Fat Birds

We have a pretty active bird feeder, with several different types of seed,
in the backyard near a large picture window. We get a variety of birds
ranging from sparrows and finches to woodpeckers, cardinals and jays. Some
mornings there is a small pile of feathers on the ground near it, perhaps
indicating that the red-tailed hawk that lives in the area is also feeding
there (or perhaps the owl we hear at night sometimes).

At any rate, the birds seem to have been really chowing down this year. I
have to fill the feeder at least once a week. Some of the birds actually
look fat. Do you think they have to recalculate their performance and W&B
as they bulk up? Will their takeoff runs increase as the weather warms up
and the density altitude rises? Enquiring minds want to know.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)

At any rate, the birds seem to have been really chowing down this year. I
have to fill the feeder at least once a week. Some of the birds actually
look fat. Do you think they have to recalculate their performance and W&B
as they bulk up? Will their takeoff runs increase as the weather warms up
and the density altitude rises? Enquiring minds want to know.

Judging by the size of some of their droppings, they must be able to
recompute their W&B while in-flight, too.

Speaking of birds, wow, are the bald eagles everywhere all the sudden.
After rarely seeing them in my life, now we've got 'em just hanging around
the airport, sitting on the beacon tower. I taxied past one the other day
that looked danged-near as big as us.

Wouldn't want to be under one of *their* bomb runs...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Have you heard about the supposed "super eagles" that have been reported in
Alaska? Supposedly the size of a small Cessna. Now that would be a bird
strike!

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:hRKCf.760315$xm3.93014@attbi_s21...
At any rate, the birds seem to have been really chowing down this year.
I have to fill the feeder at least once a week. Some of the birds
actually look fat. Do you think they have to recalculate their
performance and W&B as they bulk up? Will their takeoff runs increase as
the weather warms up and the density altitude rises? Enquiring minds
want to know.

Judging by the size of some of their droppings, they must be able to
recompute their W&B while in-flight, too.

Speaking of birds, wow, are the bald eagles everywhere all the sudden.
After rarely seeing them in my life, now we've got 'em just hanging around
the airport, sitting on the beacon tower. I taxied past one the other
day that looked danged-near as big as us.

Wouldn't want to be under one of *their* bomb runs...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Have you heard about the supposed "super eagles" that have been reported in
Alaska? Supposedly the size of a small Cessna. Now that would be a bird
strike!

For Jay's benefit...

Is a small Cessna bigger or smaller than a small Piper?

Bob wrote:
Do you think they have to recalculate their performance and W&B
as they bulk up? Will their takeoff runs increase as the weather warms up
and the density altitude rises? Enquiring minds want to know.

At first glance I thought, "Now there's a Do Do of a question..." but
after reading the replies, it is actually interesting. Dang! I gotta
fly soon! Can't sleep, but eating 24/7.

The Monk

On 28 Jan 2006 07:02:11 -0800, "Flyingmonk" wrote:

Bob wrote:
Do you think they have to recalculate their performance and W&B
as they bulk up? Will their takeoff runs increase as the weather warms up
and the density altitude rises? Enquiring minds want to know.

At first glance I thought, "Now there's a Do Do of a question..." but
after reading the replies, it is actually interesting. Dang! I gotta
fly soon! Can't sleep, but eating 24/7.

The Monk

That's really timely.

I just got a call from my son asking about a bird strike that I had
many years ago.

I was flying a Cherokee and was in the pattern at Tullahoma, Tennessee
when I saw a black flash and heard a thud on the right wing. For some
reason, maybe an act of God, this buzzard hit perfectly on the wing
and both of his wings wrapped on the top and bottom of my bent wing.
He even had the grace to drop off on the runway after I landed, so I
could haul him in.

I was seventeen years old, and if that bird hadn't stuck to the wing I
would have had to pay for it.

Mike Weller

In a previous article, "Bob Chilcoat" said:
At any rate, the birds seem to have been really chowing down this year. I
have to fill the feeder at least once a week. Some of the birds actually
look fat. Do you think they have to recalculate their performance and W&B
as they bulk up? Will their takeoff runs increase as the weather warms up
and the density altitude rises? Enquiring minds want to know.

I hate to interject some facts into a fun discussion like this, but when
birds in cold weather look fat, it's usually just because they've fluffed
up their feathers to provide more insulation. If you watch these birds
take off or land, you'll see that for a split-second after landing (and
sometimes before take-off), you'll see them look thinner.

I wish I had a coat that I could make warmer or cooler as the conditions
dictated.

--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
"If Bill Gates had a dime for every time a Windows box crashed...
..... Oh, wait a minute, he already does."

For Jay's benefit...

Is a small Cessna bigger or smaller than a small Piper?

Depends on the model, and whose telling the story. And are we talking
weight, or wingspan?

For example, our Pathfinder weigh about 30% more than a Cherokee 140.
So a "small" Piper, means a lot of different things to different
people.

Of course, if it's the newspaper reporting this, we're all flying
either "Cubs" or "Cessna Pipers"....

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

when I saw a black flash and heard a thud on the right wing. For some
reason, maybe an act of God, this buzzard hit perfectly on the wing


God hates buzzards?

Bob Chilcoat wrote:

Some
mornings there is a small pile of feathers on the ground near it, perhaps
indicating that the red-tailed hawk that lives in the area is also feeding
there (or perhaps the owl we hear at night sometimes).

Redtails rarely take out birds, and almost never songbirds (they're too awkward
to catch them). Owls are even more unlikely to kill birds. Both raptors prefer
rodents, and small owls would have to be near starving to eat anything else. Of
course, a Great Horned owl will add skunks and cats to the larder, but I've
never heard of one eating birds. Your raider is probably something like a
sharp-shinned hawk that you haven't seen (or maybe your "redtail" is really a
sharpie).

At any rate, the birds seem to have been really chowing down this year.

I think it's the warm winter we're having. I actually saw some Starlings
yesterday. They should've migrated south months ago. I think we have most of the
usual winter crowd and some of the summer crowd too.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.