The General Chat Thread (2025)

SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
Sparrow Hawks are incredible killers. They’ll do a Magpie or a Pigeon so it’s still a possibility.
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Back in 2022, when I was in the UK, I was at my brother's house and heard a bang ( a loud bang) on the window. Rushed upstairs - nothing except feathers; rushed back downstairs, and there it was - Mrs sparrowhawk had just whacked a pigeon.
Sparrowhawk.jpg

Not a very good picture, but you get the idea.
I looked up "birds of prey" because I had no idea what it was. A sparrowhawk flies low; very low; they'll spot their prey and zoom in low. They'll turn sideways and fly through a gate (which is what this one did) then WHACK! Dinner for one. Normally around 30-40mph, but capable of 50mph.
 
And here's another wierd bird story.
When we bought our house in 2009, one of the French windows had a small hole in it. Window intact, but just a tiny hole. I looked at it and thought "Hmmm, a stray bullet " (because that happens here). Then I looked again and thought no, because the impact looks as if it's inside.
Forgot about it completely until about 4 years ago, when I heard a persistent knocking on another window.
Yes, you've guessed - it was a little birdie pecking at the window. Why, I don't know. Maybe he or she was attacking the image in the window.
Now I've got two small holes in two windows - and these are 10mm glass.
2011 057.JPG
 
karadekoolaid said:
And here's another wierd bird story.
When we bought our house in 2009, one of the French windows had a small hole in it. Window intact, but just a tiny hole. I looked at it and thought "Hmmm, a stray bullet " (because that happens here). Then I looked again and thought no, because the impact looks as if it's inside.
Forgot about it completely until about 4 years ago, when I heard a persistent knocking on another window.
Yes, you've guessed - it was a little birdie pecking at the window. Why, I don't know. Maybe he or she was attacking the image in the window.
Now I've got two small holes in two windows - and these are 10mm glass.View attachment 137934
Click to expand...
Wow 10mm glass!!
Small animals and insects never cease to amaze me. How these little creatures with so little power lbs per square inch wise manage to gnaw and batter their way through solid objects is astounding.
Look at a tiny little mouse, no trouble making itself a little hole straight through wood.
We couldn’t do that without a drill! 😂
 
karadekoolaid said:
Yes, you've guessed - it was a little birdie pecking at the window. Why, I don't know. Maybe he or she was attacking the image in the window.
Now I've got two small holes in two windows - and these are 10mm glass.
Click to expand...
You’re correct - he was most likely attacking his reflection in the window, trying to defend his territory (this occurs most often during breeding season).

I used to work at a place where one of our buildings had a green roof, and every single year, Canada geese would nest up there. If you have ever met a Canada goose, their nickname of “cobra chicken” is apt - they can be quite aggressive (and they hiss!).

Anyway, mom goose would be happily sitting there incubating the eggs, while dad goose fought endless, valiant battles against his own reflection in the building’s glass windows.
 
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