No one has any Bob sightings. Where’s Bob? Did we curse him? Is he in hiding, retreating from the spotlight? Did he take off to visit some cousin in Acapulco? No one’s seen him and we’re getting a little worried, so any Bob sightings please let us know. (Bob-the one winged pelican that is, not to be confused with any other Bob that might be here, may have been here, or is in any way missing.)
*** Late breaking news, we are currently investigating some possible Bob sightings, please CLICK HERE for the whole story, maybe you can help us find Bob ***
And, as for the Sparrows, well it seems they’re not Sparrows. We’ve heard everything from Sparrows to Swallows to Golondrinas to Gray Breasted Martins. Cause well, ya know, one is about 3-4 inches tall with a pointy little beak and the others are well, 3-4 inches tall with pointy little beaks. So, we’re gonna go with the guy who had the most information and Larry says they’re Gray Breasted Martins and I for one, believe him. He tells me, Gray Breasted Martins are indigenous to Mexico, they aren’t found in the States. The land according to where the sun is. They aren’t congregating because they are inherently social animals; they are following the angle of the sun as it sets. And it’s a light thing, not a time thing, so as the sun sets later in the day they will congregate on the wires outside the movie theater later. After sunset but before dark, most recently closer to 7pm than 6:30 and later as the year wears on….
Which brings us to Feb.’s bird question of the month. What is the name of those crazy looking sea birds that are so prevalent around here? The brown ones, they’re not seagulls in any sense of the word, and no, I don’t mean the pelicans. The other ones, the brown ones with the little beaks that skim across the surface of the water and fly very, very high and seem to hover motionless on the wind. It’s the split tail feathers that confuse people the most and quite honestly it has been a raging happy hour debate for at least a year. I have heard everything from Kingfisher to Pterodactyl and I personally think they bear a strange resemblance to the Bacardi Bat. The way they just hover so gracefully and seem to stand still so high in the air, circling like vultures, it’s odd. “Good God Man, be careful, this is bat country!”(HST). So any more bird experts out there, please help us out, we are woefully ignorant of fowl. So, first person that can get a documented, correct answer to me wins a prize. Ready, Set, Go!
-February 2000
