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Happy Year of the Dragon. Here is my Dragon Girl Bird sculpture from 2018.

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Friday, April 17, 2015

Wires to birds

Saturday rain was forecast. I canceled the yard sale because of it.
I can have it sometime next month.

So what's Sepia Saturday up to this week?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FCdnKwKmoBA/VQgNUedtraI/AAAAAAAAaIU/LWZDkcMpv_0/s1600/2015.03W.44.jpg

Poles and wires, oh my goodness.  Do I have any photos of them?

I should.  My oldest son works daily outside in Florida taking care of  Verizon's "boxes of connections" and wires, and even goes up phone poles if he has to.  And occasionally he takes a photo of what he can see.

But I don't always save them.  After all, I'm also busy taking photos of my life.

Remember when you had to carry a camera after loading the container of celluloid film, and then send the film off to be developed and come back a week (or more) later to pick up your photos? I even remember the earlier rolls which had to be loaded, rewound and unloaded in the dark (or in a black bag).  I do have several tons of those old photos stored away, and need to scan some of them to use here sometime!

But I digress.
Here's one of my son's pictures looking down from a pole.

 Florida has a lot of industry along the water, it's not all beaches like some suppose.

A bit more vintage is a photo from 1900 in Rosebud, Texas.  No paved streets, many horses, and raised sidewalks.  There's also an electric pole or three in the photo.



Crockett Street, Beaumont, Texas, 1900s.  With many electric poles going along.  It does look paved at least, with concrete sidewalks.  I wonder when cities started taking down some of  the wires and putting them underground.



A modern pole supports several utility wires, electric, cable, and phone, as well as a street light.


White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) in their nest on a utility pole in Romania

In central Florida there are many poles with a platform on top, just for Ospreys to nest upon, and hopefully keep them away from power poles, where they can be injured or cause a fire if the nesting materials hit live "energized" spots.

Osprey

This nest was elevated above the energized equipment and the transformer busing covers were covered up.
This nest was elevated above the energized equipment and the transformer busing covers were covered up. OspreyWatch nest 750.

And if you happen to love watching birds on live cams...here's an Osprey nest on the Chesapeake, currently live. (The Montana site was interested in charging money, too bad).

Osprey cam

27 comments:

  1. There's a road I drive a few times a year where, to encourage birds to nest there, the utility company has affixed screening around multi-legged metal power poles about 2/3rds of the way up - high enough so predators can't get at them, but well beneath the power lines & it works. The birds stopped trying to build their nests on top of the poles & began building them in the screened areas - keeping the power flowing smoothly without outages, & the birds alive. And thanks for the video of the Osprey. I inched it forward bit by bit. When he/she flew off, I kept waiting for it to return, but night came & no bird. Hmm? Was there a wild Osprey party going on somewhere? I can see them now, salsa dancing around a giant buffet bird feeder. (sometimes my imagination gets a little carried away) :))

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    1. Hi Gail, I've changed the link, to one on the Chesapeake...and so far there is still a bird. I noticed that happened to the one in Montana too, and then that they wanted you to pay for some kind of package deal. No thanks. I've never heard of, nor seen the kind of set up you're talking about, but it makes sense. What part of the country is that in?

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  2. I've always disliked the look of messy electrical poles and I really dislike pylons so it's wonderful to see that some places provide safe platforms for nesting birds. I could grow to like the poles if they did that in the UK :-) The poles in Crockett Street look neat and tidy, like the rest of the street! Jo

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  3. Nice pics! I always curse at the wires in the way of the view -- perhaps I need to embrace them.

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    1. Nah, they are usually like pimples, sometimes noticeable, but not the true scope of the picture.

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  4. As a child traveling through the panhandle of Texas I was convinced the only thing they grew in that state were telephone poles.

    It's sad to see telephone poles with all the wires in towns. Out on long stretches of highways they can be a bit romantic, but seeing all the wires overhead in towns feels claustrophobic.

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    1. Did you lie down in the backseat sometimes and watch them stream by? I think that made me a bit carsick.

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  5. By the way, love the pottery house at the top!

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  6. Oh goodness, the addition of birds and why high up nests is quite fun!

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    1. Yes, those birds sure know the sky better than I!

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  7. Hi Barbara - Nice post, and I liked seeing the vintage photos. My how times have changed!

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    1. I like seeing what other folks post at Sepia Saturday...so I usually scrounge around to find something to share.

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  8. This post is unique, combining power poles with osprey nests. What a wonderful idea.

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    1. The birds chose the poles (probably thinking they were ideal trees) and finally men figured out how to build platforms for the birds separate from power poles...especially when Ospreys became an endangered species.

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  9. A super literal spin on the theme. Ospreys are my favorite bird from when I lived on the coast in Georgia and Virginia. The big power pylons now regularly include those designated nesting platforms for the birds safety.

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    1. Yes, aren't they wonderful? Not having seen many eagles in my life, I am entirely thrilled with an Osprey flying over...almost as big a wing span.

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  10. Thanks for the link to the osprey cam. We recently had a hummingbird nest right above our busy back door which opened and slammed shut all day long. We have acres of avocado trees surrounding us so why the birds chose the door is a puzzle. At the moment we are swarmed with swallows trying to paste up nests under our patio roof...Capistrano is 10 miles away. I guess we'll have to put up a sign to get them going to the right spot!

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    1. Funny bird comments! Thanks for stopping by. Strange hummingbird choice for nest!

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  11. My favourite's that first shot on the Florida waterfront by your son.

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    1. It sure is beautiful, isn't it? I'm glad he carried that iPhone wherever he goes!

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  12. I wonder who thought 'Rosebud' was a great name for a new Texas town. Somehow it doesn't match.
    Thanks for the webcam link.

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    1. Wishful thinking perhaps? I guess the Orson Wells "Rosebud" hadn't been written yet, nor filmed. Enjoy looking at the wild birds.

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  13. We had similar ideas this week regarding poles, but I like your addition of birds. Unlike us, they have no concerns regarding electrocution!

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    1. Yes, sometimes when we stick live wires up into the sky we have to take responsibility for them.

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  14. I was cleaning out a drawer last week and ran across a canister of film. I wonder if that film was coming or going.

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  15. My usual determination was if there was a tag of film still sticking out of the can, it hadn't yet been used...so don't bother to develop it. Once used there wasn't a tab sticking out any more. Hope if you do develop it (if you had photos on it) that some fun old memories pop out for you!

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Thanks for your comments...