
Organization: Kansas State University
NNTP-Posting-Host: matt.ksu.ksu.edu
Keywords: GIF, pictures

Well, I tried to send mail to the originator of this posting,
but it gets bounced back to me.  SO, a public answer is my only
recourse.


I, for one would be interested in getting the rest of the bird gifs;
the grosbeak picture was quite nice (if a bit small).  I might even
make a collage of them and use them as the background (wallpaper)
in my Windows setup!  So, fire away; I'd love to see the rest of them.
Thanks.
-- 
Dave Rintoul            Internet: drintoul@matt.ksu.ksu.edu
Biology Division - KSU       BITNET: drintoul@ksuvm.ksu.edu
Manhattan KS 66506-4901                         TCN: id2418
(913)-532-5832 or 6663                  FAX: (913)-532-6653
From: sandee@ds9.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Nuisance posts and rec.birds renaming
Date: 6 Apr 92 14:02:03 GMT
Organization: SCRI, Florida State University

In article <1347@spam.ua.oz>, ilundy@spam.ua.oz.au (Ian Lundy) writes:
> There seem to have been a lot of posts recently from pet owners asking
> questions about cage birds (btw the Cockatiel l'orange was delicious).  Some
> of these seem to have been from people who were unaware of rec.pets.birds. 
> Has it ever been suggested in the past that rec.birds should be 
> rec.ornithology or something similar to make it clearer what this group is
> about so that we get less of these posts.  Frankly I find them quite offensive.

Yes, this has been suggested before. Repeatedly. 
When rec.pets.birds was created last fall, part of the discussion was the
question of renaming rec.birds to something more explicitly directed to
*wild* birds. A majority expressed the opinion that renaming was desirable,
but unfortunately there was no consensus on what the new name should be.
And there the matter rested.
After four months of rec.pets.birds, it is clear that the problem is not
going away. However, people's opinion will differ on the nuisance value of
the occasional pet bird postings.
I don't think that any formal attempt to change the group name would be more
successful now ; unless this group could reach an agreement based on the
idea that any new name would be better than the current situation. I
don't think there will be enough support for a change, or enough common
sense not to kill the attempt by a endless fight about the specific name.
(Last time, the opinion was divided equally between rec.birdwatching and
rec.birding, with seven other names suggested to confuse the issue.)

Daan Sandee                                           sandee@sun16.scri.fsu.edu
Thinking Machines Corporation
Supercomputer Computations Research Institute, B-186
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4052  (904) 644-4490
Organization: Penn State University
Date: Tuesday, 7 Apr 1992 20:39:07 EDT
From: <PXF3@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Salton Sea grebes

About a month ago someone posted a note about the deaths of thousands of
grebes on the Salton Sea.  CBS news covered the story a couple of weeks
later, but didn't have any information about causes.  I'm wondering what's
the current situation.  Anybody know?
--
Paula Ford                   | Voice: (814) 695-4799          | Writers
Bitnet:   pxf3@psuvm         | Snail: PO Box 674              |  love
Internet: pxf3@psuvm.psu.edu |        Hollidaysburg, PA 16648 | Readers
From: rcbi27@muvms3.bitnet (DBRUM)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: American Kestrel catches snake
Date: 15 Apr 92 19:50:56 GMT
Organization: Marshall University

Last Spring about this time, a pair of Kestrals took up residence
in a large suburban nest box. Before the Robins and Blue Jays ran
them off, I watched the male deliver a tiny snake, four or five
inches long, to the female every day around lunch time.

--danny
-- 
	"Were his solid black square paintings really,
	as the artist claimed, simply neutral, abstract
	compositions devoid of external references and
	meanings?" ***********************************
Organization: Penn State University
Date: Wednesday, 15 Apr 1992 23:08:29 EDT
From: <PXF3@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Sea Swallow
Distribution: usa

Could the "Sea Swallows" have been Leach's Petrels?  Did they have forked
tails?
From: vanor@vax1.mankato.msus.edu
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Smart birds
Date: 6 Apr 92 17:44:05 GMT
Article-I.D.: vax1.1992Apr6.114406.1670
Organization: Mankato State University

In article <1992Apr2.165530.1640@vax1.mankato.msus.edu>, vanor@vax1.mankato.msus.edu writes:
> I personly like hawks a lot but to say that hawks are the smartest bird is 
> going a bit far.  Even though they can live in the woods means little.  There
is a mag called "bird talk (tm)" wich in last months issue talked about the
Afircan Gray wich was could when asked to get a ball, would 80% of the time.
Now that's a smart bird.
From: rcbi27@muvms3.bitnet (DBRUM)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Chimney Swifts and Nighthawks
Date: 14 Apr 92 19:44:53 GMT
Organization: Marshall University

7:00 PM Eastern time: Stepped out a minute ago for some fresh air
and saw my first Chimney Swifts of the Spring.

