# There are NO nightingales in America :(



## Agatha (Nov 3, 2009)

Recently I discovered that there are no nightingales in America. These are migratory song birds that live in Europe and spend winter in northern Africa. I believe this is a main reason why north americans (at least Canadians living in Vancouver BC ) do not love opera.

Are there any nightingales in your area? I am missing them …


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

There are whippoorwills.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

There are tuis


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

There are no nightingales in the Americas, but your postulation there is a connection to why Americans do not love opera is ridiculous. That blown completely out of the water by the copied list below, found by google search, "Opera companies - by Place."

Alberta

Calgary: Calgary Opera
Edmonton: Edmonton Opera 

British Columbia

Vancouver: Opera Pro Cantanti
Vancouver: Vancouver Opera
Victoria: Pacific Opera Victoria 

Manitoba

Winnipeg: Manitoba Opera 

Ontario

Ottawa: Opera Lyra Ottawa
Toronto: Canadian Opera Company
Toronto: Opera Atelier
Toronto: Opera in Concert 

Québec

Montréal: Opéra de Montréal
Québec: L'Opéra de Québec 

Panamá
Panamá: Fundación Ópera Panamá

United States
Alabama

Mobile: Mobile Opera 

Alaska

Fairbanks: Opera Fairbanks 

Arizona

Phoenix: Arizona Opera 

Arkansas

Eureka Springs: Opera in the Ozarks 

California

Berkeley: West Edge Opera
Casnoga Park: Center Stage Opera
Fairfield: North Bay Opera
Fremont: Fremont Opera
Livermore: Livermore Valley Opera
Long Beach: Long Beach Opera
Los Angeles: Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles: Lyric Opera of Los Angeles
Martinez: Martinez Opera Contra Costa
Modesto: Townsend Opera Players
Oakland: Oakland Opera Theater
Palo Alto: West Bay Opera
Pomona: Repertory Opera Company
Sacramento: Capitol Opera Sacramento/Davis
Sacramento: Sacramento Opera
San Diego: San Diego Opera
San Francisco: Lamplighters Music Theatre
San Francisco: Pocket Opera
San Francisco: San Francisco Lyric Opera
San Francisco: San Francisco Opera
San Jose: Opera San Jose
San Luis Obispo: Opera San Luis Obispo
Santa Barbara: Opera Santa Barbara
Santa Monica: Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera
Sausalito: Golden Gate Opera
South Pasadena: Celestial Opera Company
Stockton: Stockton Opera
Vallejo (touring): Verismo Opera
Walnut Creek: Festival Opera 

Colorado

Central City: Central City Opera
Denver: Opera Colorado
Fort Collins: Opera Fort Collins 

Connecticut

New Haven: Hillhouse Opera Company
New Haven: Yale Baroque Opera Project
Stamford: The Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra
Stonington: Salt Marsh Opera
West Hartford: Connecticut Concert Opera 

Delaware

Wilmington: Opera Delaware 

District of Columbia

Opera Camerata of Washington
Washington National Opera 

Florida

Miami: Florida Grand Opera
Miami: Miami Lyric Opera
Orlando: Central Florida Lyric Opera
Palm Beach: Palm Beach Opera Company
Sarasota: Sarasota Opera
St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg Opera Company
Tampa: Opera Tampa 

Georgia

Atlanta: The New Opera
Atlanta (touring): Peach State Opera 

Hawaii

Honolulu: Hawaii Opera Theatre 

Idaho

Boise: Opera Idaho 

Illinois

Chicago: Chicago Opera Theater
Chicago: Da Corneto Opera
Chicago: Lyric Opera of Chicago 

Indiana

Indianapolis: Indianapolis Opera 

Iowa

Cedar Rapids: Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre
Des Moines: Des Moines Metro Opera 

Kansas

Wichita: Wichita Grand Opera 

Kentucky

Lexington: UK Opera Theatre
Louisville: Kentucky Opera 

Louisiana

New Orleans: New Orleans Opera
Shreveport: Shreveport Opera 

Maine

Portland: Portopera 

Maryland

Annapolis: Annapolis Opera
Baltimore: Baltimore Opera 

Massachusetts

Boston: Boston Lyric Opera
Boston: The Bostonian Opera and Concert Ensemble
Boston: Guerilla Opera
Cambridge: Dunster House Opera
Needham: Longwood Opera Company 

