Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[Mohican]

Meanwhile, on Twitter-

[RED-DOG]

 

Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall agrees that while highly unusual it is not totally unheard of and has "no reason to doubt" the photo.
He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.

What an earthenware receptacle of excrement.  

[maccol]

Is it a leather-seated uni-cycle?

[mulhuzz]

Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall agrees that while highly unusual it is not totally unheard of and has "no reason to doubt" the photo.
He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.

What an earthenware receptacle of excrement.  

do you absolutely think this is impossible? like more than say... a 1000/1 shot if you left a woodpecker and a weasel in a room?

obviously I wasn't particularly taken in by the BBC describing someone as an 'expert' without any further explanation of their credentials....but you strike me as the kind of bloke whose intuition about whether this is possible or not is likely correct...so.....

[RED-DOG]

Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall agrees that while highly unusual it is not totally unheard of and has "no reason to doubt" the photo.
He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.

What an earthenware receptacle of excrement.  

do you absolutely think this is impossible? like more than say... a 1000/1 shot if you left a woodpecker and a weasel in a room?

obviously I wasn't particularly taken in by the BBC describing someone as an 'expert' without any further explanation of their credentials....but you strike me as the kind of bloke whose intuition about whether this is possible or not is likely correct...so.....

Well I'm going to stick my neck out and say it's absolutely, totally and utterly impossible.

I would imagine a bird that has evolved to carry prey would probably be able to lift about 1/3 to 1/2 of it's own weight if it were gripped in it's talons where it wouldn't affect wing movement and aerodynamics too much.


Hopefully, Rod will be along soon to enlighten us.

[Rod Paradise]

Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall agrees that while highly unusual it is not totally unheard of and has "no reason to doubt" the photo.
He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.

What an earthenware receptacle of excrement.  

do you absolutely think this is impossible? like more than say... a 1000/1 shot if you left a woodpecker and a weasel in a room?

obviously I wasn't particularly taken in by the BBC describing someone as an 'expert' without any further explanation of their credentials....but you strike me as the kind of bloke whose intuition about whether this is possible or not is likely correct...so.....

Well I'm going to stick my neck out and say it's absolutely, totally and utterly impossible.

I would imagine a bird that has evolved to carry prey would probably be able to lift about 1/3 to 1/2 of it's own weight if it were gripped in it's talons where it wouldn't affect wing movement and aerodynamics too much.


Hopefully, Rod will be along soon to enlighten us.

I'm tempted to believe it though - thinking the fright of being jumped on by a weasel would see the woodpecker get airborn for a short while, before the weight took it back down (and the photographer says he saw it land).

[RED-DOG]

Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall agrees that while highly unusual it is not totally unheard of and has "no reason to doubt" the photo.
He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.

What an earthenware receptacle of excrement.  

do you absolutely think this is impossible? like more than say... a 1000/1 shot if you left a woodpecker and a weasel in a room?

obviously I wasn't particularly taken in by the BBC describing someone as an 'expert' without any further explanation of their credentials....but you strike me as the kind of bloke whose intuition about whether this is possible or not is likely correct...so.....

Well I'm going to stick my neck out and say it's absolutely, totally and utterly impossible.

I would imagine a bird that has evolved to carry prey would probably be able to lift about 1/3 to 1/2 of it's own weight if it were gripped in it's talons where it wouldn't affect wing movement and aerodynamics too much.


Hopefully, Rod will be along soon to enlighten us.

I'm tempted to believe it though - thinking the fright of being jumped on by a weasel would see the woodpecker get airborn for a short while, before the weight took it back down (and the photographer says he saw it land).

Yeah, I see what you mean. It was so afraid that it defied the laws of physics.

If you call falling off a branch with a weasel on you back flying then I could do it.

[RED-DOG]

And that's assuming the photo is genuine, which I also don't believe.

I feel like I should add a Scot's themed insult here but I can't think of one at the moment, so you will just have to use your imagination.

[Rod Paradise]

Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall agrees that while highly unusual it is not totally unheard of and has "no reason to doubt" the photo.
He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.

