"this is so fuckin awesome. I want to be fuckin bird"
September 20, 2010 9:35 PM Subscribe
I came in here looking for cameras mounted on running dinosaurs.
In that respect I was disappointed. But a 150 mile-per-hour bird cam is still pretty darned awesome.
posted by WalterMitty at 9:41 PM on September 20, 2010
In that respect I was disappointed. But a 150 mile-per-hour bird cam is still pretty darned awesome.
posted by WalterMitty at 9:41 PM on September 20, 2010
*sigh* I wish I could fly.
posted by Rumple at 9:52 PM on September 20, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by Rumple at 9:52 PM on September 20, 2010 [3 favorites]
That gos footage is amazing.
And the peregrine...Just. Wow.
posted by rtha at 9:54 PM on September 20, 2010
And the peregrine...Just. Wow.
posted by rtha at 9:54 PM on September 20, 2010
Yay! Thank you. Great video.
(And what was misleading about it? Pretty much did exactly what it said, no?)
posted by gingerbeer at 9:55 PM on September 20, 2010
(And what was misleading about it? Pretty much did exactly what it said, no?)
posted by gingerbeer at 9:55 PM on September 20, 2010
It should be noted that these rapturous raptors are flying like that despite the kludgy human technology strapped on their fuselage. Bravo ye mighty raptors.
posted by thusspakeparanoia at 9:56 PM on September 20, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by thusspakeparanoia at 9:56 PM on September 20, 2010 [3 favorites]
After the footage of the Gos Hawk flying through the woods at high speed, the narrator says:
posted by Hardcore Poser at 10:01 PM on September 20, 2010
Scientists examining these images have concluded that no aircraft invented comes anywhere close.Not only that, but it blows away any CGI movie scene. Robin Hood, the camera on the arrow? Return of the Jedi, speeder bikes? Amateurs. Once again nature provides more wonder than the mind has imagined.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 10:01 PM on September 20, 2010
Man all I can picture is their food. Some gopher or something stupidly sniffing through some grass, going about its bright little day day when WHAM OH FUCK ME I'M FLYING WHAT THE SHIT THERE ARE TALONS IN MY KIDNEYS OMG I'M DEAD.
What a blessing to generally be on one end of the food chain rather than a link in it.
posted by allkindsoftime at 10:01 PM on September 20, 2010 [10 favorites]
What a blessing to generally be on one end of the food chain rather than a link in it.
posted by allkindsoftime at 10:01 PM on September 20, 2010 [10 favorites]
Gophers are probably pretty safe. The preferred food of both the peregrine and the goshawk is...other birds!
posted by rtha at 10:03 PM on September 20, 2010
posted by rtha at 10:03 PM on September 20, 2010
Gophers are probably pretty safe. The preferred food of both the peregrine and the goshawk is...other birds!
I always find diets like that slightly weird. It's as if humans evolved to have a staple food of monkeys.
posted by Silentgoldfish at 10:09 PM on September 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
I always find diets like that slightly weird. It's as if humans evolved to have a staple food of monkeys.
posted by Silentgoldfish at 10:09 PM on September 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
Though, the one time I got a good look at a goshawk, it was chasing a squirrel around a tree.
posted by rtha at 10:17 PM on September 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by rtha at 10:17 PM on September 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
Gophers are probably pretty safe. The preferred food of both the peregrine and the goshawk is...other birds!--rtha
And the peregrine kills birds by knocking them out in high speed collisions.
posted by eye of newt at 10:31 PM on September 20, 2010
I love watching the peregrines we have in down town Atlanta. They come in out of the sun into a park full of pigeons ... and all you see is a PUFF of feathers, then a very dead pigeon and a very happy hunting bird.
