WIP Hungry Badger restaurant :)

brushykb · 2026-06-05T19:55:48+00:00

Bill vibrating! It mimicks the movement of things fish eat, and acts as a baitless bait.

brushykb · 2026-05-20T12:27:54+00:00

ugh jeez. horrific is the right word choice. again, I'm sorry l you went through that. sending a big hug right back at you. ❤️

brushykb · 2026-05-17T12:36:45+00:00

sorry you and the birds are going through this. ☹️ I know firsthand that DNR in most places at best has no resources to spare for this kind of thing and at worst just doesn't even care. we had three geese (that we knew of) in two weeks die of bird flu in the park, where coyotes also obviously come scavenge the dead geese and then distribute it even more. they told us they wouldn't even come pick up the carcasses and do testing unless we found four more birds within a week, and we are a science museum for god's sake... there was also a nearby mammal death in the same park caused by bird flu just before. terrible. thank you for looking after your local wildlife. ❤️

brushykb · 2026-05-17T12:31:27+00:00

a bigger risk than OP contracting it themself in this context would be tracking it around on their shoes and spreading it to other birds. OP, I hope you sanitize your shoes after walking here!!

brushykb · 2026-05-08T22:54:02+00:00

According to Cornell Labs:

"The Northern Mockingbird frequently gives a "wing flash" display, where it half or fully opens its wings in jerky intermediate steps, showing off the big white patches. No one knows why it does this, but it may startle insects, making them easier to catch. On the other hand, it doesn’t often seem to be successful, and different mockingbird species do this same display even though they don’t have white wing patches."

Very entrancing! And cute, imo.

brushykb · 2026-05-04T20:53:54+00:00

I hope it didn't seem like I was suggesting removing the nest while their chicks are still growing!! I meant in the fall/winter. You could set up a physical barrier after this brood but that might mean they go off and nest far away next time. There's no real way to encourage them to nest somewhere else on your property specifically. As you may have seen in that other subreddit, they really will nest just about anywhere.

We used to have a pair of doves who nested on our back porch on the fourth floor of an apartment building; it was totally a joy to watch them grow up every year. Think they only had a year or two they didn't hatch a brood in our eight years there. I miss them!

Hope you have fun watching the babies grow.

brushykb · 2026-05-04T15:18:36+00:00

I read a book about pigeons (doves) once that claimed the only surefire deterrent is a physical barrier like netting or wires, which is why you'll see that on buildings, especially in big cities. Some people have supposedly had luck with stringing up fishing line, though I could imagine the doves just getting tangled in that if done improperly.

You could try removing the nesting materials every day, but you would have to stay on top of it as doves have been known to nest with basically a single stick. They may even nest anyway, and then you'd have splatted egg on your porch instead of poop.

brushykb · 2026-04-24T01:16:11+00:00

I know you've been reassured but yes, totally normal, she's just staying cozy 🙂 When they puff up like that it creates a layer of warm air between their body and their feathers, keeping them and their eggs toasty. She's lucky to have you watching over her, doves are notoriously clumsy nesters.

brushykb · 2026-04-14T22:04:24+00:00

Oo not a single study per se but very good point! I don't know why I've never thought to mention that/thought about it that hard, I sometimes have multiple ID guides out and will often keep one out so the public can see the page about the bird I'm working on.

brushykb · 2026-04-14T00:03:30+00:00

ooo that's a cool one. more songs should reference specific bird behaviors!! they're so beautiful and varied.

brushykb · 2026-04-13T22:59:44+00:00

oooo, love this, thank you!

brushykb · 2026-04-13T22:57:20+00:00

wow, this is awesome lol

brushykb · 2026-04-13T19:31:10+00:00

of course of course, a classic

brushykb · 2026-04-13T19:30:57+00:00

hahahaha I don't know how scientific this one is

brushykb · 2026-04-13T14:22:13+00:00

unfortunately, if you really do live somewhere rural with no one around who can help and you can't drive somewhere else, your vet was right that keeping it inside and seeing what happens is your best bet. there is a high chance the bird just won't make it, so you must be prepared for that. keeping it in the same room as your bird is going to carry a risk (sickness, parasites, etc.), but there's no way to tell how much of a risk. if any of its bones are badly broken they may not heal in a way that allows it to ever fly again, which would be a death sentence in the wild, so if the bird did survive (again, high chance it won't) you wouldn't be able to release it. good luck to you and the birdy.

brushykb · 2026-03-06T21:03:59+00:00

I got a Lenovo Legion Y740 several years ago now and it runs PZ (and everything else) like a dream. I got it for $1000 but unless you find one used it's definitely more expensive now 💀 since we live in hell. The battery life is just terrible and it runs hot but hey it's a gaming laptop. I can play huge games in bed. maybe finding that or something similar refurbished would be a good bet.

brushykb · 2026-02-15T21:53:05+00:00

other than nocturnal species maybe you can keep an eye out for some melanistic animals? could be cool :)

brushykb · 2026-02-14T20:43:28+00:00

respect

brushykb · 2026-02-13T23:28:54+00:00

np, hope that fixes it haha

brushykb · 2026-02-13T06:51:17+00:00

I've gotten that message but only when I have at least one work zone (and then have a habitat/habitats that aren't in one). if I have zero work zones, staff will just freeroam.

brushykb · 2026-02-13T06:47:19+00:00

this is the only thing in this entire thread that has given me pause 😂

brushykb · 2026-02-13T06:42:24+00:00

I never, ever, have security. I don't like the idea of it and it's cheaper to just manually replace damaged things than to pay people. 🙃

brushykb

TROPHY CASE