Michigan

Detroit: Michigan Opera Theatre
Grand Rapids: Opera Grand Rapids
Houghton: Pine Mountain Music Festival 

Minnesota`

Duluth: Lyric Opera of the North
Minneapolis: The Minnesota Opera 

Mississippi

Jackson: Mississippi Opera 

Missouri

St. Louis: Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Springfield: Springfield Regional Opera 

Montana

Billings: Rimrock Opera Company
Bozeman: Intermountain Opera Bozeman 

New Hampshire

Lebanon: Opera North
Manchester: Opera New Hampshire 

New Jersey

Hackensack: New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera
Hamilton: Boheme Opera New Jersey
Princeton/Morristown/New Brunswick: Opera New Jersey
Princeton: The Princeton Festival 

New Mexico

Albuquerque: Opera Southwest
Santa Fe: Santa Fe Opera 

New York

Albany: Capitol Opera Albany-Saratoga
Binghamton: Tri-Cities Opera
Bronx: Amore Opera
Brooklyn: Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera
Brooklyn: Opera Company of Brooklyn
Brooklyn: OperaOggiNY
Brooklyn: Regina Opera Company
Cooperstown: Glimmerglass Opera
Florida: Hudson Opera Theatre
Haverstraw: Hudson Lyric Opera
Nassau County: The Long Island Opera Company
New Rochelle: New Rochelle Opera
New York: Bronx Opera Company
New York: Chelsea Opera
New York: Dicapo Opera Theatre
New York: Metropolitan Opera
New York: New York City Opera
New York: New York Opera Forum
New York: Opera Manhattan
New York: Teatro Grattacielo
Oswego: Oswego Opera Theatre
Rochester: Mercury Opera
Saratoga: Opera Saratoga
Staten Island: Riverside Opera Company
Suffolk County: Opera of the Hamptons
Syracuse: Syracuse Opera
Yorktown: Taconic Opera 

North Carolina

Asheville: Asheville Lyric Opera
Charlotte" Opera Carolina
Raleigh: Capitol Opera Raleigh
Raleigh: North Carolina Opera 

Ohio

Cincinnati: Cincinnati Opera
Columbus: Opera Columbus
Dayton: Dayton Opera
Toledo: Toledo Opera
Wooster: Ohio Light Opera 

Oklahoma

Tulsa: Tulsa Opera 

Oregon

Medford: Rogue Opera
Portland: Portland Opera 

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: Capitol Opera Harrisburg
Philadelphia: The Academy of Vocal Arts
Philadelphia: ConcertOPERA Philadelphia
Philadelphia: Opera Company of Philadelphia
Pittsburgh: Opera Theater of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Opera
Stroudsburg: Pennsylvania Lyric Opera Theater 

Rhode Island

Providence: Opera Providence 

South Carolina

Charleston: Spoleto Festival USA
Greenville: Greenville Light Opera Works
Newberry: Newberry Opera House 

Tennessee

Knoxville: Knoxville Opera Company
Memphis: Opera Memphis
Nashville: Nashville Opera 

Texas

Amarillo: Amarillo Opera
Austin: Austin Lyric Opera
Dallas Dallas Opera
El Paso: El Paso Opera
Fort Worth: Fort Worth Opera
Houston: Houston Grand Opera
Houston: Opera in the Heights
Houston: Opera Vista
San Antonio: San Antonio Opera 

Utah

Logan: Utah Festival Opera Company
Salt Lake City: Utah Opera Company 

Virginia

Arlington: Riverbend Opera
Arlington: UrbanArias
Norfolk: Virginia Opera
Roanoke: Opera Roanoke
Vienna: Wolf Trap Opera Company 

Washington

Mount Vernon: Skagit Opera
Seattle: Seattle Opera
Tacoma: Tacoma Opera 

Wisconsin

Madison: Madison Opera
Milwaukee: Florentine Opera Company 

South America

Argentina

Buenos Aires: Teatro Colón 

Brasil

Rio de Janeiro: Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro 

Chile

Santiago: Teatro Municipal de Santiago


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## Agatha (Nov 3, 2009)

Hilltroll72 said:


> There are whippoorwills.





mamascarlatti said:


> There are tuis


Thanks Natalie and Hilltroll! I will be listening for them, when hiking.

