tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post3660791136742387679..comments2023-09-18T06:38:04.194-04:00Comments on Palemaleirregulars: A MiscellanyDonegal Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09809720759418462703noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post-83904397364651050352007-04-06T03:37:00.000-04:002007-04-06T03:37:00.000-04:00All the bunnies around here are a kind of medium g...All the bunnies around here are a kind of medium greyish with maybe a bit of brown tone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post-42783893493852457192007-04-05T14:47:00.000-04:002007-04-05T14:47:00.000-04:00New England,What IS the wind velocity a few inches...New England,<BR/><BR/>What IS the wind velocity a few inches off the ground? It is a little micro-climate down there isn't it? The temperature difference between the earth and the air would come into play. But how much? More than negligible at that level? What would the variables involved be? <BR/><BR/>For all that comes into play we might well need a meterologist. I'll see what I can do but in the meantime...<BR/><BR/>Let's think wind. I've often noticed that there is wind in the tops of trees which is much stronger than the movement of air standing on the ground. Now that I think about it, I've never noticed a wind on my ankles that isn't hitting the rest of me. Have you? So I'd hazard a guess that in most cases, the closer one is to the ground, other variables being equal, which they never are of course, the wind is equal to or less than it is on other levels at that moment in time. <BR/><BR/>But then you say, what about the wind whooshing over the top of a hill. Ah, topography. Another on the list of variables. <BR/><BR/>Just eyeballing it, it looks as if the ground has a slight rise away from their area towards the northwest and exactly opposite the rise, is the house. <BR/><BR/>What about the exact few inches the doves chose? What makes this spot different from a foot or two either way? What made this spot best on the day they chose it?<BR/><BR/>First of all, the exact spots they snuggled into are not on top of grass but rather where last Autumn's dry leaves have collected. Well, that's insulation but also perhaps they collected there because the spots are slightly depressed. <BR/><BR/>A few feet to the right is an antique wheelbarrow, piled with twigs. To the left is a porch glider and a patio with a big wooden picnic table. All of which don't completely break the wind as there is room underneath for the it to go under. But they would affect the currents with their bulk. <BR/><BR/>It is quite close to the house and so far, though a Kestrel has appeared in a distant tree to peruse the juncos hoppity hopping under the feeder,(They go into a freeze, which is strange to see them so motionless.)I've not seen a raptor come this close to the house. The neighbors no longer have outside cats nor have I seen any strays prowling about lately.<BR/><BR/>What about the sun, or what there was that day sporatically? I didn't see the doves in early morning as I was away doing errands and that is the time the area is in shade. By the time I noticed them, what sun there was would hit them until the end of the day.<BR/><BR/>And lest we forget, the spots are only a few birdie steps away from a snack.<BR/><BR/>Doves being ground feeders, if the seed I put on the patio has been eaten, the next chance for first dibs would be when feeder birds spill a bit on the ground. But the bonanza comes when one of the squirrels climbs up the screen, leaps to the feeder and starts pawing through looking for delicasies. That's the big chance of the day for ground feeders.<BR/><BR/>So what did that spot do for the doves on that particular day?<BR/><BR/>1. Insulation for their feet and bellies.<BR/>2. Conceivably less wind chill on the ground due to wind current breaks and depressed topography.<BR/>3. The warmth of the sun for the time frame noted.<BR/>4. The proximity of humans to lessen the chance of predators.<BR/>5. AND first chance at seed fall.<BR/><BR/>As to the question as to whether the warmth of the sun would out weigh the chill of the wind. Trusting the bunny, it would make sense it did otherwise he'd be unlikely to do it, right? Unless we've forgotten to include some aspect of bunny life that is strong and overrides the other variables. For instance, something like keeping an eye peeled for a sexual partner. I'm thinking that for us to figure out what days he would do it would entail an equation that includes some of the above, his sense of not doing the same thing in the same place too often because of predators (If rabbits take that into account, I don't know.) plus the heat absorbing quotient of the color of your wild bunny.<BR/><BR/>How dark a wild bunny is yours?<BR/><BR/>And here we have an example of why scientists attempt to create field studies to test hypotheses which include as few variables as possible. :-)Donegal Brownehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09809720759418462703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post-29149151106921071092007-04-05T09:04:00.000-04:002007-04-05T09:04:00.000-04:00There's a wild bunny who visits my yard here in Ne...There's a wild bunny who visits my yard here in New England. On sunny, very windy days he will be hunkered down in the open in the sun instead of in the shadows next to a wall or a shrub. Does the sun provide more warmth than the wind takes away? What's the wind velocity a few inches off the ground...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com