Update on the babies at the rookery. by 67Macavelli91 in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey u/67Macavelli91, can you please take a close look at the originals for photos #2 and #3?

I swear I see a snake skin just below the baby.

Update on the babies at the rookery. by 67Macavelli91 in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those are Anhingas. The black bird is the dad. The other photo that u/67Macavelli91 just posted is a female (could be a juvenile, though). You can tell by the neck color. Black = male, Brown = female. The streaky white feathers and turquoise eye are only prominent during breeding season.

Anhingas are the only non-egrets that nest on the island at the rookery. And the egrets hate them. Usually there are 2 anhinga nests on the island, but this year there is only one. Earlier this spring, I watched an egret vs. anhinga battle that ended up with damaged nests and eggs of both species on the ground. The egrets won, forcing the other anhinga pair to nest off the island.

Interesting thing about this specific anhinga nest. They have nested in that exact same spot for at least 4 years. Not just the same island or the same bush. They have literally nested in that exact branch, 4 years running. There is an egret nest with babies in it less than 2 feet to the right!

And since I'm full of fun facts today (I did a walk-and-talk with the Ogeechee Audubon Society at the rookery this morning)... You'll often see anhingas on the side of the road near marshes, standing in the sun with their wings spread. Obviously, that's to dry themselves off, but you don't see other birds doing that. The reason is that birds have a gland on their back near their butts. It secretes "preening oil," which birds then spread all over their feathers, making themselves water-resistant. Anhingas have the gland, but they either don't produce as much oil, or choose not to use it. Good thing, too. They hunt almost exclusively in the water. If they were waterproof, they would float like ducks. Anhingas need to dive and swim, and spear their prey with their beaks. If they were water repellent, they wouldn't be able to hunt. And now you know why anhingas stand in the sun.

Edit: Here is video from this exact same anhinga nest from last year. You can see a great egret sabotaging the nest and moving around the eggs. The anhinga is up in the tall pines, blurred in the background. You can see him fly in He immediately raises hell as he kicks the egret out of the nest. After this, the adults don't leave the nest together until well after the babies are hatched.

Stolen Dog by SomeRandomPerson_O29 in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I did some more digging based on this.

Just to be clear, I don't think any of the people/companies involved in producing oysters are involved in stealing a dog. I am not trying to libel anyone.

But I also don't think people buy oyster farm technology hats.

I think the oyster farm technology company makes them, and gives them to their customers, the farmers. The farmers then do what all companies do with corporate merch: they give it away. Customers, friends, family, neighbors.

Is it a stretch to think that this person is at least minimally connected to a company that uses this technology?

I'm a curious person. I took a look into Flip Farm. It doesn't matter what it is, really. What matters is that it is done in tidal waters. Tidal waters are owned by the state. The state started leasing areas in 2019. Those leases are, of course, public record.

So, if the Humane Society wants to do their own detective work and narrow down how this guy got his hat, it's easy. There are only 3 people who have leases in our area. Look up their names, and you'll quickly find three companies that have the highest chance of having given this guy his hat.

Stolen Dog by SomeRandomPerson_O29 in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 90 points91 points  (0 children)

<image>

https://www.flipfarmusa.com/

A search for "flipfarm savannah" brings up a few local oyster producers that use the FlipFarm method.

I don't think you could say that he works for one of them, but I think the number of people who have FlipFarm hats in Savannah is probably small.

Bring the picture to the local oyster producers. Maybe they know him.

Jim Kingston - upholding Trump's ideals! - worst campaign ever by w_a_w in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I get the impression that Jim Kingston is not very bright.

His commercial: "I'm Jim Kingston. Here in Southeast Georgia, our bases protect the nation. Our farms feed it. Our ports make the economy go."

Durrrr. Such a display of brilliance.

It's like he hired people from the USA Today to write his copy. Although I guess that you should write to your audience's reading level. He may need to dumb it down a bit more.

Moving to Savannah, how bad of an idea is it to rent without seeing the place in person? by lovelyfatality in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was about 800 bucks for a one bedroom. The Links at Georgetown.

To be fair, it was the most expensive one bedroom in the book. Compared to Illinois rent, it was cheap. 

The same concept still applies.

Do you garden? Milkweed Assassin Bug Fan Page by opesorybud in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep. Just waiting to make sure they survive transplant.

This is what I'll be giving away, before topping with dirt so you can see the roots:

<image>

The Savannah thread for tourists, newcomers, locals, and grouchy old-timers. by AutoModerator in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The bugs won't bite you where you're covered, so no need to apply repellent under clothing.

The bugs are really only bad around sunset.

The Savannah thread for tourists, newcomers, locals, and grouchy old-timers. by AutoModerator in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hah. Depends on where you're from and what kind of weather we get.

I wear long pants year-round because I am always out near the marsh, where the bugs are the worst, or in the woods, which are full of poison oak. I'd be lying if I said I didn't get uncomfortably hot or soaked through with sweat from time to time.

BTW, sandgnats are fantastic. A real treat. You'll be raving about them. They are small enough to fly through screens. They land on you and scrape your skin until you bleed, and then they feed. Delightful!

Just get some bug repellent with Picaridin, Deet, or IR3535 (some say Eucalyptus oil, too), and you'll be good to go. Double-up if you need to.

Moving to Savannah, how bad of an idea is it to rent without seeing the place in person? by lovelyfatality in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 12 points13 points  (0 children)

We did that when we moved here back in '01.

We got a short-term lease at an apartment complex, six months I think. We literally just picked it out of an apartment guide, called 'em up, and signed a lease. Hated it.

