Originally published at: Watch: A crow keeps its distance on a California beach | Boing Boing
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Avian flight tech is pretty impressive.
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V/STOL
No it is not a complete sentence.
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That’s a great piece of footage. Amazing how such a tiny brain can do so much. No human-made flying machine can even touch that level of control and efficiency in windy, chaotic conditions.
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Awesome video. BTW, this isn’t just near San Diego, it’s in the city limits. 
La Jolla is technically a neighborhood, not an actual town.
Also, right there is the Salk Institute. The pubic is allowed on the grounds and the small campus is very cool.
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That is also about the only free parking you’ll find relatively close to UCSD!
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That bird knows how to fly: forwards, sideways, crabwise, backwards. Wow.
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The Torrey Pines Gliderport, is the most historic aviation site in North America
Really? I get that they need to market things, but really? The most historic aviation site in North America? Really?
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I’m no expert, but that looks more like a Common Raven than a crow. Note the feathers around the beak and the brief size comparison with the random human.
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That is much more like how it feels out here right now. /s
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Two of my favorite bands have done awesome live covers of Shine on You Crazy Diamond. FYI, if you’re interested.
I just saw Umphrey’s last week when they finally made it back to do a west coast run after covid put the kibosh on that twice. I’ve seen them probably 8 times and they kill.
And Gov’t Mule… I mean, Warren and the boys always do a cover right.
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Good point.
It’s tail feathers are also wedge shaped which is usually a good hint.
I have trouble telling big crows and small ravens apart sometimes (The big ones are obvious), but I’m also leaning Raven.
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It is indeed a raven. For the unkindness of the reporting, crow should be eaten.
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FWIW, full-size sailplanes flew at Torrey Pines Gliderport from 1920 through (IIRC) 2008 using bungee and winch launches. UCSD stopped allowing this from 2009 on, as they own the runway and have been building various structures in the area, including the Salk Institute and dormitories. Pictures and movies of soaring at Torrey Pines inspired many people to become glider pilots, including myself. Sadly, I never did get a chance to fly there.
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Damn it, I hemmed and hawed on whether it was a crow or raven, but I guess I guessed wrong and now there’s some crow to be eaten. Muh bad, y’all!!! Guilty…. ^_____^
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Right? The airport just down the road from us would like a word with them. (And ALB might like a word with both)
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When in doubt, just remember…
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Wow, the aughts feel like it was just yesterday, but when I turn my gaze back through the pollution resulting from the smoking wreck after the mid-teens, it suddenly feels like so long ago…
This is how my mind will work next time I try to remember the difference, I’ll say to myself: “that poster said wedge-shaped or fan-shaped, but which one has the fan shaped tail?” Also, is “American Crow” North/South America or Murica’?
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