Welcome to May everyone! Trying my best to get caught up since getting back from the Purina Farms Poodle Specialty Agility Nationals and FastCAT runs in Missouri. I am beginning to think the term “caught up” is just a polite way of saying getting some semblance of order before receiving another dose of chaos as we head out the door on another adventure – retirement is wonderful, but I definitely didn’t expect to be this busy! The good news is, while Brad was looking after the Intrigued complex, I was able to get caught up on this year’s Average Year stats (link here) – note, as of today, it is technically 4 birds behind (I can’t win ha). My count officially sits at 285. Not a bad number this early in the season, but it has been a struggle of sorts as we changed up our travel destinations a bit. Warblers did just start arrived today, fingers crossed I’ll be able to get several of those in the tin before they move on.
Linda received her FastCAT picture downloads today and thought I’d throw in some brag shots of our speed demon!
Hit the jump for another shot from the competition and I promise we’ll get you to a feathered friend as well!
For those not familiar with the FastCAT events, it is essentially a 100 yard dash for dogs. Open to any dog breed and performance is based solely on beating the clock vs the other competitors, so everyone is on equal footings. Small dogs, big dogs, skinny dogs, chubby dogs, prissy dogs… all they have to do is be able to make it to the end enticed by a plastic bag on the end of a string that is kept just ahead of them. The time is then compared to an established baseline for that dog’s height – how well they do relative to that time is the number of points they get. I am not entirely sure how the points are allocated (Linda’s responsibility), but the more the pup comes under that time, the more points they are awarded. Titles are awarded when they reach threshold point levels. Ruger already has his first title and with the results of his runs last weekend he is likely a mere 4 runs from his next title.
For the curious, Ruger’s top speed is 19.5 MPH. He was running in pretty tall, wet grass at Purina that pushed him down into the 18s – still hauling ass. I love the shot above as he looks like a grey Cheetah! Ruger ABSOLUTELY loves it and you can see the pure joy as the wind whips through his fur as he races to his mother at the end of the course. Downside, it is quite the task for me to keep him under control at the starting line prior to the referee gives the release signal – imagine trying to hold a bunch of screaming mongooses – now imagine them chugging Red Bulls while mainlining Pixie Stix and chugging espressos. Quite the comedy.
Okay, you have suffered through enough bragging, time to get to today’s featured feathered friend. You might want to turn the lights up before taking a look at this Goose, it can be a bit startling at first ha.
This particular series was taken in Austin, TX on December 30, 2022. That date is rather important as it represented a period of absolute stress as I was desperately trying to get to the ’22 Average Year goal of 300 bird species (link here). The day started at 295 – two days to go and I was running out of daylight and opportunities. An early stop at Commons Ford Ranch Metropolitan Park on the west end of the city resulted in some misses, but at least one addition put me at 296. Linda and I were scouring the eBird reports looking for anything that was in reach keeping a close eye on the rapidly falling sun.
Linda discovered a place called Emma Long Metropolitan Park (link here). Caution, do not confuse this with the Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park located on the east side of Austin (link here) – The Emma website explicitly states their namesakes are not related an apparently their political views were also not aligned (salty). They had Raven reports and a supposed wild flock of Egyptian Geese. It had a steep IpS. (Investment per Species) as there was a $10/car fee to get into the park bringing the cost to $5 per new species opportunity or an IpS of 5. I like to keep that closer to 1, but these were desperate times. Made our way over there about an hour before dusk.
I must say, Emma was a really nice park with lovely views of the Colorado River running alongside. Complete with a campground, picnic tables, hiking trails and access points to the river. I wouldn’t mind going back there and exploring it some more, alas there was business to attend to while the dropping sun taunted. After a couple of hurried walks along the river a set of spooky looking Geese gingerly floated right past me. With an odd guttural croak the lead Goose conveyed “Excuse me sir, can I interest you in a photo perhaps?”
Holy crap, there they were! Immediately brought The Beast on target, a quick snap to check the settings, upped them all to compensate for the total blackness on the back of the LCD and got to work.
Unfortunately, no Raven appeared so the IpS went up to a whopping 10. 297 and only one day to go. If you are a regular reader of this blog you probably already I know I topped out at 298 adding only one new species before bringing in the New Year. So close.
Better get to some interesting aspects of this bizarre looking creature, especially after I made you sit through the Ruger brags at the beginning. The Egyptian Goose is not native to the US, rather a natural resident of Africa. Due to its rather striking appearance, it is a popular zoo feature in the US and there were/are many private entities that brought them over as ornamental accessories to local ponds and estates. By definition, those particular specimens would not be allowed to be counted in our Average Year and definitely not allowed by the ABA’s Big Year rules (link here). Ron and I relax these rules to include wild/thriving populations of exotics which this flock qualifies as – similar to the escaped flocks of Monk Parakeets in various parts of the country and the southern Texas Parrots. Wikipedia indicates they were labeled as a non-native species by the UK in 2009 which grants Great Britain the permission to shoot “without permission” if they cause problems. Unfortunately, just looking at these ghostly Geese could be cause for a health problem! These Geese are non-migratory and actually prefer to spend their time on land rather than water. Apparently, the study on whether they have the irritable bowel syndrome issues of their Canada Geese kin that causes them to crap on every square inch they traverse is still underway.
