I am thrilled to announce that the ducklings are back, and as adorable as ever. There were, in fact, two separate groups. I shall call them the Itsy Bitsy Group and the Fluffily Adorable Group. Both groups were down in the pond and the creek that run near my house. Having seen these precious little babies last year, my fiance and I have been going on walks solely to see them again this year.
We saw the Itsy Bitsy Group first:
They were definitely the younger group, so tiny and squee! But they were a little shy, so this is as close as we could get:
There’s no feeding the ducks in this area, which I do understand, even if I would love to lure them closer.
On our way back, the trail runs alongside the creek, and we got up-close and personal with some more ducklings! These were far less shy, although they kept a weather eye on us.
So cute!
Now we’re just waiting for the quail to hatch their ridiculously tiny offspring. Nothing like some darting, fluffy pinballs to make your day!
So, dear readers, which baby animals do you like to go out and *squee* at?
Drones are an increasing problem, cluttering the skies, poking their noses where they shouldn’t be, and getting up to all kinds of mischief. Dutch police have gone back to nature in trying to solve this problem: eagles.
That’s right, these here are drone-killing eagles:
Drones are now readily available to the public (and let’s face it, they’re pretty cool). My fiance even has one. I mean, it’s tiny and the battery only lasts about 10 minutes, but still. They’re proliferating. And when they’re getting too close to airports and flight-paths, measures need to be taken to protect the more important objects hurtling through the air – you know, the ones carrying people.
There is technology that “detects radio signals from rogue drones and uses tracking technology to force the drone to land,” which is pretty cool, even though it’s only in the research stage. But we all know as software improves, some drones will become impervious to that.
CNN lists some other countermeasures:
Countermeasures cited in the report included signal jamming, lasers, and the deployment of missiles, rockets and bullets, where it’s acknowledged there is high risk of collateral damage, and potential for “catastrophic damage” if they miss their target.
But eagles are pretty awesome. Let’s hear it for more eagles. Because what could possibly go wrong?
Great story, but is it true? It would seem so: “Seagulls cause pandemonium on Victorian train”. There are a few other articles about it too, but who knows? At any rate, great story. (Buzzfeed added some colorful commentary to their article on the story.)