The Burlingame Voice

Pidgeon Party

One of the things that makes the merchants on B'way crazy is "Birdman" who feeds the pidgeons--with the predictable aftermath on sidewalks, awnings and cars.  Here is quite the pidgeon party going on yesterday in the parking lot on Chula Vista.

That is a lotta bird food....leading to a lotta %^*&*.

West Nile Arrives

No more point in being in denial that West Nile virus has arrived in San Mateo County.  According to the Daily Post over the weekend, the SMCMVCD (the "bug guys") started spraying in San Mateo last night.  Infected mosquitos were collected in the Marina Lagoon northeast of the interchange of 101 and 92.  That is pretty much in our 'hood extending north to E. 3rd St in San Mateo.

Next time I run into our Mosquito commissioner, I'll hopefully get an update.  In the meantime, go outside and look for things that hold water--that watering can you never use or the upside down frisbee in sprinkler range and empty them out.  Hopefully the County will put aside 50 year sea-level rise concerns and deal with the problem at hand.

New Mills Canyon

There has been some good upgrades and maintenance recently in Mills Canyon.  The DJ is reporting the story here and notes

Weeks of work refining the secluded and narrow trail culminated Tuesday, April 19, as workers with the California Conservation Corps cleared brush from the path which spans a little over a mile in the Burlingame hills east of Skyline Boulevard, near Arguello Drive.

The final day of trimming put a finishing touch on the work which began last month that included building new stairs, regrading the trail for storm drainage, adding more steps, reducing erosion threats, widening the trail, implementing new retaining walls and more.

This part was interesting to me also since kids are sometimes in there at night partying

The dirt trail is open daily for free to members of the public to enjoy, along with their leashed dogs. No camping is allowed on the property, which closes at nightfall.

Outside of the recent beautification efforts, Holtz said volunteers are often responsible for clearing non-native species which may grow along the trail, as well as cleaning out the rare occurrence of litter being left behind.

I thought I would take a look at the Crime Map (that you can find here) for the last two weeks and see how it's been going.  It's been quiet in the canyon so we will see how it goes as the school year comes to an end.

 

 

Bruce D. at the wheel

Yesterday, Iron Maiden's customized 747 got into a fender bender in Chile. Who was at the controls? Bruce Dickinson of course. 

Beware the B'game Shrooms

I meant to post something about local mushrooms a couple of weeks ago when a particularly striking one popped up in my front yard.  I got talking to some neighbors and one mentioned his dog eating some of the shrooms in his yard--which cannot be good and did not work out too well for the dog or my neighbor's rug.  The Merc/Times reminded me today with this piece

With our recent wet weather, you probably are seeing mushrooms popping up all around you. Mushrooms are the visible, reproductive structures of fungus, called fruiting bodies. Their job is to house and disseminate reproductive spores.  Most fungi, even those in the lawn, are beneficial. They help decompose organic matter and release nutrients to our plants and soil.

If you click through to the Merc site, you can read about various local varieties, but I happen to know a guy who was a commercial mushroom farmer in the Santa Cruz mountains and he identified the one in my yard as the psychedelic variety amanita muscaria that is apparently related to the Death Cap but different.  Here's the one from my yard so you know what to look out for.

Halloween Hunger

I started the "Wildlife" category as a bit of a lark, but now I find plenty of material to keep it fresh.  I woke up yesterday morning to discover this sight on my front porch.

What animal do you think did this?  Squirrel?  Raccoon?  One of those big black birds that are everywhere?  In twenty-plus Halloweens I have never had this happen before.  Don't forget tonight is the B'game Halloween pub crawl.  No dancing on the bar!

Fire Suppression the Natural Way

Our wildlife category is growing every month.  Today another local snapped a photo of a herd of goats that are eating up the weeds near Kincaid's out on the bayfront.  Pretty cool.  Anyone else got a lot they need clearing while the goats are in town?

Wildlife Run Amok?

I put the question mark in the title since it is not clear that the wildlife is running amok or just doing what wildlife does.  We have two great pieces to tie together today.  The first is from the Wall Street Journal discussing a problem I have had for years

At one point, “I had like 12 raccoons on one bin trying to get in,” said Ms. MacDonald, an animal behavior researcher who was testing bin prototypes for the city (of Toronto). None succeeded, she said, but “they did try mightily.”

Ms. MacDonald is on the front lines of Toronto’s war on raccoons, which are ubiquitous in the backyards, ravines and alleys of Canada’s largest city. Although their exact number isn’t known, they are accused of ripping up lawns, destroying gardens, and defecating in garages and on rooftops and decks.

The battle between the city’s residents and its backyard wildlife is increasingly playing out over the disposal of organic waste. Residents’ green bins—which the city collects weekly at the curb—offer a smorgasbord for raccoons and have helped their numbers increase. Torontonians say it is tough to keep the bins sealed and the animals away.

The second point is from our very own John Horgan discussing a more disgusting problem

This involves something far more pressing here on the Peninsula: the Canadian goose problem. Surely, you have experienced the slimy depredations produced by this infernal creature, which migrates south from colder climes to linger in the warmer precincts of places like San Mateo County.

Now, however, there might be light at the end of the avian tunnel. Officials in Ottawa are considering something new as they grapple with their goose problem: drones.  It turns out that these remote-controlled aircraft are quite effective in keeping the geese out of areas deemed unfit for their presence. Great.

We will skip the back and forth about whether drones to scare geese is humane or not, but if you have stepped in the stuff often enough, you probably have a point of view on that.  To me, the raccoons are a bigger challenge.  Bungee cording my bins to trees seems to have fooled the B'game bandits but perhaps they will get as smart as the Toronto bandits soon?

 

 

Dog Abuse

This is a weird local story as reported in today's Daily Journal.  I normally wouldn't post it except for two things that make it even weirder

The Peninsula Humane Society is seeking the public’s help in bringing charges against a Burlingame dog sitter who was allegedly caught on camera abusing an animal.

A resident witnessed a neighbor, who runs a dog sitting and boarding business out of her home near Burlingame High School, jerk a cowering dog up by the neck, slam the small dog to the ground and then slap it multiple times while it was pinned to the ground, according to PHS spokesman Scott Delucchi.

The neighbor filmed the incident from a cellphone July 30 and turned it over to the PHS, which is now seeking help in locating the animal. This was not the first time the PHS has received complaints about the woman, but it is the first time the local nonprofit has obtained evidence it now believes will allow prosecutors to file charges, Delucchi said.

Because formal charges have not been filed, the PHS has not yet released the name of the alleged abuser or her business. However, the PHS is seeking the public’s help in both identifying the abused animal and finding other potential victims.

Aside from the really sad part about abusing multiple dogs, who knew you could run a dog boarding business with (it sounds like about 15 dogs at a time) in a single-family residential neighborhood behind BHS?  And how can they find other owners whose dogs may have been abused if they don't release the woman's name?  The description is pretty complete, but without the name, who really knows?

Shopping Trip? Breakfast?

A regular reader forwarded this totally cute photo from this morning on the Avenew.  Could Mom be taking the ducklings out for school supplies?  Or were they just headed for Alana's for some bread crusts and maybe a few pancake scraps?  The sidewalks look pretty good, too!

Russ and I always appreciate a candid local photo-- and it doesn't have to be wildlife.  You can always email me at joe@baylock.com with anything you deem interesting.