Re: [Cal_Boats] Bird nest in my sail.

I had a blue heron crap all over my companionway and bulkhead once. Couldn't believe the quantity! More like what you'd expect from an ostrich! Quite disgusting to say the least. Paul In a message dated 3/28/2011 12:01:30 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, dx… [at] pge.com writes: I am very grateful for the recent "how to clean your sail thread", looks like I have gotten some good advice I did not realize I would be using. During the rain/storm season, I go onto Honu at least once a week, fire her engine up till warm, check lines, nav lights, check for drips, tidy up, use the sink & head, have a beer etc... Last weekend was my monthly maint visit where I flush some mineral oil down the head to keep it lubed & motor out of the harbor to open up the throttle & blow out some carbon. Was gonna get a plastic owl from the hardware store on the way home because I keep finding a lot of bird poop in the cockpit recently. A cowbird seems to have taken a liking to my boast & the little booger is fond of these berries that make purple poop that leaves a stain. I get out past the harbor channel buoys motoring around and a reefing line drops out from where it was tucked in my sail cover. I tuck it back up under there only to be stuck in the finger by something like a twig. A twig it was, a lot of them, as a matter of fact it is a HUGE nest. I open up the sail cover which has been secured for a couple months (remember I have just been keeping our boat up during the off season, not sailing her) and I find a nest that a pterodactyl would have been proud of. It seems that there was just enough of an opening in the sail cover that this bird had gotten in and made a nest in one of the folds made when you flake your sail. She had gotten in there under the cover & made a nest starting in the sail fold, coming out along the sail & supported by the sail cover where it joins at the bottom. It was easily 18inches long. She had also laid an egg in there. Now I am left to clean some dirt out of my sail and an happy that she had not craped purple berry poo inside my sail. That, and be damn grateful she had not been a rat building a nest in there or I would be visiting ye old sail maker for repairs & checking my wiring to make sure she had not left some bare (chewed) wiring behind somewhere to boot. Sorry about your nest little bird. Had you not been crapping purple berries all over my boat I would at least have felt a little more guilt when I set your nest adrift. Dyer 1969 Cal 2-30 #87 Honu. SF Bay

Paul, I guess you could say that the blue heron is a major fish processing plant. Yuck! Cheers Charlie From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of pw… [at] aol.com Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 1:30 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Bird nest in my sail. I had a blue heron crap all over my companionway and bulkhead once. Couldn't believe the quantity! More like what you'd expect from an ostrich! Quite disgusting to say the least. Paul In a message dated 3/28/2011 12:01:30 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, dx… [at] pge.com writes: I am very grateful for the recent "how to clean your sail thread", looks like I have gotten some good advice I did not realize I would be using. During the rain/storm season, I go onto Honu at least once a week, fire her engine up till warm, check lines, nav lights, check for drips, tidy up, use the sink & head, have a beer etc... Last weekend was my monthly maint visit where I flush some mineral oil down the head to keep it lubed & motor out of the harbor to open up the throttle & blow out some carbon. Was gonna get a plastic owl from the hardware store on the way home because I keep finding a lot of bird poop in the cockpit recently. A cowbird seems to have taken a liking to my boast & the little booger is fond of these berries that make purple poop that leaves a stain. I get out past the harbor channel buoys motoring around and a reefing line drops out from where it was tucked in my sail cover. I tuck it back up under there only to be stuck in the finger by something like a twig. A twig it was, a lot of them, as a matter of fact it is a HUGE nest. I open up the sail cover which has been secured for a couple months (remember I have just been keeping our boat up during the off season, not sailing her) and I find a nest that a pterodactyl would have been proud of. It seems that there was just enough of an opening in the sail cover that this bird had gotten in and made a nest in one of the folds made when you flake your sail. She had gotten in there under the cover & made a nest starting in the sail fold, coming out along the sail & supported by the sail cover where it joins at the bottom. It was easily 18inches long. She had also laid an egg in there. Now I am left to clean some dirt out of my sail and an happy that she had not craped purple berry poo inside my sail. That, and be damn grateful she had not been a rat building a nest in there or I would be visiting ye old sail maker for repairs & checking my wiring to make sure she had not left some bare (chewed) wiring behind somewhere to boot. Sorry about your nest little bird. Had you not been crapping purple berries all over my boat I would at least have felt a little more guilt when I set your nest adrift. Dyer 1969 Cal 2-30 #87 Honu. SF Bay

