Is the cold weather making people grumpy?

[Serial_Apologist]

Credit where it's due eh!....

I might just go and burn down a few banks, later...

[eighthobstruction]

Them mopes around here are easy to track in the snow....

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

On the subject of birds perhaps it's appropriate to mention the annual RSPB Birdwatch takes place this weekend (I've taken part for some years) You simply have to count numbers and species of birds in a one hour time slot. Details here: http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/how.aspx

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21082873

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

..er i have wanted to kill several people today .... and had very nice fantasies in which the machine pistol did not jam .....

.... still we are but a plague on the earth, a plague ....

i see the Japanese PM has had to withdraw his request for old people to die more quickly ...

and how are boredees murderous fantasies today?

[Warwick]

It's snowing as I type and I am just hoping that my piano tutor will be able to give me a lesson today!

[amateur51]

... we've had lots of the parakeets in W12 for quite a few years now. Our birdologist friends are divided 50:50 as to whether they like them here or not.

I think they are a happy addition to the skies of Shepherd's Bush.

and those of Queen's Park and Willesden

[eighthobstruction]

and those of Queen's Park and Willesden

I imagine them perched all about the Hindu Temple on Wiilesden Lane....

[amateur51]

I imagine them perched all about the Hindu Temple on Wiilesden Lane....

A perfect setting ... with all the signs that say "PLEASE don't feed the pigeons!"

[AmpH]

Jayne, I can assure you the novelty will soon wear off when they reach the pest proportions they have on, for example, Hampstead Heath. Looks as if the RSPB's distribution map needs updating. There's concern about them monopolising suitable nest sites that have previously been used by other species. The RSPB has a policy statement on the subject. Some Hampstead Heath birdwatchers are very grumpy indeed about them, though Bill Oddie doesn't seem to mind them.

And there are suggestions they are causing damage to vineyards in SE England

Actually the cold weather is making me quite cheerful - cold weather movements of birds make for exciting birdwatching in the west .

I would certainly agree with you about the novelty of parakeets soon wearing off Richard - having been involved in counts of several thousand at winter roosts. They are indeed a spectacular sight, but the cacophany of screeching rapidly becomes an irritation.

For anyone interested, this is a short film of the Wormwood Scrubs roost in West London - although the full impact of the noise does not really come across and the commentary is rather ' rose tinted '.

http://www.wildlifewhisperer.tv/videos/shorts/1706

Research into the effects of the birds is being carried out by a PhD project out of Imperial College :-

http://www.projectparakeet.co.uk/

[Dave2002]

and those of Queen's Park and Willesden

There are quite a lot [parakeets] up in the trees round us now - down towards Guildford. Not sure how they like the cold, though.

[JFLL]

the cacophany of screeching rapidly becomes an irritation.

I wholeheartedly agree. They colonized Greenwich Park a few years ago and have since spread to the gardens of nearby streets. Their wretched alien screeching seems to intimidate the blackbirds into giving up their lovely singing on a spring or summer evening.

[eighthobstruction]

Has this sort of invasion affected other European cities?....

[EdgeleyRob]

Instant cure for grumpiness

[Richard Tarleton]

Has this sort of invasion affected other European cities?....

Yes - established populations in cities in Belgium, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Netherlands, Spain, possibly more. Species is originally from S Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and individual populations are introduced or escaped.

[Nick Armstrong]

Instant cure for grumpiness

By 'eck that's about as good as it gets! Irresistible, ER, many thanks. Can't stop grinning.