We used to feed the pigeons in the parking lot of my high school so that the red tailed hawks that nested in the football stadium lights would hunt them. We were bored, and the hawks were way more fun to watch during lunch than anything else we could think of.
posted by strixus at 10:50 PM on September 20, 2010 [2 favorites]
We used to feed the pigeons in the parking lot of my high school so that the red tailed hawks that nested in the football stadium lights would hunt them. We were bored, and the hawks were way more fun to watch during lunch than anything else we could think of.
posted by strixus at 10:50 PM on September 20, 2010 [2 favorites]
Awesome footage! I kept wishing that they would just shut the fuck up and let me enjoy it, instead of the constant cuts and inane narration. I would have been much happier if the presenter had had the sense to pipe down and stop telling me how amazing it was. David Attenborough he was not.
There were some mindblowing shots in there, though. (Especially the goshawk! Anybody else reminded of the speeder bike chase from Return of the Jedi?) I just wish they could've stuck to one for more than three seconds without cutting away to a different view. Maybe technical limitations were preventing them from getting longer takes?
posted by Scientist at 11:28 PM on September 20, 2010 [2 favorites]
There were some mindblowing shots in there, though. (Especially the goshawk! Anybody else reminded of the speeder bike chase from Return of the Jedi?) I just wish they could've stuck to one for more than three seconds without cutting away to a different view. Maybe technical limitations were preventing them from getting longer takes?
posted by Scientist at 11:28 PM on September 20, 2010 [2 favorites]
The goshawk video reminds me of evil dead and the shaky cam. Maybe this is why I the Audubon society doesn't return my phone calls.
posted by mrzarquon at 12:07 AM on September 21, 2010
posted by mrzarquon at 12:07 AM on September 21, 2010
YEAH, BUT WHY SHOULD I FUND THIS SOCIALIST, BIASED BLOATED ANACHRONISTIC BROADCASTER?
Because £150 a year is a buttons for countless TV and radio channels, the BBC website and cool stuff like this. Thank you
posted by MuffinMan at 12:16 AM on September 21, 2010
Because £150 a year is a buttons for countless TV and radio channels, the BBC website and cool stuff like this. Thank you
posted by MuffinMan at 12:16 AM on September 21, 2010
*sigh* I wish I could fly.
Right up to the sky?
This is actually from a 2004 BBC Natural History Unit programme called Animal Camera so Scientist is right about the technical limitations (and the RotJ bit – surely a mashup of the bird footage & the film sounds must be done by someone with far more free time than myself?)
I do remember it being pretty ground-breaking at the time. Following ducks in flight was one of their big things – IIRC they trained the ducks to follow food attached to a car which also had the camera on it.
The presenter, Steve Leonard, is a vet who, along with Trude Mostue became a presenter by accident after their final year training was filmed for another BBC programme, Vet School which became popular in the late 90's.
[One of my less subtle, but surprisingly effective, pro-BBC arguments goes along the lines of 'BBC Natural History Unit. Shut up.']
posted by i_cola at 12:20 AM on September 21, 2010
Right up to the sky?
This is actually from a 2004 BBC Natural History Unit programme called Animal Camera so Scientist is right about the technical limitations (and the RotJ bit – surely a mashup of the bird footage & the film sounds must be done by someone with far more free time than myself?)
I do remember it being pretty ground-breaking at the time. Following ducks in flight was one of their big things – IIRC they trained the ducks to follow food attached to a car which also had the camera on it.
The presenter, Steve Leonard, is a vet who, along with Trude Mostue became a presenter by accident after their final year training was filmed for another BBC programme, Vet School which became popular in the late 90's.
[One of my less subtle, but surprisingly effective, pro-BBC arguments goes along the lines of 'BBC Natural History Unit. Shut up.']
posted by i_cola at 12:20 AM on September 21, 2010
Watched this yesterday, mouth agog... You'd imagine, given the finite density of air, that there was a very real limitation on the speed of maneuverer that could be performed, given the requirement to overcome momentum while changing vector but the goshawk appear not to care for such things as physics...