On 3/28/2011 1:36 PM, Husar, Charlie [USA] wrote: > > Paul, I guess you could say that the blue heron is a major fish > processing plant. Yuck! The double-crested cormorant, a true fish-eating machine, has made a comeback in the Great Lakes for unknown reasons, after being almost extinct here. They roost in trees but occasionally find it convenient to perch on sailboat spreaders--leaving piles of manure. One of their characteristics is that they kill the trees they roost in by the acidity and quantity of their droppings. They mess up decks and they eat lots of fish. As a result, they have two groups of waterborne humans mad at them, which is not a good survival strategy. Chris Campbell >

Way-ull, with regards to pooping herons, We could go back to using DDT, probably get rid of all the bed bug stories except for kids chanting "you-got-koootie, YOU gah-it Koodies at each other, and when we go sailing have no aquatic life to look at, except maybe some seagulls, somehow they seem to be immune to the stuff, am I right? But then they eat lots of garbage, so maybe that's their trick. No more eagles, hawks, diving pelicans, and who knows, maybe it will make the sea lions and dolphins disappear too. We'll still have waves wind and clouds, and a few very large sailboats and stink pots (small sailboats are becoming extinct here thanks to developers) Meanwhile I'll go on enjoy seeing the big shy herons which land on our docks and huddle at the ends of fingers at sunset. Such a delight! You're not the only one who found a nest with eggs rolled up inside a canvased mainsail. I tried to put it on a neighbors sail, a Thunderbird with a stack of teak lumber, whose owner I'd never seen for years, and the guy suddenly popped out of the dog house after I stepped on board, what a surprise! Jerry --- On Mon, 3/28/11, Chris Campbell <cc… [at] lsnm.org> wrote: From: Chris Campbell <cc… [at] lsnm.org> Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Bird nest in my sail. To: "Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Date: Monday, March 28, 2011, 11:39 AM On 3/28/2011 1:36 PM, Husar, Charlie [USA] wrote: Paul, I guess you could say that the blue heron is a major fish processing plant. Yuck! The double-crested cormorant, a true fish-eating machine, has made a comeback in the Great Lakes for unknown reasons, after being almost extinct here. They roost in trees but occasionally find it convenient to perch on sailboat spreaders--leaving piles of manure. One of their characteristics is that they kill the trees they roost in by the acidity and quantity of their droppings. They mess up decks and they eat lots of fish. As a result, they have two groups of waterborne humans mad at them, which is not a good survival strategy. Chris Campbell

Blue herons crap in a nice scatter pattern too. I think WA Dept of Fish and Game trains them to do that in a special camp in the Hood Canal before releasing them into the wild with a gallon of blackberries and fish scale in their guts. It's part of that pork spending that our token "soccer mom in sneakers" earmarked in her wildlife study budget! Jadedly yours, Brian From: pw… [at] aol.com Sender: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:29:41 To: <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Reply-To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Bird nest in my sail. I had a blue heron crap all over my companionway and bulkhead once. Couldn't believe the quantity! More like what you'd expect from an ostrich! Quite disgusting to say the least. Paul In a message dated 3/28/2011 12:01:30 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, dx… [at] pge.com writes: I am very grateful for the recent "how to clean your sail thread", looks like I have gotten some good advice I did not realize I would be using. During the rain/storm season, I go onto Honu at least once a week, fire her engine up till warm, check lines, nav lights, check for drips, tidy up, use the sink & head, have a beer etc... Last weekend was my monthly maint visit where I flush some mineral oil down the head to keep it lubed & motor out of the harbor to open up the throttle & blow out some carbon. Was gonna get a plastic owl from the hardware store on the way home because I keep finding a lot of bird poop in the cockpit recently. A cowbird seems to have taken a liking to my boast & the little booger is fond of these berries that make purple poop that leaves a stain. I get out past the harbor channel buoys motoring around and a reefing line drops out from where it was tucked in my sail cover. I tuck it back up under there only to be stuck in the finger by something like a twig. A twig it was, a lot of them, as a matter of fact it is a HUGE nest. I open up the sail cover which has been secured for a couple months (remember I have just been keeping our boat up during the off season, not sailing her) and I find a nest that a pterodactyl would have been proud of. It seems that there was just enough of an opening in the sail cover that this bird had gotten in and made a nest in one of the folds made when you flake your sail. She had gotten in there under the cover & made a nest starting in the sail fold, coming out along the sail & supported by the sail cover where it joins at the bottom. It was easily 18inches long. She had also laid an egg in there. Now I am left to clean some dirt out of my sail and an happy that she had not craped purple berry poo inside my sail. That, and be damn grateful she had not been a rat building a nest in there or I would be visiting ye old sail maker for repairs & checking my wiring to make sure she had not left some bare (chewed) wiring behind somewhere to boot. Sorry about your nest little bird. Had you not been crapping purple berries all over my boat I would at least have felt a little more guilt when I set your nest adrift. Dyer 1969 Cal 2-30 #87 Honu. SF Bay

