Activity for B. Clay Shannon‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Edit	Post #41675	Initial revision	—	over 4 years ago
Edit	Post #41673	Initial revision	—	over 4 years ago
Edit	Post #41668	Initial revision	—	over 4 years ago
Edit	Post #41363	Initial revision	—	over 4 years ago
Edit	Post #40881	Initial revision	—	over 4 years ago
Edit	Post #39879	Initial revision	—	over 4 years ago
Edit	Post #39872	Initial revision	—	over 4 years ago
Question	—	Why was I attacked by a bird (twice)? Last night, I had to climb a tower at work. When I reached the top platform (about 40 feet up), and turned my back to close the swinging gate behind me, I was whacked on the back of the head. Fortunately, I was wearing a hard hat and was not knocked off my feet. It did hurt, though - without the har... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Do animals have varied taste in foods within their species? Humans differ in their food preferences. One person loves oysters, another can't stand them, etc. What about animals? Are there any rabbits that don't like carrots? Lions that don't care for zebra? Brown Bears that won't eat fish? Panda bears that turn up their snouts at bamboo? Koalas that eschew e... (more)	—	almost 8 years ago
Question	—	Did I save, or prolong the death throes, of the tuna crabs? Walking along the strand this morning in Monterey, I was confronted by hundreds (at least) of stranded (no pun intended) tuna crabs (I thought they were shrimp, but a visitor from San Diego told me they were tuna crabs, and had, as a result of El Nino, been washing ashore and dying down there). Some... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Can deep wave action be partially predicted by lunar phases? Where I walk weekly (Del Monte Beach in Monterey, California), I beachcomb for shells, glass, and particularly stones. Most of what gets cast up is rather dull and uninteresting - gray and black rocks of no particular noteworthiness. However, there are always at least some gemlike little rocks of va... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Where have all the sandpipers gone? (long time passing). I walk along Del Monte beach in Crow City, USA (Monterey, California) quite often. For quite awhile, sandpipers were there in abundance - more than any other bird. I haven't seen any in a couple of months. Have they migrated away? Where? According to this, sandpipers are "ye... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Are Dolphin sightings seasonal or serendipitous? I walk along Del Monte Beach in Crow City, USA (Monterey, California) quite often. It is not too rare to see dolphins frolicking (so it seems to me, although they may just be going about their business, with no particular feeling of fancifulness or frivolity as they periodically arch their backs ou... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Are the birds that snatch bread out of the air "more citified" (tamer) than those who let it drop? I often take a slice of bread to the beach when I go on my beachcombing ramblings, and throw pieces of it to the shore birds that are, like me, combing the beach but, unlike my search for "jewels" are on the scavenge for grub. For the most part, these avians are seagulls of one stripe or another. Ho... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	What makes some beaches better spots for beachcombers than others? I live within walking distance of Del Monte beach in Crow City, USA (Also known as Monterey, California). I enjoy scouring the beach for interesting-looking stones, seashells, and bits of seaworn colored glass fragments. It seems to me that "my" beach is more fruitful than other beaches / your typi... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	What sort of crane, and what sort of snake? In an area near where I work in Monterey, I often walk during the noon hour and end up in a meadow that is much-beloved to red-winged blackbirds. The other day I saw something unusual, though - as I walked into the meadow, I noticed a large bird - some sort of crane, I reckon - with a large black sn... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Are crows more interested in identifying individual humans than vice versa, and if so, why? I live in Crow City, USA (AKA Monterey, California). I can't tell one crow from another without their perching right next to me on a bust of Portola. They seem to all be clones of each other, as far as I can tell (and I'm sure that's true of most non-ornithologist humans). Yet crows can differentiat... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Is this sand dollar with barnacles attached to it at all rare? While taking my usual stroll along Del Monte beach in Monterey yesterday, I found this sand dollar with a clump of barnacles attached: Is this rare at all? Any observations on why it would wash up onto the beach? (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Are the seagulls begging or contentedly sighing? For any Dr. Doolittles out there, when a seagull makes a "cooing" sound, is it more like the "miaow" of a cat, or the purring of a cat? Specifically, when the seagulls "talk" to each other, it is oftentimes in barks or croaks; whether they mean by these sounds "watch out!" or "look at that!" or "get... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	Is there statistical backing for asserting the wilderness is safer than the highway? My brother once told a concerned parent (whose son he was taking hiking in the "wilderness" (John Muir trail) for a few days) that the most dangerous part of the trip would be the drive there and back. All joking aside about a person's driving skill, I believe my brother was almost certainly correct... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	How do Plover sentinels give the "move out" signal? During my usual weekend morning jaunt along Del Monte Beach in Monterey (California), I noticed for the first time the Plovers, who normally seem to forage nonstop, actually taking a communal break. About a dozen or so gathered together in a circle, and all but one or two bent their heads backwards a... (more)	—	over 8 years ago
Question	—	What would cause sudsy surf? I took my usual weekend stroll along the strand (Del Monte Beach in Monterey, California) today. It was different today than ever before. For one thing, there were no Sandpipers or Plovers or Gulls on the beach. Perhaps that was because it was pretty windy. There were gulls and pelicans flying over... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	Why do Sandpipers show off their catch? I noticed a couple of Sandpipers today who, after extracting a larger-than-normal morsel from the sand under the receding waves, "strutted their stuff" and dropped the morsel they had discovered for all surrounding Sandpipers to see, and then immediately snatched it up again. The dropping of the cat... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	Why do Sandpipers sometimes hop on one leg? While walking on the beach in Monterey, I have noticed several Sandpipers that I at first thought had lost a leg; they hop along on the one, eliciting pity from naive onlookers. Then, though, they stretch their other leg back down and begin walking as normal. Why do they do this? Are they resting t... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	Why do Sandpipers and Plovers "hang out" together? I walk on Del Monte beach in Monterey, California quite often. I see LOTS of Sandpipers there; and always with them are Plovers (which remind me of little frenetic Killdeer). The Sandpipers dig into the sand when the tide rolls back, seeking, I am told, sandfleas and perhaps tiny crustaceans. The P... (more)	—	almost 9 years ago
Question	—	Why are two birds obsessed with a chopped-down tree? Where I work, there was a great pine tree which was recently chopped (actually, sawed) down. Prior to its demise, this tall pine was visited often by lizards and birds. After its removal, though, the remaining stump has seemed to hold a fascination for a pair of dark birds, and I'm stumped (no pun ... (more)	—	over 9 years ago