What an earthenware receptacle of excrement.  

do you absolutely think this is impossible? like more than say... a 1000/1 shot if you left a woodpecker and a weasel in a room?

obviously I wasn't particularly taken in by the BBC describing someone as an 'expert' without any further explanation of their credentials....but you strike me as the kind of bloke whose intuition about whether this is possible or not is likely correct...so.....

Well I'm going to stick my neck out and say it's absolutely, totally and utterly impossible.

I would imagine a bird that has evolved to carry prey would probably be able to lift about 1/3 to 1/2 of it's own weight if it were gripped in it's talons where it wouldn't affect wing movement and aerodynamics too much.


Hopefully, Rod will be along soon to enlighten us.

I'm tempted to believe it though - thinking the fright of being jumped on by a weasel would see the woodpecker get airborn for a short while, before the weight took it back down (and the photographer says he saw it land).

Yeah, I see what you mean. It was so afraid that it defied the laws of physics.

If you call falling off a branch with a weasel on you back flying then I could do it.

I don't believe it does break the laws of physics though.

A woodpecker is approx 21cm in length with a wingspan of 30cm.

Going by the picture the weasel is at the low end of the size range for a female - (11 to 20cm) - so I'd expect low end of the weight range too - (29g to 110g according to wiki).

I''ve seen a jackdaw fly off from the ground with a 90g fatball hanging from its beak. At 2/3 the size of a jackdaw I'm don't see a problem with a woodpecker taking off with 30g on its back and getting a few feet. especially as the weasel is along the back, better weight distribution and streamlining than a ball hanging from the beak.

Also if an osprey can catch and fly off with a fish of near it's own body weight, I'm pretty confident a woodpecker can carry a good bit less than it's weight. (Again from wiki) The osprey is 0.9–2.1 kg (2.0–4.6 lb) in weight and 50–66 cm (20–26 in) in length with a 127–180 cm (50–71 in) wingspan. It typically takes fish weighing 150–300 g (5.3–10.6 oz) and about 25–35 cm (9.8–13.8 in) in length, but the weight can range from 50 grams (1.8 oz) to 2 kg (4.4 lb). Virtually any type of fish in that size range are taken.

Going by the other pics the photographer got it doesn't seem to have been a long flight.

https://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=4886

Would be  a tough challenge for mythbusters to prove though

[Rod Paradise]

And that's assuming the photo is genuine, which I also don't believe.

I feel like I should add a Scot's themed insult here but I can't think of one at the moment, so you will just have to use your imagination.

  Is cynicism a natural by-product of old age? Or you just feeling naturally curmudgeonly?

[RED-DOG]

Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall agrees that while highly unusual it is not totally unheard of and has "no reason to doubt" the photo.
He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.

What an earthenware receptacle of excrement.  

do you absolutely think this is impossible? like more than say... a 1000/1 shot if you left a woodpecker and a weasel in a room?

obviously I wasn't particularly taken in by the BBC describing someone as an 'expert' without any further explanation of their credentials....but you strike me as the kind of bloke whose intuition about whether this is possible or not is likely correct...so.....

Well I'm going to stick my neck out and say it's absolutely, totally and utterly impossible.

I would imagine a bird that has evolved to carry prey would probably be able to lift about 1/3 to 1/2 of it's own weight if it were gripped in it's talons where it wouldn't affect wing movement and aerodynamics too much.


Hopefully, Rod will be along soon to enlighten us.

I'm tempted to believe it though - thinking the fright of being jumped on by a weasel would see the woodpecker get airborn for a short while, before the weight took it back down (and the photographer says he saw it land).

Yeah, I see what you mean. It was so afraid that it defied the laws of physics.

If you call falling off a branch with a weasel on you back flying then I could do it.

I don't believe it does break the laws of physics though.

A woodpecker is approx 21cm in length with a wingspan of 30cm.

Going by the picture the weasel is at the low end of the size range for a female - (11 to 20cm) - so I'd expect low end of the weight range too - (29g to 110g according to wiki).

