If you were an Eskimo Curlew (and boy, do we wish you were)...
June 26, 2011 7:27 AM Subscribe
What is Bird Poop? What Do Nesting Birds Do With All That Poop? Poop From The Front End. The Poop Wars of 1879. Poop Week has just concluded at 10,000 Birds, with stories, dirty science and beautiful photos at "the intersection of poop and birding, a fertile precinct if there ever was one." [via The Agonist]
My Loo List:
Over the years to come I would see so many good birds whilst having a wee pee in bushes or even an alfresco numero due that it has almost become normal. In Kent I found my first Dartford Warbler whilst taking a dump behind a gorse bush. In the Spanish Pyrenees I saw my first Alpine Chough while making yellow snow. In Chile I got the best view of an Andean Condor of the entire trip while having a cheeky poo under a monkey puzzle pine on the side of a volcano...
My Loo List:
Over the years to come I would see so many good birds whilst having a wee pee in bushes or even an alfresco numero due that it has almost become normal. In Kent I found my first Dartford Warbler whilst taking a dump behind a gorse bush. In the Spanish Pyrenees I saw my first Alpine Chough while making yellow snow. In Chile I got the best view of an Andean Condor of the entire trip while having a cheeky poo under a monkey puzzle pine on the side of a volcano...
Excuse me for a moment. I suddenly have to go poop.
posted by scottatdrake at 7:48 AM on June 26, 2011
posted by scottatdrake at 7:48 AM on June 26, 2011
Ah yes. Bird poop. As a parrot owner I have an intimate knowledge of bird poop. When Scooby (my Quaker) is particularly annoyed she will do that "projectile poop". The ultimate sign of birdie disdain.
As an aside, some of you may know about the Quaker colonies in the USA. One colony near me is in Greenwood Cemetery. The Quakers there keep the place pretty much free of pigeons. And the cemetery workers welcome them. Because pigeon poop damages stone and metalwork. Quaker poop has no such effect.
Brooklyn Quakers.
posted by Splunge at 7:48 AM on June 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
As an aside, some of you may know about the Quaker colonies in the USA. One colony near me is in Greenwood Cemetery. The Quakers there keep the place pretty much free of pigeons. And the cemetery workers welcome them. Because pigeon poop damages stone and metalwork. Quaker poop has no such effect.
Brooklyn Quakers.
posted by Splunge at 7:48 AM on June 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
Quaker poop has no such effect.
It must be all that oatmeal they eat.
Oh, wait. I missed a detail in there. Nevermind.
posted by hippybear at 7:50 AM on June 26, 2011 [5 favorites]
It must be all that oatmeal they eat.
Oh, wait. I missed a detail in there. Nevermind.
posted by hippybear at 7:50 AM on June 26, 2011 [5 favorites]
Bird poop is one of those things I never wondered about. Nonetheless I found the way two types of animals accomplish the same thing with a slightly different mechanism pretty interesting. Evolution is cool.
posted by cj_ at 7:52 AM on June 26, 2011
posted by cj_ at 7:52 AM on June 26, 2011
Question: What is the white stuff in bird poop?
Answer: That is bird poop, too.
posted by Bugg at 7:55 AM on June 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
Answer: That is bird poop, too.
posted by Bugg at 7:55 AM on June 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
I love the crap out of you, mediareport, and also Metafilter for having not one, not two, but four posts tagged with "cloaca." I can say this now that I live in a pigeonpoop-free residence, and having finally recovered from the PTSD of cleaning up about a decade of pigeon poop from a back balcony of one apartment we moved into. CLOACA!
posted by taz at 7:56 AM on June 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by taz at 7:56 AM on June 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
The scoop is in the poop! Monitoring your pet bird's poop is an excellent way to find out how healthy it is. Bird poop is a fascinating subject, but I'm always afraid of looking a bit weird. Nothing fertilizies like bird poop; walked through a playing field once where Canada Geese had spent the night and it was the greenest patch of grass ever.
Having said that, I too have experienced poops of disdain from pet birds over the years. One budgie deliberately pooped on the carpet and then ran back in the cage; I put newspaper there and soon he was listening for the plop before running back in the cage *facepalm* Birds.
posted by Calzephyr at 7:59 AM on June 26, 2011
Having said that, I too have experienced poops of disdain from pet birds over the years. One budgie deliberately pooped on the carpet and then ran back in the cage; I put newspaper there and soon he was listening for the plop before running back in the cage *facepalm* Birds.
posted by Calzephyr at 7:59 AM on June 26, 2011
I'd just like to note that it is impossible to write a more British sentence than "In Kent I found my first Dartford Warbler whilst taking a dump behind a gorse bush."
posted by mediareport at 8:03 AM on June 26, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by mediareport at 8:03 AM on June 26, 2011 [6 favorites]
Is everyone going to threadshit? Come on, people!
Excellent post; thank you!
posted by rtha at 8:09 AM on June 26, 2011
Excellent post; thank you!
posted by rtha at 8:09 AM on June 26, 2011
Yet another sign I need to get going on my article on Guano, Slavery, and Antebellum Southern Nationalism.