Better wrap this post up – have to put some miles in tomorrow and need to recover from the 50 vials of blood I had to give during my annual physical labs today (Nurse Ratched swears it was only two – she lies I tell ya’!)
wait…before I go, one last shot from the course “Did I win Mommy!”
Wildlife Intrigued 
These geese are living more and more in Italy too, due to the warmer climate of the latest decades.
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Unfortunate for the reason for the increase, but on the fortunate front they are rather intriguing to see, especially with their variability in coloring. Appreciate you stopping by Luisella – have a wonderful week!
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Thanks. The same to you!
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The last pic of your sweet pup all excited and hustling is precious. The geese are nice too. So interesting with so many species or varietals of the same bird family.
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I was getting ready to close out the post and looked over and saw that in the gallery and had to add it – I’ve never owned a “performance” bred Poodle before and it amazing to see how much he enjoys this event – unfortunately, he has a tendency to carry this excitement into the agility ring where control wins out over flat out speed (Linda calls it the zoomies). He has plenty of time to get it figured out, but the oohs and ahhs on the dash court are replaced by laughter when starts taking every obstacle he sees like the Flash hahaha. This Goose is quite interesting, I really want to encounter it again as I didn’t really get a chance to observe all the details – Sam below mentioned the “bright green iridescence” on their secondaries which I didn’t get a glimpse of or were darker due to the dropping sun. One of the reasons birding is so fun I guess. Take care and appreciate you dropping in.
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That last shot of Ruger is fantastic. He runs faster than my current top speed on my mountain bike. Ruger is impressive. Quick and powerful, single-action performance like a Ruger Super Blackhawk. I love the coloring of the geese.
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As a runner, it is embarrassing trying to stay with him while training him. I have to keep up or his front legs raise up off the ground like a dragster. His official name is Lil’ Pistol (thus the Ruger call name) and that name is a perfect fit – he asked for one of those 44 cals for his birthday – we told him maybe when he gets older and can handle the kick hehehe. These Geese were just plain weird – kind of what I imagined a Goose would look like to Alice when she’s ten feet tall – feed your head, feed your head. Thanks for dropping by Tim, appreciate it.
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I sure that’s what Alice saw. Ruger with a Super Blackhawk. Sounds dangerous. Those things kick the crap out of you.
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I’ve had the privilege of shooting the S&W 500 hand cannon and it took a significant grip to keep my arms from going over my head ha. One of those “toys” that are fun to fire a couple of times to feel the power, but not something you are going to put many more rounds through that day. Assuming that 44 is similar.
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The S&W 500 is worse. It doesn’t make much sense other than making one feel manly. The .44 mags are much easier to handle, with a kick. After I put rubber grips on my S&W Model 29, I could make people’s day all day long.
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One of those “toys” you are happy just to know someone that has one – like a pool ha. I asked him how much the shells cost and his response was “if you feel the need to know, you shouldn’t own it” As a general impression, his collection always made me drool. That 29 is also a hand cannon – never had the privilege of firing one of those, but I never missed a Dirty Harry showing. Generally more of a magazine man but a definite thrill playing with the revolvers – Grandfather was the police chief of my hometown and liked seeing his 38 Specials (not enough grip for my comfort though).
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Now you have another reason to come out this way. I’ve seen all the Dirty Harry movies and all the spaghetti westerns. My mom took me and a couple of friends to see A Fist Full Of Dollars when we were eleven. After seeing the film we made serapes from whatever material we could find and had gunfights with our sixshooter BB guns.
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Today the “constantly outraged” would try to shame you and your mother for such “hurtful” behavior. Luckily back in the day we were all taught right from wrong and could actually enjoy entertainment without being triggered – ah those were the days… speaking of something that would never play today – the old All in the Family.
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And yet Demi Moore shocks Cannes Film Festival with her triple bloody film called “The Substance.”
We were talking about kids playing games that involve balls at a dinner party with graduate students Saturday night. One guy mentioned that a little girl threw the ball at another little girl and hit her in the head. The students were shocked at the thought of such behavior. Then I said, “Bloody hell! When I was a kid we played ‘Smear the Queer’ and pummeled each other with balls.” The silence was deafening until Avery, 24 years old from California, who was quite astonished said, “What? Are you kidding me?” Not at all. We live in a different world today.
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I can imagine the silence, unbelievable. I remember the days of “King of the Hill”, StQ and my favorite dodgeball. All designed to toughen you up for what life was going to hit you with as you got older, now we have safe spaces and microaggressions. Good luck making it on their own. I am pretty much done with the supposed entertainment industry. Until Baldwin is in jail for illegally using a gun and their bodyguards are stripped of their service pieces I don’t need their hypocrisy.