I''ve seen a jackdaw fly off from the ground with a 90g fatball hanging from its beak. At 2/3 the size of a jackdaw I'm don't see a problem with a woodpecker taking off with 30g on its back and getting a few feet. especially as the weasel is along the back, better weight distribution and streamlining than a ball hanging from the beak.

Also if an osprey can catch and fly off with a fish of near it's own body weight, I'm pretty confident a woodpecker can carry a good bit less than it's weight. (Again from wiki) The osprey is 0.9–2.1 kg (2.0–4.6 lb) in weight and 50–66 cm (20–26 in) in length with a 127–180 cm (50–71 in) wingspan. It typically takes fish weighing 150–300 g (5.3–10.6 oz) and about 25–35 cm (9.8–13.8 in) in length, but the weight can range from 50 grams (1.8 oz) to 2 kg (4.4 lb). Virtually any type of fish in that size range are taken.

Going by the other pics the photographer got it doesn't seem to have been a long flight.

https://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=4886

Would be  a tough challenge for mythbusters to prove though

Pish

[Rod Paradise]

Wildlife presenter Steve Backshall agrees that while highly unusual it is not totally unheard of and has "no reason to doubt" the photo.
He compared the woodpecker to other animals like leaf cutter ants and rhino beetles, which can carry 850 times their body weight.

What an earthenware receptacle of excrement.  

do you absolutely think this is impossible? like more than say... a 1000/1 shot if you left a woodpecker and a weasel in a room?

obviously I wasn't particularly taken in by the BBC describing someone as an 'expert' without any further explanation of their credentials....but you strike me as the kind of bloke whose intuition about whether this is possible or not is likely correct...so.....

Well I'm going to stick my neck out and say it's absolutely, totally and utterly impossible.

I would imagine a bird that has evolved to carry prey would probably be able to lift about 1/3 to 1/2 of it's own weight if it were gripped in it's talons where it wouldn't affect wing movement and aerodynamics too much.


Hopefully, Rod will be along soon to enlighten us.

I'm tempted to believe it though - thinking the fright of being jumped on by a weasel would see the woodpecker get airborn for a short while, before the weight took it back down (and the photographer says he saw it land).

Yeah, I see what you mean. It was so afraid that it defied the laws of physics.

If you call falling off a branch with a weasel on you back flying then I could do it.

I don't believe it does break the laws of physics though.

A woodpecker is approx 21cm in length with a wingspan of 30cm.

Going by the picture the weasel is at the low end of the size range for a female - (11 to 20cm) - so I'd expect low end of the weight range too - (29g to 110g according to wiki).

I''ve seen a jackdaw fly off from the ground with a 90g fatball hanging from its beak. At 2/3 the size of a jackdaw I'm don't see a problem with a woodpecker taking off with 30g on its back and getting a few feet. especially as the weasel is along the back, better weight distribution and streamlining than a ball hanging from the beak.

Also if an osprey can catch and fly off with a fish of near it's own body weight, I'm pretty confident a woodpecker can carry a good bit less than it's weight. (Again from wiki) The osprey is 0.9–2.1 kg (2.0–4.6 lb) in weight and 50–66 cm (20–26 in) in length with a 127–180 cm (50–71 in) wingspan. It typically takes fish weighing 150–300 g (5.3–10.6 oz) and about 25–35 cm (9.8–13.8 in) in length, but the weight can range from 50 grams (1.8 oz) to 2 kg (4.4 lb). Virtually any type of fish in that size range are taken.

Going by the other pics the photographer got it doesn't seem to have been a long flight.

https://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=4886

Would be  a tough challenge for mythbusters to prove though

Pish

But you believe the osprey pics where they catch a fish and take off out of the water carrying it?

Click to see full-size image.

Fish is roughly the same relative length as the weasel - and a fish is pure muscle....

[Redsgirl]

Rod's sig. 

[kinboshi]

Doubting Thomas.

[david3103]

It's remarkable what a woodpecker can lift..