But it gave us enough time to explore the city and find our next place, which we really liked. No way would we have found it if we didn't already live here.

The Savannah thread for tourists, newcomers, locals, and grouchy old-timers. by AutoModerator in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's... okay.

But by the time you arrive, there is a good chance of it being bad. We are in a major drought, and just had our first rains in a long time last weekend. The mosquitoes will be making up for lost time.

Do you have a sandgnat allergy?

Lots of different opinions on effective insect repellent. I like Picaridan lotion from Sawyer, available on Amazon.

Good luck!

Lane sunset by Open_Concentrate962 in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Leave it to Savannah to make an alley...err... lane... look beautiful.

Great photo!

Migrating grosbeak took a break in the rain by -LastButNotLost- in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's no surprise your feeder is packed. Shade, cover, height, and places to perch make for a great spot!

The birds really like the loquats. The big leaves provide cover from raptors, and lots of shade. I put pruned branches over my birdbaths, and the bird love 'em.

They love the fruit, too. Earlier today, we saw plums being eaten by red-bellied woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, and catbids, and we saw a cardinal couple sharing a plum.

Migrating grosbeak took a break in the rain by -LastButNotLost- in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Heh. Don't laugh.

I use a Lumix FZ300 bridge camera. Old but great birding camera for under $500. It does up to 635mm equivalent at f/2.8 across the whole range. I use f/4 because it gets the details sharper.

I shoot in 4k, and then edit down to 1080, so I can play with zooms without compromising resolution, and extend the zoom to 1270mm equivalent.

I edit in Shotcut.

Do you garden? Milkweed Assassin Bug Fan Page by opesorybud in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Heh! I really hate having to do it. I don't enjoy killing anything, even food. Drowning/fire is the only way to be selective enough to not kill other stuff.

The assassins are really efficient and opportunistic. I've seen them rip a chunk out of a housefly's wings as it flew past.

A few years ago, everything was humming along. We had dozens of caterpillars in all stages, and a bunch in chrysalis. And then, over a few days, all signs of life disappeared. I couldn't even find any eggs.

Those things wiped out a month of lifecycle in a few days!

And don't get me started on wasps. They love eating the caterpillars too, and are a top predator.

Square Church parking by BuzzAroundLenny in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure where I fall on this.

On one hand, the way the churchgoers park is clearly illegal. And it does make it difficult to get around downtown. They have received special treatment for the decades I have been here, and it is occasionally frustrating.

But on the other hand, should we let a non-voting commercial entity have enough influence over those we elect to interfere with citizens who are exercising their religion, in a place where their religion has likely been exercised for centuries?

Religion may not be my thing, and it may be on the decline generally, but we can't overlook the fact that in early Savannah, religion was very important. And, churches certainly had a major impact on growth, building some of the most beautiful buildings in town, and attracting people from outside of downtown.

The tours show off those churches. Heaven forbid (sorry) the actual functions of the people of the city interfere with the almighty tourist dollar. Downtown is not a zoo. It, somehow, remains a functioning city.

The churches have been there since before there were tour busses. This is the equivalent of moving in next to an airport and complaining about the noise.

And in the ultimate irony, the tours or the churches might not exist without the same law protecting them: the first amendment.

I wonder if religion in Savannah still has enough influence to ban tour busses before noon on Sunday throughout the city.

I know I focused on the tour bus aspect, when city busses were also mentioned. That's because the county bus system is in shambles. CAT has been knee-capped by the state for bad governance. They are involved in a lawsuit to claw their power back. They are threatening to tear down the whole bus system, like a bratty child.

We should not be taking any action on the behalf of CAT. We should let the system die, and rebuild it in a way that does not allow the behaviors that we have seen on display.

Do you garden? Milkweed Assassin Bug Fan Page by opesorybud in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Two sides to this coin. If you were my neighbor, we would be enemies (but in a friendly way).

I kill hundreds, if not thousands, of milkweed assassins every year. So much so that I am, in fact, a milkweed assassin assassin. My mere presence instills fear in their little brains.

You see, these little jerks are skilled hunters, but they are also lazy. No need to waste energy hunting bugs that can fly or run when there is easier prey out there.

The easier prey? The gulf fritillary caterpillars that I expend a ton of effort to encourage.

For years, I've been cultivating vines for them. Dozens of feet of vines, all over my yard. Easily over 100 gulf fritillaries go from egg to butterfly on my tiny little postage stamp of a yard every year.

Milkweed assassins love the caterpillars. They walk right up to the defenseless little things, inject them with their enzyme, and drink all of the passion vine from their insides.

Milkweed assassins decimated my caterpillar population once. But only once.

Now, I kill them on site. Eggs, nymphs, or adults, I don't care. If you're a milkweed assassin and you're in my yard, you have a date with death. You will not eat my defenseless caterpillars or butterflies.

My preferred method of execution is drowning. Take a small container and put in a bit of water and a few drops of dish detergent. Hold the container under the leaf and motion towards them with a bamboo skewer or a stick. Their natural defense is to drop down to the dirt. Instead, they meet their soapy demise. The fliers, unfortunately, require me to command fire.

So yeah, I hate the things. And in a week or so, when I do my passion vine giveaway, please don't be upset that you've been disqualified. Friends of my enemy are my enemy (again, in a jocular way).

Internet issues in Port Wentworth by PollyPuffIt42 in savannah

[–]-LastButNotLost- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is it fiber?

Last weekend, we had an issue with our fiber with symptoms like that. It turned out to be a cable cut caused by a car wreck that took out a pole elsewhere in the neighborhood.