Re: Was that Hooper Swan planted?
- From: Malcolm <Malcolm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2006 10:56:01 +0100
In article <c64_f.1$nl4.0@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Streuth Cor Blimey <nil@xxxxxxxxx> writes
"Malcolm" <Malcolm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:q6XfOUtmpAOEFw8Z@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <4lTZf.18511$Ph2.16843@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Streuth Cor
Blimey <nil@xxxxxxxxx> writes
"Jim Webster" <Jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:49q6g4Fq7fu5U2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Details? what details?
"Streuth Cor Blimey" <nil@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:0IOZf.13806$ic1.10456@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Jim Webster" <Jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
message
news:49p9jcFpl56lU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> "Malcolm" <Malcolm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:NntGpuDAg2NEFwgq@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>
>
>>
>> Flying across the Atlantic is beyond the powers of a swan. It could
>> not
>> carry enough energy in the form of fat to fly that far.
>
> Not a bird flu question but haven't geese been caught in the Jet
> Steam?
> --
>
> Jim Webster.
> Pat Gardiner, Five years raving about bent vets and still no result
>
I always understood the Jet stream to be 25000 feet
upwards. I know that cross atlantic air traffic expoit
it at over 30000 feet.
I read that Everest at about 29000 feet is just high
enough to stick into it.
If this poor swan flew that high it probably froze solid
before dropping into the sea. Perhaps this is how it lasted
so long?
:-)
Perhaps you meant the jest stream?
I suggest you check the details
--
Jim Webster.
Pat Gardiner, Five years raving about bent vets and still no result
Urban mythology?
Saw it on the 'net?
Direct me to somewhere sensible that will convince
me that large birds use the Jet Stream successfully,
do not suffocate for lack of oxygen, and do not freeze
solid.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/swan_migration_2003.shtml
Whooper swans fly at varying heights,
from 100m to 1,300m above the ground,
and can reach speeds in excess of 50mph.
By my calculations that's about 330 - 4,290 feet.
using 3.3 feet to a metre.
See my post in this thread. A flock of Whooper Swans was observed at
27,000+ feet in temperatures of -40 degrees and at oxygen levels of 40%
those at the surface. They were in a northerly jet stream of c.37m/sec or
c.100 mph. These facts were published in the journal 'British Birds' in
1979 and subsequently in a book entitled 'Birds and Weather' by Norman
Elkins, a distinguished meteorologist/ornithologist.
--
Malcolm
I remain a sceptic.
I could find no supporting documentation,
Published in the journal 'British Birds' and reviewed by experts before publication.
and
in spite of Mr. Elkins being "distinguished", he
is said to have only quoted the story.
Only partly. The original sighting was published in the journal 'British Birds' by an air-traffic controller colleague of the original observer, someone knowledgeable about birds and actually a friend of mine, while Norman Elkins did a follow-up a few issues later giving some more details about the meteorological conditions at the time of the observation.
Did he explain how one would identify WhooperA flock of 30 swans flying south in early December over the Outer Hebrides could not have been any other swan species than Whooper. There is, believe me, no other possibility. There are no Bewick's in Iceland and only a handful of resident Mutes. Nor is there any doubt that the pilot saw what he did - a flock of 30 swans in the area that the air traffic controller told him to look. Note that the pilot was not the person who originally spotted the birds - that was the air traffic controller seeing an unexplained echo, so other "flying objects" reported by pilots are irrelevant.
from Berwick or Mute, (under such conditions)
and did he refer to many other "sightings" of other
flying objects that pilots have reported over the years?
I would have thought that birds could easily be
ringed with a GPS device which could give height
and location, to verify such a report.
Some have been. Not a GPS device exactly, but a satellite radio transmitter. The very few marked birds (<20) did not fly that high on the two or three migrations that were monitored. But then the population is over 15,000 and goes to and fro Iceland every spring and autumn, so the sample size of marked birds wasn't exactly large.
A thermometer would have been useful too.
Not needed - a competent meteorologist can tell you what the temperature is at given altitudes at given times as Norman Elkins did.
I think Whooper Swans should then be added theProbably they should, but they are certainly not unique.
the list of known "Extremophiles" in our planet.
--
Malcolm
.
- References:
- Re: Was that Hooper Swan planted?
- From: Streuth Cor Blimey
- Re: Was that Hooper Swan planted?
- From: Streuth Cor Blimey
- Re: Was that Hooper Swan planted?
- Prev by Date: Eagle web cam
- Next by Date: Re: Green Woodpeckers
- Previous by thread: Re: Was that Hooper Swan planted?
- Next by thread: Re: Was that Hooper Swan planted?
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
