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-Short Attention Span Theater-
One swallow, and it was gone...
2006-11-15
Sorry, Korora, honest.
Nature, red in tooth, claw and sometimes rump, is a cruel beast.

Birdwatchers who flocked with their high-powered binoculars, telescopes and long lenses to see a rare Mediterranean visitor to Lunan Bay, near Montrose, got more than they bargained for. They watched in horror as the red-rumped swallow was attacked and eaten by a Scottish sparrowhawk.

Local enthusiasts spotted the swallow, which had taken a wrong turning on its migration route from southern Europe to its wintering grounds in Africa. Word that it had arrived on the East Coast of Scotland spread quickly, and a large crowd had gathered to watch it flying over the beach.

The swallowÂ’s fatal mistake was to take a rest high on the roof of a nearby farm building. The twitchers watched in disbelief as the large hawk appeared, swooped on the swallow, crushed it with its powerful talons and flew off with its tasty Mediterranean dinner.
Posted by:.com

#28  Something like this happened a while back, except it was an American bird that wandered into Britain and got et. I like birdies n wildlife n such, but:

We had just phoned local birdwatchers to tell them of this rare occurrence. Then we had to ring them back and tell them it had been eaten.

It would take a heart of stone not to laugh at that.
Posted by: Angie Schultz   2006-11-15 16:46  

#27  Blowing the whale is a stinky dirty game
No comment.
Posted by: wxjames   2006-11-15 15:18  

#26  Wasn't it Mel Blanc that said it best: " You're a chicken, and I'm a chickenhawk." Same principle, the stupid shall be eaten. Undoubtedly a male red-rumped sparrow. " And how do you know that" he asked.
Because the story says the bird took a wrong turn and didn't ask directions.
Posted by: USN, ret.   2006-11-15 14:52  

#25  That exploding whale should stand as a lesson to all red-rumped swallows to wear bomb vests.
Posted by: Zenster   2006-11-15 13:36  

#24  Ya Pappy me too. My two sons, 9 & 11, were watching it and they both were shocked! Then they looked at me, I had no idea what to say through my tears of laughter,then the oldest said "circle of life I guess" and the conversation was over. I about wet my pants laughing. Wish I had taped that scene.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2006-11-15 11:23  

#23  Why doesn't anyone think of the poor, easily traumatized birdwatchers? Think of all the socialist money spent on therapy damnit!! Won't somebody think of the accountants!
Posted by: DarthVader   2006-11-15 11:18  

#22  Was it carrying a coconut?
Posted by: mojo   2006-11-15 10:37  

#21  Rofl! Oh man, I sure hope mucky doesn't drop by and see this...
Posted by: .com   2006-11-15 10:35  

#20  Pappy: Which reminds of that exploding whale footage. It doesn't get any better than this, folks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtVSzU20ZGk
Posted by: Excalibur   2006-11-15 10:31  

#19  Reminds me of the seal(?) the animal rescuers saved and brought back to health. They released it into the sea with much fanfare and a huge gathering. Only to watch in horror as an orca snatched it.
Posted by: Pappy   2006-11-15 10:03  

#18  Its Bush's Fault!

Lets have a full investigation! I want hearings! I want a Special Procecutor! I know Karl Rove is behind this somewhere! I want a Pony!

-- Speaker Pelosi

Those Marines are cold Blooded killers! Look what they did to that Sparrow! I want them brought up on charges! Oooohhhh... money......

--- Congress[man?] Murtha
Posted by: CrazyFool   2006-11-15 09:34  

#17  I saw one snap up a chipmunk once. If you blinked, you'd have missed it.
Posted by: tu3031   2006-11-15 09:27  

#16  Accipiter nisus is the species of peace and love.
Posted by: mrp   2006-11-15 09:24  

#15  Maybe we could open a dialog with the hawk to try and understand what the sparrow did to warrant being eaten? My guess is the hawk is mearely reacting to a long held anger against the sparrows forefathers. If we could get the hawk to talk it out I'm sure it would come to the realization that we are all birds together on this planet and we can live in harmony as long as we all understand each others needs and honor the good aspects of each species culture. Then it could live peaceably with the sparrow until the hawk starved to death.
Posted by: BrerRabbit   2006-11-15 08:41  

#14  I think birdwatchers who bring guns are called "hunters".
Posted by: anonymous5089   2006-11-15 07:36  

#13  Had anyone of those birdwatchers brought a gun instead of a useless camera this would have not happenned.

How about opening a chapter of the NRA in Scotland?
Posted by: JFM   2006-11-15 07:21  

#12  "The sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, is a large and common predatory native that preys on at least 120 species of small bird as well as on small mammals. The swallow, by contrast, lives on a diet of insects that it catches on the wing."

Why was nobody "horrified" about the helpless insects snuffed out by this foreign invader?

/bunny-hugger mode off
Posted by: no mo uro   2006-11-15 06:37  

#11  The sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, is a large and common predatory native that preys on at least 120 species of small bird as well as on small mammals. The swallow, by contrast, lives on a diet of insects that it catches on the wing.

A clear case of evil carnivore vs. good insectivore (I know, I'm not sure why one hunter is better than the other just because the animals it eats are smaller and have more legs)... and evil won this time. Would it have been more sporting had the foreign invader been eaten by a native swallow instead? What is it about "newspapers of record" and bad writing with exquisite grammar?
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-11-15 06:31  

#10  Well if its stupid enough to turn up to scotland in a red coat , expect to get stuffed

English eventually learnt the lesson but I guess noone told the swallow about dress code in the highlands :)
Posted by: MacNails   2006-11-15 05:21  

#9  OldSpook, that you are a fan of Monty Python (whom I've seen live - at the Hollywood Bowl), makes everything complete. Not that I thought you weren't, mind you. It's just that knowing this for sure is ever so pleasant.

My left upper appendage sports a hand that grasped the upper-right arm of John Cleese during his "Gannet Ripple on a Stick" sketch. I've yet to wash it since.
Posted by: Zenster   2006-11-15 02:50  

#8  Let me guess: The red-rumped swallow had not paided its required carbon tax?
Posted by: 3dc   2006-11-15 02:14  

#7  I searched the world over,
And thought I found true love.
You met another
And Phht! you were gone.

/10-point Trophy Buck... Owens
Posted by: .com   2006-11-15 01:56  

#6  Global warming is somehow to blame.
Posted by: Lou   2006-11-15 01:46  

#5  grrr... NOD not NOT.
Posted by: OldSpook   2006-11-15 01:35  

#4  I don't know that!

sproooooing!

Aaaaaauuugh!

/not to the Holy Grail's Bridge of Death
Posted by: OldSpook   2006-11-15 01:34  

#3   Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
Posted by: tzsenator   2006-11-15 00:52  

#2  And that, dear children, is the reason why red-rumped swallows are rare on the East Coast of Scotland.
Posted by: GK   2006-11-15 00:45  

#1  It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it ...


Wait for it ...



Right then! Was it an African swallow or a European swallow?
Posted by: Zenster   2006-11-15 00:28  

00:00