Great post, as are most guano post on Metafilter.
posted by marxchivist at 8:24 AM on June 26, 2011
Great post, as are most guano post on Metafilter.
posted by marxchivist at 8:24 AM on June 26, 2011
I like to take nature photos, of wildlife in particular - including lots of birds and insects. I love many of the photos I end up with, but I think I enjoy the various animal and insect behaviors I've been lucky enough to observe while looking for a good shot.
One of the coolest things I've seen was a bird feeding some chicks in their nest. Every so often one of the chicks would do a kind of little dance - flap its wings, stick its butt up in the air and wiggle it. The parent bird would stick its open beak against the chick's butt and lets just say that the poop wouldn't even touch the nest.
posted by Bort at 8:57 AM on June 26, 2011
One of the coolest things I've seen was a bird feeding some chicks in their nest. Every so often one of the chicks would do a kind of little dance - flap its wings, stick its butt up in the air and wiggle it. The parent bird would stick its open beak against the chick's butt and lets just say that the poop wouldn't even touch the nest.
posted by Bort at 8:57 AM on June 26, 2011
Has everyone made all the poop jokes yet?
This brings new and deeper meanings to the impressive splat in the middle of Mr. Mustachio's windshield.
posted by louche mustachio at 9:01 AM on June 26, 2011
This brings new and deeper meanings to the impressive splat in the middle of Mr. Mustachio's windshield.
posted by louche mustachio at 9:01 AM on June 26, 2011
A thought about Big Bird and what one would do if they were a big bird.
But more seriously, this is some pretty interesting stuff. Although it's an odd moment when I am reading some interesting facts and are learning about things I didn't know, and then you scroll to a close-up picture of a bird projectile pooping. For some reason, it's almost jarring, even though I've just been reading a detailed description of the same act. Strange.
posted by chambers at 9:15 AM on June 26, 2011
But more seriously, this is some pretty interesting stuff. Although it's an odd moment when I am reading some interesting facts and are learning about things I didn't know, and then you scroll to a close-up picture of a bird projectile pooping. For some reason, it's almost jarring, even though I've just been reading a detailed description of the same act. Strange.
posted by chambers at 9:15 AM on June 26, 2011
At the intersection of ornithological obsession and coprophilia lies this thread. Well done!
posted by wowbobwow at 10:30 AM on June 26, 2011
posted by wowbobwow at 10:30 AM on June 26, 2011
"One colony near me is in Greenwood Cemetery. The Quakers there keep the place pretty much free of pigeons. And the cemetery workers welcome them. Because pigeon poop damages stone and metalwork. Quaker poop has no such effect."
Danger of being old and reading too quickly: I had this momentary image of Quakers (the black hatted kind) pooping in the graveyard and scaring the pigeons.
You meant Quaker parrots....??? In the immortal words of Emily Littella.."oh, never mind....."
posted by mermayd at 10:34 AM on June 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
Danger of being old and reading too quickly: I had this momentary image of Quakers (the black hatted kind) pooping in the graveyard and scaring the pigeons.
You meant Quaker parrots....??? In the immortal words of Emily Littella.."oh, never mind....."
posted by mermayd at 10:34 AM on June 26, 2011 [3 favorites]
Hippybear meet mermayd. You two play nice together. I'm getting a beer in the other thread.
posted by Splunge at 10:35 AM on June 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Splunge at 10:35 AM on June 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
I just spoused mermayd. It seemed like the only logical next step.
posted by hippybear at 10:38 AM on June 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 10:38 AM on June 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
I hate the word poop. I'm like the guy Jonathan Goldstein interviewed on a recent This American Life who wants to ban the word smoothie, except about poop.
posted by Beardman at 1:26 PM on June 26, 2011
posted by Beardman at 1:26 PM on June 26, 2011
Logbook June 1:
We rowed all night to get to the island rookery. As a misty dawn appeared, I snuck up on the unaware birds. Then I jumped out and scared the shit out of them! You should have seen the look on their feces.
Great post, BTW.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 1:34 PM on June 26, 2011
We rowed all night to get to the island rookery. As a misty dawn appeared, I snuck up on the unaware birds. Then I jumped out and scared the shit out of them! You should have seen the look on their feces.
Great post, BTW.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 1:34 PM on June 26, 2011
Poop smoothie. Just had to type that. Poop smoothie. Damn. That felt good.
posted by Splunge at 2:45 PM on June 26, 2011
posted by Splunge at 2:45 PM on June 26, 2011
this is particularly odd to me, because in australian english poop is absoultely babytalk - it may be used by a two or three year old, any adult using the word would be looked at rather strangely.
posted by wilful at 4:14 PM on June 26, 2011
posted by wilful at 4:14 PM on June 26, 2011
In American English poop is the bestest word ever, and American English is eleventyhundred times more better than Australian English.
posted by taz at 4:19 AM on June 27, 2011
posted by taz at 4:19 AM on June 27, 2011
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posted by hippybear at 7:45 AM on June 26, 2011 [1 favorite]