PetrB, of cause it is bit of a joke, which has a bit of truth in it. I've been to Opera Pro Cantanti, among others (3 of them in total in Vancouver  ) and have a huge respect for them for their effort in bringing "affordable" opera to people. From your list I conclude that there are much more song birds in California though then in Canada.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Agatha said:


> Recently I discovered that there are no nightingales in America. These are migratory song birds that live in Europe and spend winter in northern Africa. I believe this is a main reason why north americans (at least Canadians living in Vancouver BC ) do not love opera.
> 
> Are there any nightingales in your area? I am missing them …


She doesn't sing really well, try the solovei by Rimsky-Korsakov... The nightingale and the rose, it is very romantic.






Martin


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

PetrB said:


> There are no nightingales in the Americas, but your postulation there is a connection to why Americans do not love opera is ridiculous. That blown completely out of the water by the copied list below, found by google search, "Opera companies - by Place."...


But does the existence of these companies imply that the American people, en masse, love opera, contrary to the first post? Or does it point to a few dozen groups of people in a population of, oh, let me guess, 250 million having a great time completely beyond the reach of everyone else?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Agatha said:


> Thanks Natalie and Hilltroll! I will be listening for them, when hiking.


I meant there are tuis in my area (New Zealand). Most inventive song around, but I am afraid there are very few opera lovers here despite that. But if you like hiking it's a great place to be.

When I lived in Switzerland I used to walk back from my work in a restaurant in the next door village, to my own village, along a country road, at about 9.30pm. There was a clump of trees where in the summer nightingales would be singing every night. I could hear them as I came round a corner and they made the walk back quite magical.


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## Dakota (Jun 30, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> When I lived in Switzerland I used to walk back from my work in a restaurant in the next door village, to my own village, along a country road, at about 9.30pm. There was a clump of trees where in the summer nightingales would be singing every night. I could hear them as I came round a corner and they made the walk back quite magical.


What a lovely image that conjures up in my imagination............


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

I was wondering why people say the Americas, there is just ONE continent called America. Of course you have 3 regions: North America, Central America, South America. But Mexico (the USA people are not very happy about that) is in North America.

Martin, from Argentina, South America


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> I was wondering why people say the Americas, there is just ONE continent called America. Of course you have 3 regions: North America, Central America, South America. But Mexico (the USA people are not very happy about that) is in North America.
> 
> Martin, from Argentina, South America


Martin, you have consistently demonstrated a deep ignorance regarding "USA people". Congratulations on that consistency.

:clap:


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Hilltroll72 said:


> Martin, you have consistently demonstrated a deep ignorance regarding "USA people". Congratulations on that consistency.
> 
> :clap:


It was not my intention to do so.

Martin


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## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

Eugene Schieffelin thought that a good way to bring culture to America would be to introduce to the continent all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works. This included the nightingale:



> Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day.
> It was the nightingale, and not the lark,
> That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear.
> Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate tree.
> Believe me, love, it was the nightingale.


Unfortunately the nightingale didn't survive, but also unfortunately the starling did, and soon became an invasive species which displaced many of the native birds. Perhaps for the sake of the native birds or the native arts you should be happy for the scarcity of nightingales.

Here's a French nightingale with a Russian accent.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

In North America there are some very close relatives of the European Nightingale. These birds are also in the Thrush family. They are all mid-sized brown birds with spotted breasts. I've seen all of these species with the exception of Bicknell's Thrush. I'll rate them from best singer to worst, in my opinion.

Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
European Nightingale
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Bicknell's Thrush
Gray-cheeked Thrush.