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I hear you on the hypocrisy. We almost ended up with Baldwin as a neighbor. Luckily another cranky neighbor got in a fight with Baldwin, and Baldwin backed out of the deal. I got along quite well with cranky neighbor, he a Laurie used to get in pretty good fights. He was a real case. He got banned from every store on this side of town, and had to drive 15 miles to get groceries. May he rest in peace and I was always grateful for him saving us from having Baldwin as a neighbor.
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Ruger’s photos look just like the ones to prove a horse has all four hooves/paws off the ground at once. Spooky looking goose; almost like a villain out of a Batman movie.
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I keep telling him over and over you only gain momentum when a paws is on the ground, but does he listen, nope, wants to show off for his fan club ha. Hmmmm, I think you might have a creative gold mine there, replace the Penguin with an Egyptian Goose – put a top hat on, give it cane and a monocle to accentuate that spooky eye…be sure and get per show royalties when DC comes a calling!
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We have thriving populations of the Egyptian Goose here in the Houston area, as well. Not sure I would use the word “wild”, they sure seem tame, very docile around people. You got to see them fly – that’s a big bonus, as all they seem to do here is parade back and forth near the lake edges looking tame as all get out. Did you notice a bright green iridescence on their secondaries? I didn’t know it was there until reviewing some online photos.
Ruger is happiness personified! Congrats to him on his extra points!
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You are right on the “wild”guessing the better description is self-sustaining, It is odd that beyond this Austin encounter we have not found them elsewhere on our Texas travels (beyond one or two decorative specimens in a campground or estate pond. This particular flock in Emma was pretty nonchalant about walking around me even with the big glass pointed at them – it is likely they recognized a bond with my Halloween addiction ha. I did get to see them fly, but I completely missed the iridescence on the secondaries, or it with the sun going down they looked dark – now I have added that to me “must see” list – thanks for the tip! Ruger is amazing – his puppy brain is still popping up in the agility ring much to Linda’s chagrin, but when it comes to the dash it’s balls out haulin’ wind whipping through his ears. This is our first “performance” bred Poodle and wow, you can really tell the difference – solid muscle, no fear and love for performing — it’s the constant trash talking to the other competitors that we have to work on…but that’s Linda’s problem hehehehe. As always Sam, thanks for dropping by and again, appreciate the extra wing feature.
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That is one speedy looking pup!
As for the bird – it walks like an Egyptian.
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Ruger is the first “performance” bred Poodle we have ever owned and wow, talk about a difference. With his physical traits (speed, muscle, fearlessness) combined with his absolute enthusiasm to compete has been incredible – need to work out some of that puppy brain in the agility ring and I think he’s going to make Linda one happy hangler for years and years to come. You beat me to it Wally – I actually had that Bangles reference as the title, then I decided to move the reference down into the body and then it was completely forgotten by the time I wrapped it up – +1 for you! Appreciate you coming by and hopefully I’ll get caught on my blog reading soon.
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You can see the personality 😂😂😂, life is good.
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Hmmm, WP lost my first reply – one thing after another with this software. Yes, Ruger is definitely liking his competitive role. Has a tendency to trash talk a bit too much, but it takes everything I have to hold him back at the starting line until the starter gives the go-ahead. It helps that he is so attached to his mom and he can see her standing at the other end of the field…either that or he wants to get away from me as fast as he can hehehe. Thanks for coming by Ted, appreciate it.
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Looks like great fun, especially for Ruger.
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You must be so proud of your fast (and very photogenic) dogs. Wow!
And I had no idea that Egyptian Geese had been brought to the US, though it’s not surprising. If Europe is any indication, they will continue to naturalize and multiply to the point of becoming pests.
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We are definitely proud of our little guys – it is amazing to see how much they enjoy the competition. You never can tell with these “invasive” species (think House Sparrows), but as history continues to show us, I am sure you are on point with where things go from here. I don’t mind them during the haunt season, but a bit unnerving the rest of the year ha. Appreciate you coming by Tanja.
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I have seen different dog events in England. The dogs all appear to quite happy to be racing or doing the obstacle course. The doggo has a look of pure joy! Nice shots!
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Thank you Sharon, it is extremely clear they love the chance let loose and enjoy the wind blowing through their ears. There are always a few at the events that seems to just be going through the motions, but for the most part they love showing off their skills and making their handlers happy. Now if I could just get Ruger to stop trash talking the other competitors when leaving the ring hahahaha.
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Ha! We need google translate for dogs. It would be interesting to know what they are saying. I know people train cats and dogs to use buttons that when pushed say words.
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Anyone who figures that out will earn a fortune!! Although, my fear is we would discover they spend their days making fun of us stupid humans – reminds me of the adage, “ignorance is bliss” hehehe.
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Love bragging time when it comes to your dog, Last photo of course is a favorite. Dogs running photos are so fun to do. 🙂
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Thanks Sandra, win or lose, they seem to enjoy every second of it. We are down in my hometown of Spfld IL at the Canine Performance Events Nationals this week and Raven is chomping the bit to get in the ring. Ruger gets a week off as he needs a few more titles before he is eligible, but he’ll be on sidelines cheering his little brother on. Hoping to get more pictures to share!
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