±«Óãtv

Just got an email from Stanley saying:

Comments

1. At 05:59 PM on 28 May 2007, The Stainless Steel Cat wrote:

   "...keeping the rabbits down"?

   Where does it keep it, and more to the point are those rabbits really ducks in disguise?

   (How do you get down from a camel?
   You don't, you get down from a duck...
   ayethangyou!)

2. At 06:00 PM on 28 May 2007, admin annie wrote:

   too true, don't give out the location. The RSPB for some reason is rabid that eagle owls should be banished from our shores. They are wonderful birds and if they decide they want to take up residence, temporarily or otherwise, in the UK, who are the RSPB to say them nay. After all the RSPB is made of people, but it's birds that know where birds want to be.

3. At 06:03 PM on 28 May 2007, Big Sister wrote:

   Yes, they are beautiful bird, with wonderfully baleful eyes. Saw one from the owl sanctuary when last in Cornwall.

   Strange to say, I've noticed owls being attacked by crows around here, and one barn owl that I found dead had, I'm sure, been the victim of the Crow Gang.

   I'm sure it all comes down to 'survival'.

4. At 06:04 PM on 28 May 2007, BRIAN JACKSON wrote:

   I am glad to hear that Eagle Owls are possibly beginning to thrive here. Perhaps they will help to keep down the cat population which has helped wipe out the creatures other owls live on. It might be a good idea to keep your cats in at night in future.

5. At 06:04 PM on 28 May 2007, Chris Ghoti wrote:

   Oh *honestly*, Eric! That was a C/KIM you perpetrated there.

   'A twit to woo the owls...'

   Go and wash your mouth out with soap and water!

6. At 07:24 PM on 28 May 2007, Frances O wrote:

   What's a C/KIM?

7. At 08:41 PM on 28 May 2007, Dennis wrote:

   My company is plagued by seagulls nesting on the flat roof of their factory. The first attempt at deterring these sea rats was to place two replicas of eagle owls on opposite corners of the roof. It wasn't until they emplyed the services of a real live hawk and its owner that we had results, which meant bird****-free cars in the car park.

   What happened to the eagle owls? They make very nice ornaments in the garden, more up-market than gnomes (though about the same size) but they still don't deter anything. Just shows that there's nothing like the real thing to get results.

8. At 08:45 PM on 28 May 2007, Aperitif wrote:

   The owls around my way -- nowhere near Manchester -- have been very loud this weekend. I'd noticed before I saw the newsletter or heard tonight's PM, I swear. What is going on with owls lately? Is it just a coincidence that "The Birds" was the Saturday afternoon R4 play? I suspect not!!!

   I told you all that birds were scary!!!

9. At 08:56 PM on 28 May 2007, anth wrote:

   Admin annie #2,

   I'm amazed that the RSPB are *against* eagle owls. Wonder what Bill Oddie thinks - why not get him on Today and ask his opinion ;-)

   I've followed with interest the re-introduction of Red Kites, which I assume the RSPB approve of - as it's being done by humans rather than the birds deciding for themselves to come over from Spain - and seeing them wheeling around the sky over the M40 - or even over towns - is quite a sight. I've also seen them being harrassed by crows.

10. At 09:25 PM on 28 May 2007, Chris Ghoti wrote:

    oops, sorry, Frances -- a C/KIM is a Coffee/Keyboard Interfacing Moment.

    But I've managed to get it clean again now, after dismantling the whole thing key by key and using a lot of soapy water, then leaving them to dry whilst I had supper rather than using a hair-dryer. Wouldn't want to blame Eddie for increasing the carbon footprint by making me use a hair-dryer, would I. Bad enough having to blame him for the wasted coffee... :-)

11. At 11:23 PM on 28 May 2007, admin annie wrote:

    anth, it's something to do with whether you can prove that the particular species was ever 'native'. Red kites defintiely were, and only disappeared after being hunted to non-existence mainly by gamekeepers. So they were OK because they were being re-introduced. RSPB say that it cannot be demonstrated that eagle owls ever lived here in numbers as opposed to one or two getting blown off course when migrating to Scandinavia and therefore have no rights to protection here. Just not british, what? It's bird racism.
    HOWEVER my understanding is that there has recently been some sort of EU declaration of protection for the eagle owl wherever in Europe they happen to find themselves, so I think the bird fascists of the RSPB have had to lay off, although they weren't hapy about it.
    Just to try and stave off any howls of protest I am not anti-RSPB, you can't live where I do and not be interested in birds and they do some fantastic work. And I realise that bird fascists is a harsh term. But I could hardly believe it when I heard that they wanted to cull (as in kill) any eagle owl found in the UK, because it was, according to them, but not to all bird enthusiasts, technically a non native. I thought the RSPB wanted to protect birds, not kill them.

12. At 11:30 PM on 28 May 2007, wrote:

    Re the RSPB and Eagle owls - I'm sorry I missed the programme so if they were interviewed and had a more recent opinion, but is a statement from them in 2005.
    

13. At 12:17 AM on 29 May 2007, admin annie wrote:

    Thanks for the link GM and that was an interesting page. I htink perhaps they have backtracked from an earlier much harder position. However if you read the following quote -

    Nevertheless, as a European species, the eagle owl is fully protected in Britain when they occur in a wild state, unless it can be shown they were bred in captivity.

    does this mean they are fair game if you can show they were captive bred? I assume not, but that is the way it comes over! :-)

    anyway as Rjd would say 'I'll get me coat - night owl (ouch!)
    