The Hermit Thrush's song is located here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/hermit_thrush/sounds

The Wood Thrush's song is located here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/wood_thrush/sounds

Once you get to Mexico and points further south, there are also birds called Nightingale-Thrushes


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## powerbooks (Jun 30, 2012)

Well, there used to be Roberta Peters and Lily Pons (sort of half American)......

We live in a time when some amazing artists had passed......


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## Agatha (Nov 3, 2009)

quack said:


> Unfortunately the nightingale didn't survive, but also unfortunately the starling did, and soon became an invasive species which displaced many of the native birds.


 I didn't know that, how sad ...


quack said:


> Here's a French nightingale with a Russian accent.


 Wow !!! Thanks for this!!!


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## Agatha (Nov 3, 2009)

waldvogel said:


> In North America there are some very close relatives of the European Nightingale. These birds are also in the Thrush family. They are all mid-sized brown birds with spotted breasts. I've seen all of these species with the exception of Bicknell's Thrush. I'll rate them from best singer to worst, in my opinion.
> 
> Hermit Thrush
> Wood Thrush
> ...


Thanks for the list!

Are you a bird watcher? Is it a red finch on your avatar? Why?


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

But does the existence of these companies imply that the American people, en masse, love opera, contrary to the first post? Or does it point to a few dozen groups of people in a population of, oh, let me guess, 250 million having a great time completely beyond the reach of everyone else?

That would be 312 Million. You were only off by 62 Million... the entire population of the UK. Now what exactly is your point? It seems like one of Sid's rants about the "elitism" of opera. It would seem to me that if the US is able to support this many regional opera companies, there must be more than a few dozen corporate CEOs in attendance. The last opera I attended actually ran me around $50 per ticket. Not exactly exorbitant... especially when I consider that a ticket to the movie theater often runs $10 or $12 plus another $15 or $20 for the jacked up costs of popcorn and a cola.

Over on the thread Harmful Stereotypical Images of Opera in Popular Culture...

http://www.talkclassical.com/20025-harmful-stereotypical-images-opera-4.html

I posted a few facts concerning the demographics of opera in the US:

Approximately 20 million adults in the US alone have attended a live opera in the last year.

Another 37.6 million adults have experienced an opera on TV, video, radio, audio recordings, or via the Internet.

The U.S. opera audience grew by 35% between 1982 and 1992.

This trend continued through 2002, when the opera audience grew by an additional 8.2%, representing the largest increase of all performing arts disciplines.

Roughly as many Americans attend live opera performances as attend NFL football games.

According to the most recent numbers from the US National Endowment for the Arts, 25.3% of the U.S. opera audience was under the age of 35 years old.

According to Opera America, opera is a multi-billion dollar industry employing some 20,000 people on a full-time and part-time basis in 2005-2006.

Approximately 36% of all costs were covered by box office income. Another 51% comes from private donation. Of the remaining 13% far less than 1% comes from public dollars in the forms of grants from the National Endowment of the Arts. The remaining money is raised through royalties from recordings and broadcasts, licensing fees, corporate donations, etc...

This trend toward doing new works appears to be broadening. In many cases, the premieres of new or unfamiliar productions are selling better than the repertory staples like Verdi's _La Traviata_. The Minnesota Opera notes that it sold more than 98 percent of the tickets for Ricky Ian Gordon's _The Grapes of Wrath_, and St. Louis sold out performances of an opera by David Carlson based on Tolstoy's _Anna Karenina_. The Huston and LA Opera have successfully premiered operas by Daniel Catan, Jake Heggie, and Tan Dun, among others.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

In Quebec, we have Celine Dion.... .she's our nothinggale. A bad joke

Martin


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## Dakota (Jun 30, 2012)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> I posted a few facts concerning the demographics of opera in the US:
> 
> Approximately 20 million adults in the US alone have attended a live opera in the last year.
> 
> ...


Wow, that is actually better than I would have imagined. Now, if I can just get a few of them to move to my little town......