They whirled in a vortex above the downtown rooftops. They seemed 
to be sort of swarming, about a hundred birds, then they drifted 
around en masse. I bet they maybe just arrived.

It is solidly overcast and quite coolish here in Huntington, West
Virginia this evening. We are located about 150 miles due East
of Cincinnati, Ohio, on the Ohio River.

Saw three white Cranes pass high overhead last year about this
time, short-cutting across the big bend in the river.

Now I look forward to seeing some Night Hawks; they're one of
my favorite birds. I saw one do his mating dance last year,
just at the edge of dusk about ten feet away from where I stood
on the graveled roof of the building where I work evenings. Pretty
cool! The male does a kind of boogie-woogie. 

He sits down low to the ground, facing the female about three
feet away, then proceeds to bob his head up and down and twitch 
his tail first to one side and then to the other, all very
slowly and deliberately. You could almost hear a wa-wa trombone
in the background.

I'd like to get a camera in a blind atop a city building sometime
and make a study of the Night Hawk. I think it is a fascinating
bird, about the best flyer there is too.

--danny
-- 
	"Were his solid black square paintings really,
	as the artist claimed, simply neutral, abstract
	compositions devoid of external references and
	meanings?" ***********************************
From: TMH1@psuvm.psu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: pest control (was: Re: bluebirds return)
Date: 10 Apr 92 17:30:35 GMT
Article-I.D.: psuvm.92101.133035TMH1
Distribution: usa
Organization: Penn State University

I'll probably set off a chorus of jeers and criticism for this, and maybe my
views will change as I get more and more into birdwatching, but I can't help
responding to the comments about dealing with starlings, sparrows, etc.  I'm
not crazy about starlings either, nor do I find much to like about grackles
(I have no quibble with sparrows at all), but it doesn't make sense to me to
invite birds into my environment via bird food, houses, etc., and then pick
off the ones I don't like with a gun, trap door, or whatever other means.

Does anyone else share my view, or am I incredibly naive?

--Tina Hay at Penn State
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: rmura@world.std.com (Ron Mura)
Subject: Re: American Kestrel catches snake
Organization: The World
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1992 21:14:09 GMT

In article <1992Apr7.193109.18352@zoo.toronto.edu> rising@zoo.toronto.edu (Jim Rising) writes:
> 
> [...]  We saw several American Kestrels.  One female caught a fairly large
> (ca. 18") snake which she dropped, perhaps because of our presence,
> after carrying it about 15 feet.
[...]
> snake).  Any other observations on snake catching by Kestrels in
> netland?

A few years ago I saw a Kestel flying with a snake in its talons
at a nearby sanctuary.  I would estimate it was about the 18"
in length that Jim's snake was.  This occurred in June or July.



-- 
- Ron Mura, Boston, Massachusetts              rmura@world.std.com
From: palmer@isye.gatech.edu (Michael T. Palmer)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Purple Martin & pest control info
Date: 14 Apr 92 19:54:27 GMT
Distribution: usa

hammy@bagheera.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (John Smith) writes:

>I'm not going to get into discussions of morality - personally I'd be more
>than happy if there were no starlings and house sparrows in the US, but
>I'm not sure I could actually dispatch them myself.  What I'm concerned about
>is the talk of blasting away with air rifles.  A lot of air rifle shot
>has a significant content of heavy metals, notably lead, which is extremely
>toxic.  Or at least, that was the case when I was a young lad on the other
>side of the pond.  If that is still the case, I'd just ask that you make
>sure that no shot is left lying around, either from misses (I'm sure you
>don't miss much :-), or in the carcasses of killed birds.  The loose
>shot could be gobbled up by other birds, or simply disolve into the ground,
>which would be harmful.  Shot in bird carcasses could end up being ingested 
>by carrion eaters, which would also be harmful.

>Feel free to correct me if current model air rifle shot is in fact harmless.

Well, I can only speak for myself, but I don't have the full-automatic AK-47
type of air rifle.  You are correct, though.  Current .177 cal pellets are
solid lead (or copper coated lead).  They are toxic to the environment, and
should be treated as such.  By the way, air rifles only use a *single* pellet
at a time - it almost sounds like you're remembering shotshells used in a
shotgun.

