Tag Archives: birds

Lighthouses Attract Birds!

Environment, Equipment, Fog, Incidents, Information, Light, Lighthouses, United Kingdom, Weather, Wildlife, Worldwide, , , ,
lighthouse-web
Bardsey Island lighthouse, UK

It sounds impossible, but the very bright light emanating from a lighthouse at night attracts  birds. This happens on the most remote of lighthouses, some far out at sea.

What interest would birds have in a lighthouse?

Well sometimes it is because the light beacon attracts numerous insects which the birds feed upon. In other cases birds fly to the lighthouse lamp because it is the only attraction in their universe, just like a boat will navigate towards the safety of a lighthouse. Continue reading Lighthouses Attract Birds! →

The Wise Raven

Adult Memories, First Nations, Lighthouses, Weather, Wildlife, , , , , , , ,

The following video came in an email today and it brought back memories of the ravens that lived near my old lighthouse at McInnes Island. Ravens are very intelligent!

 

Orion constellation (south)

I was on the early morning shift for most of my time there. I loved it! Every morning very early (about 03:00) I walked from the house up through the trees in the dark with coffee cup in hand for the first weather report of the morning. It was such a delight if the sky was clear to see the constellations I recognized. One could almost tell the time by their position in the sky, especially with Orion, the hunter. Continue reading The Wise Raven →

Book – The Lightkeepers’ Menagerie

Books, Equipment, Foghorns, Humour, Light, Lighthouses, On The Job, , , , , , ,

 The Lightkeepers’ Menagerie: Stories of Animals at Lighthouses

– by Elinor De Wire

 

 Hardcover: 328 pages

  • Publisher: Pineapple Press (March 15, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1561643904
  • ISBN-13: 978-1561643905
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches

I came across this book while doing a Google search for another author. Google Books has given a few free pages to read from this book. From these preview pages I think I will be buying the book. It sounds absolutely wonderful.

“Elinor De Wire has been writing about lighthouses and their keepers since 1972. During that time she found that hundreds of lighthouse animals wandered into her research notes and photo collection. This book is the story of all these cold-nosed, whiskered, wooly, hoofed, horned, slithery, buzzing, feathered, and finned keepers of the lights. Where else would a dog learn to ring a fogbell; a cat go swimming and catch a fish for its supper; or a parrot cuss the storm winds rattling its cage? Continue reading Book – The Lightkeepers’ Menagerie →