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Agatha said:


> Recently I discovered that there are no nightingales in America. These are migratory song birds that live in Europe and spend winter in northern Africa. I believe this is a main reason why north americans (at least Canadians living in Vancouver BC ) do not love opera.
> 
> Are there any nightingales in your area? I am missing them …


yeh I think we USED to have nightingales but they always would start up at 4 am, and people threw shoes at them until they went back to Europe ...

but you know one of the things I always love about Sutherland is that little smile, like she's always saying to herself, ain't I something? I love that. Milnes used to do that too.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

PetrB said:


> There are no nightingales in the Americas, but your postulation there is a connection to why Americans do not love opera is ridiculous. That blown completely out of the water by the copied list below, found by google search, "Opera companies - by Place."


Thank you for that.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Jeremy Marchant said:


> But does the existence of these companies imply that the American people, en masse, love opera, contrary to the first post? Or does it point to a few dozen groups of people in a population of, oh, let me guess, 250 million having a great time completely beyond the reach of everyone else?


330 million


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> I was wondering why people say the Americas, there is just ONE continent called America. Of course you have 3 regions: North America, Central America, South America. But Mexico (the USA people are not very happy about that) is in North America.
> 
> Martin, from Argentina, South America


Ah, see, you're forgetting the Panama Canal. It USED to be one continent, but now it's two.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> In Quebec, we have Celine Dion.... .she's our nothinggale. A bad joke
> 
> Martin


jeez ... I LIKE Celine Dion. Well, I don't actually have any of her music, but I like that she's married to a guy twice her age. I remember the jukebox at a bar I used to go to had some of her stuff and it was great, though ...


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## Agatha (Nov 3, 2009)

guythegreg said:


> yeh I think we USED to have nightingales but they always would start up at 4 am, and people threw shoes at them until they went back to Europe ...


 when i was looking for any references to nightingale sightings in the North America, I found one, where a person from Florida said that he couldn't sleep because a nightingale was singing through the night, he was asking how to make him go away. shoes might work  In fact nightingales sing after dusk and before dawn. according to english speaking sources he protects his territory, according to russian sources he sings to attract females.



guythegreg said:


> but you know one of the things I always love about Sutherland is that little smile, like she's always saying to herself, ain't I something? I love that. Milnes used to do that too.


 I love Sutherland, didn't see much of her, mostly her voice.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Agatha said:


> when i was looking for any references to nightingale sightings in the North America, I found one, where a person from Florida said that he couldn't sleep because a nightingale was singing through the night, he was asking how to make him go away. shoes might work  In fact nightingales sing after dusk and before dawn. according to english speaking sources he protects his territory, according to russian sources he sings to attract females.
> 
> I love Sutherland, didn't see much of her, mostly her voice.


I love it, you found a story that backs up my happy fantasy!! :lol:


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Agatha said:


> Thanks for the list!
> 
> Are you a bird watcher? Is it a red finch on your avatar? Why?


It's a Scarlet Tanager, which summers up in eastern North America and winters in South America. I picked it because it's one of our most beautiful forest birds. Forest bird is a translation of waldvogel, who has a small but significant part in the opera Siegfried.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Agatha said:


> when i was looking for any references to nightingale sightings in the North America, I found one, where a person from Florida said that he couldn't sleep because a nightingale was singing through the night, he was asking how to make him go away. shoes might work  In fact nightingales sing after dusk and before dawn. according to english speaking sources he protects his territory, according to russian sources he sings to attract females.


There has never been a verified sighting of a European Nightingale in North America. What the person in Florida was almost certainly hearing, singing his heart out all night long, was a Northern Mockingbird. A bird which, by the way, has a pretty good reference in our literature.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

waldvogel said:


> There has never been a verified sighting of a European Nightingale in North America. What the person in Florida was almost certainly hearing, singing his heart out all night long, was a Northern Mockingbird. A bird which, by the way, has a pretty good reference in our literature.


And in song. "Listen to the Mockingbird..."


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Hilltroll72 said:


> And in song. "Listen to the Mockingbird..."


Which, done in Spike Jones style, was the theme music of the Three Stooges...


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

Hilltroll72 said:


> And in song. "Listen to the Mockingbird..."


Which, done in Spike Jones style, was the theme music of the Three Stooges...


