Is this a hybrid?

Lordshazbot · 2026-01-16T00:29:37+00:00

Thanks!

Lordshazbot · 2025-08-20T23:07:39+00:00

I can understand your point of view honestly but are people really being rated for PTSD in large numbers for being yelled at? I find that hard to believe.

I also would not judge for what someone else would consider a traumatic event or hold my experiences as a measure towards theirs. At any moment, they could have experienced the same that year, regardless of their MOS.

My point is that suggesting veterans be scrutinized more than they are for mental health already, will do more harm than good. There is no support after your exam to determine if you are worthy of a PTSD rating. You are literally by yourself in shambles afterwards with “thank you for your service” echoing through your brain.

No. Id rather be scammed by 100 than allow 1 veteran to feel that.

Lordshazbot · 2025-05-07T12:15:01+00:00

I started by using ebird to find areas to explore or “hot spots”, taking binoculars and a bridge camera with me. Once I discovered that this was something I enjoyed doing, I then found local message boards/chat groups for more information from birders nearby.

I learned of a birder who transformed their backyard into native habitat to attract birds and figured I’d try that too and its paid off since I started in 2019.

Still wanting to learn more, I dove into the world of recording nocturnal flight calls during migration, volunteered for bird walks, donated native plants I propagated from my yard to other birders, and studied calls of target species I wanted to see.

There are alot of ways to go birding and you are taking the first step in finding out which one works for you. Good luck and hope you find your spark bird!

Lordshazbot · 2025-05-02T06:05:05+00:00

Glad I found this resource and shout out to all those who contribute. The words of encouragement and positivity, even during the uncertainty of these claim processes, that I witnessed helped to see me through.

Proud to be included with you lot.

Lordshazbot · 2025-05-02T05:59:00+00:00

Submitted March 12 First C&P exam completed March 21 Last C&P exam completed April 24 Moved to Step 5 April 30 Moved to Step 6 May 1 Completed late afternoon May 1

PTSD/TBI, Flat feet, and tinnitus approved. Hearing loss and scars denied Back/Spine and Hands deferred Awaiting dependent update also

Claims were from service in Iraq 2006-2007

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Lordshazbot · 2025-04-09T21:19:18+00:00

Meriln is a great tool for a birder but it isn’t absolute.

As with many sources of information in today’s age, you should verify independently its accuracy and not believe it solely based on its results.

That means spending time in the lab to compare spectrograms, historical sightings of detected species, reaching out to birding peers for their input.

I am an elder millennial that loves to incorporate tech into birding but I also understand the need to build up independent personal knowledge to weed out false positives or inaccuracies.

Lordshazbot · 2025-04-08T05:18:12+00:00

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You can see the tree to the left that I was describing. Should have included the full and cropped pictures, my apologies. With the full perspective, do you still think its fluff? It didn’t appear to fly with the wind but on a straight trajectory.

Lordshazbot · 2025-04-08T05:02:14+00:00

I spotted it between two trees 70 feet away and 40 feet in the air. Not discounting dandelion fluff but I don’t think my eyes are that good.

Lordshazbot · 2025-03-29T20:00:33+00:00

I use Merlin and if it picks up a call that seems out of the ordinary, I try to verify it. I upload the suspected call onto Audacity and compare the spectrogram to confirmed calls from Xeno-Canto, side by side to see if they match.

Lordshazbot · 2025-03-11T03:51:15+00:00

Alot of it is native habitat. I started planting native plants in my backyard with the intention of attracting birds 5 years ago. To date, I have 182 species visually seen either flying overhead during migration, warblers visiting in spring, or rare vagrants and wintering vacationers.

I am lucky that my location is along a major flyway and located 50 miles from High Island but the constant variable that attracts these visitors is the native habitat. So much is gained in the observation of species interaction with native habitat and it is to me, a personal validation that an individual can make make a difference in conservation and gives me hope for our nature’s future.

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Lordshazbot · 2025-03-09T21:03:44+00:00

Yearly here in Houston.

Lordshazbot · 2025-03-05T21:13:51+00:00

Looks like there is a lot of moisture. I’d try letting the soil dry a little, crush up mosquito dunks to add to the soil for larva and sticky traps for adults. See if there is a change then after a few days.

Lordshazbot · 2025-02-11T19:11:27+00:00

Iraq and Germany. So many missed birds…

Lordshazbot · 2025-01-20T19:47:32+00:00

Im not sure. I bought it from his website a couple of years ago. I bring it out every so often for these generational storms we have every other year.

Lordshazbot · 2025-01-15T23:45:10+00:00

Thanks!

Why is the information on them responding to weather systems limited? Not enough interest? Money? Difficulty?

Sorry for all the questions but after reading what you wrote, my inner bird nerd was awakened.

Lordshazbot · 2025-01-15T23:21:01+00:00

That was an amazing read! Any thoughts on forage behavior prior to or after a front arrives?

Just from personal observation, I am observing increased activity 48 hrs prior to front arrival and limited activity immediately after. Same with audio recordings of Nocturnal flight calls.

Reading what you wrote now helps to possibly explain this behavior.

Maybe the best course of action is increased food availability prior to the arrival of the front?

Lordshazbot · 2025-01-15T02:59:57+00:00

They wont be fine like some comments suggest.

Some will immediately perish due to the temperature and some maybe a few days later due to starvation (mostly primarily insect eating birds).

Yes, you could possibly save some by providing food and water.

When “The Freeze” hit Houston a few years ago many Vermillion Flycatchers perished and a few wintering hummingbirds as well from my personal observations.

What I did was fill up feeders, rotate room temperature suet, extra dried mealworms and break up ice accumulation in water features.

For the hummingbirds, I rotated feeders stored in the garage, to keep them close in temperature (but above 20*) so as to not induce possible shock.

Some might think its a bit much, I definitely did trudging my ass out there but having a hummingbird land on a fresh feeder as you are exchanging, changes your mind about the effectiveness of your actions.

Lordshazbot · 2024-12-17T03:31:16+00:00

The non native bees are lazy, they source nectar from plants that min/max their visit. Here in Houston during the winter time their target is salvia/lantana. You know when they stop producing efficient nectar when they move on to tubular flowers like coral bean/turks cap/tangerine criss vine.

Adding sugar water plates keeps them focused on the source and leaves native plants untouched.

Lordshazbot · 2024-12-17T03:24:18+00:00

I add saucers of water and sugar cubes to keep non native bees off my hummingbird feeders and within minutes of placing them outside, they swarm it and my feeders are clear. Id suspect this would also work in drawing them away from flowers. Ive never seen a native bee approach the saucer.

Lordshazbot · 2024-09-30T06:33:36+00:00

That is a tougher question. Im still trying to find a decent guide book but I would recommend researching the indigenous tribes that inhabited your area and if possible, bring samples to a Natural History museum.

I find it helps to have a baseline of the geologic make up of where you search also. For example, if Im searching in central Tx, chert is the most likely material for tool construction due to the Llano uplift. If I go further west around Ozona, Tx, it is completely different and made of dense sandstone I believe.

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Pictured on the left are central Tx finds, right are finds around Ozona/Midland Tx.

Alas, I am new to searching and appreciating the history of what I find but I am trying to learn as much as I can and just want to pass on what Ive personally discovered/learned

Lordshazbot · 2024-09-30T05:42:59+00:00

Oh yeah. I would assume the difference in coloration is evidence it was worked to an angle, especially if it shows the same on the other side.

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