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Post By Bearfootfarm
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03/25/12, 01:19 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Eastern North Carolina
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Astronomical Explanation for Climate Change
Spring Equinox, Vernal Equinox: Whatever It's Called, New Season's Arrival in 2012 Is Unusually Early
Summers are longer, Winters are shorter, and humans have nothing to do with it at all
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Across much of the United States, this has been an unusually mild winter, especially for those living east of the Mississippi. Not a few people have noted that spring seems to have come early this year.
Of course, in a meteorological sense that could be true, but in 2012 it will also be true in an astronomical sense as well, because this year spring will make its earliest arrival since the late 19th century: 1896, to be exact.
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03/25/12, 01:43 AM
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Yup. The Siberian snow geese have already left here earlier than usual and are winging their way back home towards Siberia. Now the flocks of wild swans have returned 6 weeks early from the south and are on their way to the north. They're stopping off here to graze out in the valley and I took a picture of a flock of about 200 swans together out in a farmer's field.
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Last edited by naturelover; 03/25/12 at 01:56 AM.
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03/25/12, 02:09 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Eastern North Carolina
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Quote:
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They're stopping off here to graze out in the valley and I took a picture of a flock of about 200 swans together out in a farmer's field.
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Speaking of birds, check out this place.
Lake Mattamuskeet History
Lake Mattamuskeet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It's one of the biggest Wintering grounds for waterfowl in the US, and is about an hour from me.
My wife and I went there for our honeymoon, in January, and sat on the side of the lake having a picnic in freezing weather just to watch the birds
Here are a few Snow Geese:
They estimated this flock at 10-15,000 with about 5000 in the air:
LOL
I hijacked my own thread
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03/25/12, 02:15 AM
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Beautiful pictures.
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Originally Posted by Bearfootfarm
LOL
I hijacked my own thread
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That's okay, it's all in a good cause. 
Here's a couple of pictures I took early last fall of the Siberian snow geese that winter over here in the Valley. They arrived much earlier than usual and now have left earlier.
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03/25/12, 02:33 AM
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I'm amazed you are so close to them without being hidden.
The farmers here hate to see them come into a field like that
They can walk down the rows and take out an entire wheat crop in a couple of hours
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03/25/12, 02:52 AM
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BFF
are they still trying to put that OLF in near mattamuskeet?
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03/25/12, 02:55 AM
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Nobody grows wheat here. Actually I don't think anyone sows any seeds of any kind before the end of February. If the birds are a problem the farmers all have air cannons for them though but I never hear anyone using air cannons for the waterfowl. But most of the birds go to hay fields to eat grass over the winter because the grass doesn't die off here in the winter, or else they settle into the wetlands and the wetlands are all designated wildlife sanctuary and there's lots of food for them there.
The geese aren't afraid of people, I guess because they know they are safe. They seem to ignore people getting fairly close to them to take pictures. I couldn't get any closer to the swans though, they started to move back a bit as soon as they saw me stop the car on the road and all of their heads shot straight up and they watched me cautiously. If you look at the picture of the swans you'll see not one of them is grazing as they were when I first spotted them. They all have their heads straight up, all stood up and were ready to fly off if I approached them any closer.
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03/25/12, 06:50 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: N. E. TX
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Beautiful shots, both of you.
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03/25/12, 08:05 AM
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Location: Ontario
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There are times when I think we need a V plow on the front of the tractor to get past all the Canada Geese walking around the fields. Crazy things!! They sell blinds calls and decoys to hunt Geese here but I have no idea why.
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03/25/12, 08:40 AM
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Wasn't it backin the 60's or 70's there was concern about the goose population? I think they made a come back. I've been landscaping for 40 some years and generally can tell you the date when any tree or shrub will flower within a few days around here. Right now in this area some things are up to five or six weeks early. Saw a dandilion in bloom a couple of weeks ago. I was walking through the woods at one of my clients places and picked up a deer tick! In the middle of march in WNY! Wonder when the hummimgbirds are going to show up. Going to be an interesting year.
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03/25/12, 02:03 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2006
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Quote:
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are they still trying to put that OLF in near mattamuskeet?
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I think they have given up on that idea.
It hasn't been in the news for a LONG time
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03/25/12, 02:05 PM
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Quote:
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Actually I don't think anyone sows any seeds of any kind before the end of February
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Wheat is a Winter crop here, planted after the corn or soybeans are harvested in the Fall, and it grows all Winter
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03/25/12, 06:04 PM
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Lots of winter wheat in the northern Willamette Valley. A lot of grass seed in the Lower Willamette Valley. Geese are a big problem here, even on pasture land....James
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03/25/12, 06:22 PM
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Too Complicated For Cable
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Hey Nature is it evil that, while I think the pics are beautiful, they are making me hungry... 
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03/25/12, 06:36 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by InvalidID
Hey Nature is it evil that, while I think the pics are beautiful, they are making me hungry... |
LOL. You should be careful about asking me a question like that unless you want me to give you a lecture about the evils of human gluttony and the blood-lust nature of unrestrained beasts.
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03/25/12, 06:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jwal10
Lots of winter wheat in the northern Willamette Valley. A lot of grass seed in the Lower Willamette Valley. Geese are a big problem here, even on pasture land....James
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It is too warm in my location to grow winter wheat. Some winter wheat does get grown up in the interior of the province where it gets colder in the winter.
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03/26/12, 12:17 PM
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Dallas
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Well that explains 1 day -- now explain the rest of it.
Last edited by mnn2501; 03/26/12 at 09:19 PM.
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03/26/12, 12:24 PM
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Too Complicated For Cable
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mnn2501
Well that explain 1 day -- now explain the rest of it.
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Know why the middle class is screwed? 3 classes, 2 parties...
To punish me for my contempt for authority, fate made me an authority myself. ~ Einstein
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03/26/12, 12:38 PM
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The swans and geese are arriving early at the reserve near where I live. Normally they don't even begin to show up until near the end of April. The lake is still frozen. Warmer weather down south is messing up their migration timing. We had an incredibly mild winter and then on the first of March we went glacial with more snow than all previous months. Department of Natural Resources is having to feed them.
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03/26/12, 01:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by emdeengee
The swans and geese are arriving early at the reserve near where I live. Normally they don't even begin to show up until near the end of April. The lake is still frozen. Warmer weather down south is messing up their migration timing. We had an incredibly mild winter and then on the first of March we went glacial with more snow than all previous months. Department of Natural Resources is having to feed them.
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My sister up in Kitimat was saying the same thing, and she's only half way from here to where you are. I talked to her in the middle of this month and she said the snow was up to the eaves of the ranch houses on her street at that time but it was starting to rain and melt the snow. Hopefully that will have all melted by mid April without causing a lot of floods.
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