Oh, and I appreciate the farking title, I really farking do. Quality... Took hours of careful crafting that, I imagine... Get off my lawn.
posted by benzo8 at 1:37 AM on September 21, 2010
Oh, and I appreciate the farking title, I really farking do. Quality... Took hours of careful crafting that, I imagine... Get off my lawn.
posted by benzo8 at 1:37 AM on September 21, 2010
Clever girls.
posted by Happy Dave at 1:44 AM on September 21, 2010
posted by Happy Dave at 1:44 AM on September 21, 2010
requirement to overcome momentum
Remember that birds don't weigh much. I've never handled a raptor, but I once helped with a rescue of a very large wading bird and it was shocking how light (and fragile) such a huge creature could be.
posted by Forktine at 2:31 AM on September 21, 2010
Remember that birds don't weigh much. I've never handled a raptor, but I once helped with a rescue of a very large wading bird and it was shocking how light (and fragile) such a huge creature could be.
posted by Forktine at 2:31 AM on September 21, 2010
What an awesome video. I especially loved: 1) seeing the peregrine's head movements in flight and really the most awesomest 2) the goshawk's dodging in the forest. I didn't realize there was a bird that did that, and I consider myself a birder to some degree!
Can you imagine if you were a passenger on that gos?
posted by Stewriffic at 3:49 AM on September 21, 2010
Can you imagine if you were a passenger on that gos?
posted by Stewriffic at 3:49 AM on September 21, 2010
10 Gs is probably a lot easier to take if you don't have flappy cheeks.
posted by StickyCarpet at 4:22 AM on September 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by StickyCarpet at 4:22 AM on September 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
Gah! Just show more than three seconds at a time of the goshawk flying through the trees! Stop cutting away!
this is amazing. my dreams are going to rock tonight.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 5:02 AM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
this is amazing. my dreams are going to rock tonight.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 5:02 AM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Wow, this gave me serious gooseflesh. Too bad it didn't give me wings, too.
Beautiful video, thanks for posting. Now I have to sit at a desk and work, but in my mind I'll be flying. Flying really, really fast.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:23 AM on September 21, 2010
Beautiful video, thanks for posting. Now I have to sit at a desk and work, but in my mind I'll be flying. Flying really, really fast.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:23 AM on September 21, 2010
That's not flying. That's falling with style!
posted by blue_beetle at 5:31 AM on September 21, 2010
posted by blue_beetle at 5:31 AM on September 21, 2010
I really want this in IMAX. At great length, with a Stars of the Lid soundtrack, and played over and over again.
posted by Erroneous at 7:16 AM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Erroneous at 7:16 AM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
BBC Natural History Unit. Shut up.
Hell yes. I'm so glad that a lot of it is shown over here (Canada) by BBC Canada and Discovery/OLN and the like. I did miss that stuff for a while before I found that.
requirement to overcome momentum
Remember that birds don't weigh much.
Seriously. I spent a day learning about and Handling Hawks a while back and, weedy though I am, the only one that was any issue at all holding on my arm away from my body (at waist height still, though) for any length of time was a Golden Eagle... Those things are HUGE, and the smaller birds were not much heavier than the leather gauntlet I was wearing.
It looks, from several sources disagreeing, that just under 1kg (about 2lbs) is a typical fully grown Peregrine Female (Males weight a little less). That's not a lot of weight.
posted by Brockles at 7:49 AM on September 21, 2010
Hell yes. I'm so glad that a lot of it is shown over here (Canada) by BBC Canada and Discovery/OLN and the like. I did miss that stuff for a while before I found that.
requirement to overcome momentum
Remember that birds don't weigh much.
Seriously. I spent a day learning about and Handling Hawks a while back and, weedy though I am, the only one that was any issue at all holding on my arm away from my body (at waist height still, though) for any length of time was a Golden Eagle... Those things are HUGE, and the smaller birds were not much heavier than the leather gauntlet I was wearing.
It looks, from several sources disagreeing, that just under 1kg (about 2lbs) is a typical fully grown Peregrine Female (Males weight a little less). That's not a lot of weight.
posted by Brockles at 7:49 AM on September 21, 2010
"I came in here looking for cameras mounted on running dinosaurs."
Another success story for our proud educational system.
posted by Eideteker at 8:17 AM on September 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
Another success story for our proud educational system.
posted by Eideteker at 8:17 AM on September 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
"...where even the smallest head movement could send her spiralling out of control."