I heard of some guy who found a Falcon nest on his boat (can't remember which kind) and could not go out all summer. It was on the endangered species list. He was making his contribution to the environment and variety of species we all enjoy. Isn't it wonderful that Eagles are no longer endangered. The list works! Allen On Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 6:03 PM, <bh… [at] msn.com> wrote: > > > Blue herons crap in a nice scatter pattern too. I think WA Dept of Fish and > Game trains them to do that in a special camp in the Hood Canal before > releasing them into the wild with a gallon of blackberries and fish scale in > their guts. It's part of that pork spending that our token "soccer mom in > sneakers" earmarked in her wildlife study budget! > > Jadedly yours, > Brian > > Sent from my BlackBerry® by Boost Mobile > ------------------------------ > *From: * pw… [at] aol.com > *Sender: * Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com > *Date: *Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:29:41 EDT > *To: *<Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> > *ReplyTo: * Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com > *Subject: *Re: [Cal_Boats] Bird nest in my sail. > > > > I had a blue heron crap all over my companionway and bulkhead once. > Couldn't believe the quantity! More like what you'd expect from an > ostrich! Quite disgusting to say the least. > > Paul > > In a message dated 3/28/2011 12:01:30 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, > dx… [at] pge.com writes: > > > > I am very grateful for the recent "how to clean your sail thread", looks > like I have gotten some good advice I did not realize I would be using. > > During the rain/storm season, I go onto Honu at least once a week, fire her > engine up till warm, check lines, nav lights, check for drips, tidy up, use > the sink & head, have a beer etc... > > Last weekend was my monthly maint visit where I flush some mineral oil down > the head to keep it lubed & motor out of the harbor to open up the throttle > & blow out some carbon. Was gonna get a plastic owl from the hardware store > on the way home because I keep finding a lot of bird poop in the cockpit > recently. A cowbird seems to have taken a liking to my boast & the little > booger is fond of these berries that make purple poop that leaves a stain. > > I get out past the harbor channel buoys motoring around and a reefing line > drops out from where it was tucked in my sail cover. I tuck it back up under > there only to be stuck in the finger by something like a twig. A twig it > was, a lot of them, as a matter of fact it is a HUGE nest. I open up the > sail cover which has been secured for a couple months (remember I have just > been keeping our boat up during the off season, not sailing her) and I find > a nest that a pterodactyl would have been proud of. > > It seems that there was just enough of an opening in the sail cover that > this bird had gotten in and made a nest in one of the folds made when you > flake your sail. She had gotten in there under the cover & made a nest > starting in the sail fold, coming out along the sail & supported by the sail > cover where it joins at the bottom. It was easily 18inches long. She had > also laid an egg in there. > > Now I am left to clean some dirt out of my sail and an happy that she had > not craped purple berry poo inside my sail. That, and be damn grateful she > had not been a rat building a nest in there or I would be visiting ye old > sail maker for repairs & checking my wiring to make sure she had not left > some bare (chewed) wiring behind somewhere to boot. > > Sorry about your nest little bird. Had you not been crapping purple berries > all over my boat I would at least have felt a little more guilt when I set > your nest adrift. > > Dyer > 1969 Cal 2-30 #87 Honu. > SF Bay > > > > >