In my case, the air rifle only gets used for those birds who cannot be chased
away from the martin house and who fail to get trapped.  Very few shots are
fired in the course of a season, and the whole purpose of the scope is to
reduce the number of misses.

When the blue crabs are plentiful (I live on a salt marsh), all dispatched
*trapped* starlings are returned to the ecosystem as crab food.  All *shot*
starlings are bagged, sealed, and landfilled.  The technique I use to
limit the number of stray pellets (i.e. misses) that end up in the marsh
is to always try to get the martin house as a backstop (it's made of
heavy plywood).  Each year when I repaint the house, I pull out the misses
and toss them in the trash.


>-- 
>John G. Smith   	email : hammy@ctt.bellcore.com
>RRC 1H-213       	phone : (908) 699-4530

Good points.  Not everyone realizes the impact that lead can have when
ingested by waterfowl or carrion-eaters.  Thoughtfulness and caution are
always important.
--
Michael T. Palmer, M/S 152, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA  23665
Temporarily a Techie: Center for Human-Machine System Research, Georgia Tech
Voice: 404-894-4318,    FAX: 404-894-2301,    Email: palmer@chmsr.gatech.edu
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: nextug@ac.dal.ca
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Gonzo Woodcock Sighting
Date: 6 Apr 92 14:28:25 GMT
Organization: Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

I used to have a friend who claimed he could *sex* Woodcock in
flight by the whistling sound made by the wind flowing through
their primaries. "Female," he'd say as one flew past through the
dusk on one of our woodland walks. I'd watch the dim shape
disappear into the dark. It was hard to argue.
From: anson@netcom.com (Anson Kennedy)
Subject: Re: DMX (Digital Music Channel)
Date: Mon, 06 Apr 92 23:11:13 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 

reddy@mips.com (T.S. Reddy) writes:

>     Well, I finally took the plunge and subscribed to the DMX service. I
>think it's pretty good. I am getting 30 channels of music of all varieties
>(classical, opera, rock, top 40 etc.) with CD quality. A few channels do 
>have noise but I think it's from the source rather than the transmission.
>Also, the changeover from one song to another is not seamless.

What kind of remote control was supplied with it?

What cable system are you on?

[I ask because I work for Scientific-Atlanta and am curious...]
-- 

Anson Kennedy
Secretary of the Georgia Skeptics (but don't even THINK I speak for them!)

                  "If I had been the Virgin Mary, I would have said 'No.'"
                                      -Margaret "Stevie" Smith (1902-1971)

Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: berger@atropa (Mike Berger)
Subject: Re: Imped. Matching w/ Resistors?!
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1992 21:20:51 GMT

jstimson@cbrown.claremont.edu writes:
>I have a pair of Infinity Reference-3s that I am driving with a Yamaha AV-66
>Integrated amp.  It is rated at 100W, but has an automatic cutout that shuts it
>down at volumes that I consider much quieter than a 100W amp should deliver,
>and before any distortion is apparent.  The speakers are nominally 6 ohms.  I
>just bought some high-power resistors and put 2 ohms in series with each
>speaker.  The result seems to be extended frequency response, especially on the
>low end, and greater volume output before it shuts down.  Can anyone explain
>why this worked, other than "the magic of impedance-matching"?  Could more
>resistance enhance this effect, or should I just experiment?
*----
I would expect that the resistors won't be linear, and that they'll suck
up 25% of your power.  Maybe that sounds better to you.  But I can't
believe that they've IMPROVED the sound from a technical standpoint.
--
	Mike Berger
	Department of Statistics, University of Illinois
	AT&TNET     217-244-6067
	Internet    berger@atropa.stat.uiuc.edu
Organization: The American University - University Computing Center
Date: Monday, 13 Apr 1992 17:44:54 EDT
From: ari solomon <ASOLOMO@auvm.american.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject:    DOUBLE-BLIND: SAYS WHO?

     Any experts in the hi-fi history of double-blind auditions? Could we,
  as a List, compile a summary on the topic? Ideally it would do the following:

           *Refer people to the major references/articles/journals on the topic
           *Provide an overview of the various (perceived) methodological limi-
            tations of various blind or double-blind studies.
           *Suggest remaining areas of inquiry.

   Meanwhile, I would very much appreciate *any* suggestions for how to fami-
   liarize myself with this literature. I'm a graduate student in psychology,
   and what I'm really looking for is *references*, not personal opinions on
   the validity of existing studies.
                           Thanks,      ASOLOMO@AUVM