"...the goshawk misses tree trunks by fractions of an inch."
Did these phrases cause anyone else to think that the BBC has crash reel footage from before they figured out the camera placement that doesn't cause a wingtip stall at 150mph, or that some goshawks *don't* allow for the added width of the camera transmitter during the tightest maneuvers?
OR
"Here's some stunning IMAX footage from the back of a peregrine falcon stooping down upon its prey at 150 miles per hour. Unfortunately, for some reason this beautiful raptor of the skies failed to pull up at the last minute..."
What an IMAX camera might look like.
posted by lothar at 8:30 AM on September 21, 2010
"...the goshawk misses tree trunks by fractions of an inch."
Did these phrases cause anyone else to think that the BBC has crash reel footage from before they figured out the camera placement that doesn't cause a wingtip stall at 150mph, or that some goshawks *don't* allow for the added width of the camera transmitter during the tightest maneuvers?
OR
"Here's some stunning IMAX footage from the back of a peregrine falcon stooping down upon its prey at 150 miles per hour. Unfortunately, for some reason this beautiful raptor of the skies failed to pull up at the last minute..."
What an IMAX camera might look like.
posted by lothar at 8:30 AM on September 21, 2010
I know I'm anthropomorphizing, but these birds are having so much fun.
posted by longdaysjourney at 8:47 AM on September 21, 2010
posted by longdaysjourney at 8:47 AM on September 21, 2010
How fast can a peregrine falcon fly? One scientist aims to find out by skydiving along with the birds.
posted by homunculus at 9:26 AM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by homunculus at 9:26 AM on September 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
I am dizzy and nauseated and BY GOD I AM WATCHING THAT AGAIN.
posted by elizardbits at 9:44 AM on September 21, 2010
posted by elizardbits at 9:44 AM on September 21, 2010
What's the onomatopoeia for high speed flight/maneuvering? Something like "neeeeeeEEE...YOWnnN!" I would be a bad raptor, scaring my prey away by zooming around making my own silly sound effects.
posted by bartleby at 11:18 AM on September 21, 2010
posted by bartleby at 11:18 AM on September 21, 2010
I always find diets like that slightly weird. It's as if humans evolved to have a staple food of monkeys.
Birds make up a very diverse class of vertebrates. Similarly mammals are also a very diverse class. As far as I know, these falcons are not eating birds in their own order (other diurnal birds of prey) so it should only be as odd as humans eating other mammals like pigs and cows which we do all the time.
Also, it is not unheard of for humans and chimpanzees to eat monkeys even though we are all in the same order (Primates), even though it does seem a bit icky from our perspective.
All in all, its not very weird if you open your mind to the idea that birds aren't all the same.
posted by DanielDManiel at 11:19 AM on September 21, 2010
Birds make up a very diverse class of vertebrates. Similarly mammals are also a very diverse class. As far as I know, these falcons are not eating birds in their own order (other diurnal birds of prey) so it should only be as odd as humans eating other mammals like pigs and cows which we do all the time.
Also, it is not unheard of for humans and chimpanzees to eat monkeys even though we are all in the same order (Primates), even though it does seem a bit icky from our perspective.
All in all, its not very weird if you open your mind to the idea that birds aren't all the same.
posted by DanielDManiel at 11:19 AM on September 21, 2010
And of course, day late and dollar short, the brain produces the correct pun: This is Stoop-endous, thank you kickingtheground.
posted by thusspakeparanoia at 9:33 PM on September 21, 2010
posted by thusspakeparanoia at 9:33 PM on September 21, 2010
It
would
be!much
nicer if the
shakeycam
DIDN'T cut from
skyto
groundeverytwo
sec--onds
posted by Rhaomi at 6:06 PM on September 22, 2010
be!
nicer if the
DIDN'T cut from
ground
sec-
posted by Rhaomi at 6:06 PM on September 22, 2010
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posted by griphus at 9:41 PM on September 20, 2010 [2 favorites]