14. At 08:15 AM on 29 May 2007, RJD wrote:

    Admin Annie (13) - I would never say anything like that.

    Even if I had something witty to say I wouldn't know who to tell - To wit to who?

15. At 09:17 AM on 29 May 2007, Lee Vitout wrote:

    Eddie - Did you know the most common owl in the UK is the TEAT OWL?

16. At 09:28 AM on 29 May 2007, wrote:

    RJD - that is one funny strapline you've contributed. See - you did know who to tell - PM!

    And all these "to whit to woo"jokes - by coincidence the wedding I played for on Sunday had someone doing a reading where the last line was
    "He was no twit to woo".
    I thought it was quite funny - till I came home & read the blog yesterday & realised everyone is doing owl jokes at the moment. Are owls the latest fashion accessory? Where can I get one quickly? I wonder if there's a branch of Owls R Us locally...

17. At 09:43 AM on 29 May 2007, admin annie wrote:

    RJD, yes you wood (ouch, ouch!)

    
    (but it was only the bit about the coat - that is you isn't it? pologies if not!)

18. At 09:46 AM on 29 May 2007, wrote:

    Okay, so that's the owl. Now where's the pussycat and the boat (sea-green)?

19. At 09:58 AM on 29 May 2007, Carl wrote:

    Hey blue skies!! I remember them.. January wasn't it?

20. At 10:13 AM on 29 May 2007, RJD wrote:

    Annasee (16) - Unfortunately, the fact that I know the original quote that the strapline is based on, lets everyone know how old I am!

21. At 10:23 AM on 29 May 2007, Aunt Dahlia wrote:

    My favourite book was seen in a second hand bookshop in Penzance 'HOW TO LAY OWLS'
    Only when I removed it and adjusted the cover did it reveal the full title ' HOW TO PLAY BOWLS'

22. At 10:46 AM on 29 May 2007, John H. wrote:

    I missed the emergence of this owl story. I've had it on good authority that the population of eagle owls is well established and growing - but was led to believe that it was more to do with escapees than natural spread. I would be pretty thrilled to see one in the wild, but would hope that "people in the know" are monitoring the situation. I say this because I've heard a couple of stories from people who keep birds of prey where an eagle owl has helped itself to a prize falcon when they've been tethered too close together. These are immensely powerful birds.

23. At 11:03 AM on 29 May 2007, RJD wrote:

    Aunt Dahlia - Hahahaha. I'd love to believe that that was a true story!

24. At 11:16 AM on 29 May 2007, John H. wrote:

    Is this related to the story I just read on the Guardian site about a dog walker being attacked?

25. At 11:42 AM on 29 May 2007, RJD wrote:

    John H - Yes, the same story. I think several were attacked/mobbed. Debatable whether the Owl was "hungry" or more likely defending its territory/young. Walkers were ignoring warning notices that had been erected.

26. At 11:54 AM on 29 May 2007, wrote:

    FF (18):

    I'm here! I'm not going in a green boat that somebody's peed in though.

    Anyway, didn't there used to be "Eagle Owl" Action Men available? ;o)

27. At 12:23 PM on 29 May 2007, John H. wrote:

    Hahaha! Yes (26), he had a little "thing" at the back of his head - when you waggled it, he randomly attacked dog walkers!

    Actually, SSCat, I want to thank you for your thought provoking comment on last Friday's glass box. I don't know enough about human rights legislation to really know how it fits in, but I thought your comments about "responsibility" were very interesting.

    I don't want to get on a downer about the UK or England - I like them both - but it does appear that there are some people who do not equate "right" with "responsibility". After a moment's thought, it does occur to me that across the board, it's probably a different "some people" in each instance. And if that's the case, then is it a problem with our national psyche?

28. At 02:32 PM on 29 May 2007, Aperitif wrote:

    Hahahaha Aunt Dahlia! As I have just learned fromMr Fish (19) about the C/KIM I must tell you that you gave me a HT/KIM just then! I'll forgive you because it was very funny. Gold star!

    RJD (14) and Lee (15) Tee hee -- silver stars for you two.

    btw, Herbal Tea.

29. At 04:29 PM on 29 May 2007, wrote:

    ...luverrly plumage guv....

    ..wouldn't it be a wheeze to let one loose on the Fishleigh Estate in Devon, thats where the ±«Óãtv Springwatch comes from...can u imagine the look on Bill Oddies face as it carries him off...go on...u know you want to

30. At 05:22 PM on 29 May 2007, Chris Ghoti wrote:

    It occurs to me that the worry may be that the owls, not being a native species, may wreak havoc among the native wildlife. I'm thinking here about mink being released in this country, and of course the rabbit in Australia, neither of which has been a particularly good idea in the long term.

31. At 08:09 PM on 29 May 2007, wrote:

    Oh Aunt D - you are a wag!!

    I'd like to get an Eagle owl for my sister's birthday. Their house is plagued by a neighbour's doves which roost on her house and poo on the window ledges and inside any open windows. Then the children get it all over their hands!

    Her birthday could go on for days, as she watched them getting picked off one by one (the doves, not the children, hopefully....)