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I'm late getting to this thread. Maybe we can swap some of our nightingales for some of your eagles assuming they like the taste of grey squirrel and could also develop a similar liking for urban pigeon?


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## Dakota (Jun 30, 2012)

Elgars Ghost, gotta love it! Are you an Enigma? (or is that an old joke around here by now?)


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

We don't have much for eagles except for fish eagles. Peregrines are the nemesis of pigeons. Goshawks may or may not be efficient with gray squirrels; martens are certainly more efficient. You already have peregrines, unless you've killed them off; dunno about martens.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Dakota said:


> Elgars Ghost, gotta love it! Are you an Enigma? (or is that an old joke around here by now?)


Sadly, no - but I would have been moderately thrilled had my initials matched any of those. :tiphat:


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Hilltroll72 said:


> We don't have much for eagles except for fish eagles. Peregrines are the nemesis of pigeons. Goshawks may or may not be efficient with gray squirrels; martens are certainly more efficient. You already have peregrines, unless you've killed them off; dunno about martens.


Doesn't strictly have to be eagles, then - buzzards and vultures would do nicely as long as they could adapt to our climate/terrain and be trained in advance to ignore carrion and just prey on grey squirrels, urban pigeons and also those scavenging gulls which have made their way into my landlocked home county.


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## Dakota (Jun 30, 2012)

elgars ghost said:


> Sadly, no - but I would have been moderately thrilled had my initials matched any of those. :tiphat:


LOL, well I guess I could be " * * * " :angel:


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Dakota said:


> LOL, well I guess I could be " * * * " :angel:


And why not - '***' is far better than referring to yourself as 'Variation XIII'!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

elgars ghost said:


> Doesn't strictly have to be eagles, then - buzzards and vultures would do nicely as long as they could adapt to our climate/terrain and be trained in advance to ignore carrion and just prey on grey squirrels, urban pigeons and also those scavenging gulls which have made their way into my landlocked home county.


Hey, I like those urban pigeons!


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

MAuer said:


> Hey, I like those urban pigeons!


Vile creatures - it's a pity those ravens at the Tower of London can't raid Trafalgar Square and sort at least some of them out. In Worcester they are everywhere - you risk being dive-bombed even in the bus terminus.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

elgars ghost said:


> Vile creatures - it's a pity those ravens at the Tower of London can't raid Trafalgar Square and sort at least some of them out. In Worcester they are everywhere - you risk being dive-bombed even in the bus terminus.


When I was growing up in a small Vermont mill town, there were several families of East European immigrants living there (Ukrainians, Poles, Lithuanians). The youngsters used to search out the pigeon nests and take the squabs. They were fattened and 'cleansed' for a couple weeks on bread crumbs, then baked.

The pigeon population has thinned out considerably in recent decades, reportedly due to an ongoing program of putting out feed doctored to sterilize the males.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Hilltroll72 said:


> When I was growing up in a small Vermont mill town, there were several families of East European immigrants living there (Ukrainians, Poles, Lithuanians). The youngsters used to search out the pigeon nests and take the squabs. They were fattened and 'cleansed' for a couple weeks on bread crumbs, then baked.
> 
> The pigeon population has thinned out considerably in recent decades, reportedly due to an ongoing program of putting out feed doctored to sterilize the males.


Sterility-inducing feed? Interesting - I wonder if it's ever been tried here? At least it's humane, I suppose. My main beef with pigeons is not so much their scavenging (blame the humans for dropping food on the floor) but the resulting damage and mess done to buildings and structures due to their nesting and droppings over a period of time. It must cost quite a lot to put things right and I guess it's the taxpayer that ultimately foots the bill. I just cannot understand why pigeons are allowed to take over whole urban areas to the point that they become half-tame - they're a bloody nuisance and I cannot see any advantage to their presence in towns and cities at all.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

elgars ghost said:


> Sterility-inducing feed? Interesting - I wonder if it's ever been tried here? At least it's humane, I suppose. My main beef with pigeons is not so much their scavenging (blame the humans for dropping food on the floor) but the resulting damage and mess done to buildings and structures due to their nesting and droppings over a period of time. It must cost quite a lot to put things right and I guess it's the taxpayer that ultimately foots the bill. I just cannot understand *why pigeons are allowed to take over whole urban areas to the point that they become half-tame *- they're a bloody nuisance and I cannot see any advantage to their presence in towns and cities at all.