Recently heard a "thump" on the deck and when i went out, the whole deck looked like a crime scene as a pair of Ospreys murdered their fish from the mast tops. Blood, scales and bone everywhere! At least it was fresh and I was able to hose down the abattoir! Mike M. On 3/28/2011 9:25 PM, Allen Edwards wrote: > > > I heard of some guy who found a Falcon nest on his boat (can't > remember which kind) and could not go out all summer. It was on the > endangered species list. He was making his contribution to the > environment and variety of species we all enjoy. Isn't it wonderful > that Eagles are no longer endangered. The list works! > > Allen >

are your spreaders wood or tubular metal? Helen From: Chris Campbell <cc… [at] lsnm.org> To: "Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Sent: Mon, March 28, 2011 11:39:15 AM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Bird nest in my sail. On 3/28/2011 1:36 PM, Husar, Charlie [USA] wrote: >Paul, I guess you could say that the blue heron is a major >fish processing plant. Yuck! The double-crested cormorant, a true fish-eating machine, has made a comeback in the Great Lakes for unknown reasons, after being almost extinct here. They roost in trees but occasionally find it convenient to perch on sailboat spreaders--leaving piles of manure. One of their characteristics is that they kill the trees they roost in by the acidity and quantity of their droppings. They mess up decks and they eat lots of fish. As a result, they have two groups of waterborne humans mad at them, which is not a good survival strategy. Chris Campbell >

On 3/28/2011 9:25 PM, Allen Edwards wrote: > > Isn't it wonderful that Eagles are no longer endangered. The list works! > A local writer observed the other day that you can tell the tourists from the locals in our town. The locals don't look any more when an eagle flies by. It's nice that they're becoming commonplace. In the town where my other boat lives, they perch right over the marina's entrance road. There were none a decade ago. Chris Campbell > >

A friend of mine who is a Waterman on the Chesapeake said the eagles look like crows there are so many of them around his dock. I saw one eating something on the side of the road one day and it just looked wrong. I just hoped he killed it and it wasn't road kill LOL. Paul Chris Campbell <cc… [at] lsnm.org> wrote: > On 3/28/2011 9:25 PM, Allen Edwards wrote: >> >> Isn't it wonderful that Eagles are no longer endangered. The list works! >> > >A local writer observed the other day that you can tell the tourists >from the locals in our town. The locals don't look any more when an >eagle flies by. It's nice that they're becoming commonplace. In the >town where my other boat lives, they perch right over the marina's >entrance road. There were none a decade ago. > >Chris Campbell >> >> >

On 3/29/2011 9:39 AM, Paul wrote: > > A friend of mine who is a Waterman on the Chesapeake said the eagles > look like crows there are so many of them around his dock. I saw one > eating something on the side of the road one day and it just looked > wrong. I just hoped he killed it and it wasn't road kill LOL. > Paul > Well, eagles are actually scavengers as much as predators. I think that's why Ben Franklin favored the turkey as our national bird. Chris Campbell

My hang gliding instructor called us fledgling pilots 'turkeys'. One day I took off and briefly flew in formation with a golden eagle, very nice! An eagle is an eagle, even if it eats leftovers, and, why should they go to waste? Hang gliding is a form of sailing, where you simply harness yourself to the rigging, and ditch the hull and the lead mine, and leave the water behind. At over 200 sq. ft. of sail, and 32' of wingspan, it's quite a bit of power, comparable to what hauls my Cal 24 along.. Jerry --- On Tue, 3/29/11, Chris Campbell <cc… [at] lsnm.org> wrote: From: Chris Campbell <cc… [at] lsnm.org> Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Bird nest in my sail. To: "Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Cc: "Paul" <pw… [at] aol.com> Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2011, 9:07 AM On 3/29/2011 9:39 AM, Paul wrote: A friend of mine who is a Waterman on the Chesapeake said the eagles look like crows there are so many of them around his dock. I saw one eating something on the side of the road one day and it just looked wrong. I just hoped he killed it and it wasn't road kill LOL. Paul Well, eagles are actually scavengers as much as predators. I think that's why Ben Franklin favored the turkey as our national bird. Chris Campbell