Well humans have been allowed to and they cause way more damage!:lol:


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## musicphotogAnimal (Jul 24, 2012)

waldvogel said:


> In North America there are some very close relatives of the European Nightingale. These birds are also in the Thrush family. They are all mid-sized brown birds with spotted breasts. I've seen all of these species with the exception of Bicknell's Thrush. I'll rate them from best singer to worst, in my opinion.
> 
> Hermit Thrush
> Wood Thrush
> ...





Agatha said:


> Thanks for the list!
> 
> Are you a bird watcher? Is it a red finch on your avatar? Why?


Yes, waldvogel is definitely a fellow birder.  Why do we bird watch? Because it's fun and awe-inspiring to see a creation of nature. Birds are probably one of the most fascinating creatures around and one that we as humans have aspired to be like (with the help of airplanes).



myaskovsky2002 said:


> In Quebec, we have Celine Dion.... .she's our nothinggale. A bad joke
> 
> Martin


I used to like Celine Dion...note the "used to"...before all the theatrics...etc etc... and the long-overstaying welcome performances at Caeser's Palace, Las Vegas.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

This thread is for the birds !








:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Mockingbirds and thrushes in the South can rival a nightingale.


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

Hey, we may not have Nightingales but some Shakespeare lover did succeed in bringing over starlings. May he burn in hell.

For me, the native bird here with the most beautiful song in the Meadow Lark. They used to be all over the place, but the fields and meadows have been built over so you gotta go a bit further out to hear them.


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

We have some Peregrine Falcons that have taken up city living here. Apparently they love the flying rats known as pigeons


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> I was wondering why people say the Americas, there is just ONE continent called America. Of course you have 3 regions: North America, Central America, South America. But Mexico (the USA people are not very happy about that) is in North America.
> 
> Martin, from Argentina, South America


Not to be pedantic, but I will anyway. The Americas consist of two continents, North and South America. for most of their existence as continents the two Americas where separate entities. About three million years ago South America bumped into North America at the Isthmus of Panama. Before that time Panama was the southern most extension of North America, just hanging loose in the ocean like a North American Tierra del Fuego. To say that North and South America are just one continent because they are joined a Panama is akin to saying that Africa and Asia are one continent because they are joined at Sinai.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I'm not even sure that Nightingales sing in Berkeley Square in the UK any more.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

drpraetorus said:


> For me, the native bird here with the most beautiful song in the Meadow Lark. They used to be all over the place, but the fields and meadows have been built over so you gotta go a bit further out to hear them.


Olivier Messiaen would have loved you - he seemed to have a spiritual affinity for Cedar Breaks, Zion Park and Bryce Canyon (all in Utah, I think?) as they - and the birds that were to be found there - were the places which predominantly inspired his epic Des canyons aux etoiles. The song of the Western Meadowlark features in the final part of the work. Other birds local to these regions which Messiaen included in this work are the Blue Grouse, the Red-shafted Flicker, Cassin's Finch, the Lazuli Bunting, the Whitethroated Swift, Clark's Nutcracker and Steller's Jay.


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## musicphotogAnimal (Jul 24, 2012)

drpraetorus said:


> Hey, we may not have Nightingales but some Shakespeare lover did succeed in bringing over starlings. May he burn in hell.
> 
> For me, the native bird here with the most beautiful song in the Meadow Lark. They used to be all over the place, but the fields and meadows have been built over so you gotta go a bit further out to hear them.


Evidently Western Meadowlarks reside in British Columbia too and it's on my list of ones to track down and photograph.


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## LFTBR (Aug 2, 2013)

Now, this might be a stretch but Canadian Barbara Hannigan (North American!) sings an amazing Nightingale in Stravinsky's Le Rossignol. Just thought I'd throw that one in for fun


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