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  1. #1
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    Default Unnerving experience.

    Was raining this morning so I did not go work. Family left for work school and I contemplated doing things I had to do or sleeping again. Such choices.

    I moved to bottom room where the rain is loudest and got some papers to go over, I also got safe key out as I was expecting a cash collection a bit later. Went through my asleep messages from last night and noted that there were two wall jumpers last night in my little area. They would be jumping back out from where they hid last night to merge with the pedestrian traffic as it picked up for the day.
    I was just thinking this when a cell phone rings in my back yard, 3 rings and dead. I can see exactly where he is in the thick part of garden we keep for bird life.
    I decide since I have the keys and the garden is tangled I would retrieve the S/A 12 Gauge.
    30 Seconds later I have soundlessly gone out front door locked it and stowed keys where we do, pre-dialed my armed response and have the wall jumper cornered. He ain't going nowhere. I am far enough away to know that if he is a shooter he sure is unlikely to put one out through that stuff and get to me by aiming and he will have to cross open ground to get out. He is blocked, "het Jou KatVis"

    I tell him I know where he is and rack the 12 G dramatically

    Confidence will get me killed one day! The phone rings and gets killed again and I nearly die of fright, the guy has moved right across property to far corner, how, when WTF, I need to stop playing hero, I am 53 now not back then still.

    I move to where he was and tell him again he is cornered, tell him stay put and I press dial on phone.

    The wall jumper rings again this time he is directly above me.

    It all came together just as fast as reading the messages, hearing the phone ringing and knowing one of them was in my yard.
    A Fiscal Shrike, Jackie Hanger, Jaksman bird, it has learnt to imitate the standard cell phone call tone. Now that I know its a bird, I can fault the imitation, but at the time it had me completely fooled.

    I am now dealing with why did I not stay inside and call response, why did I enthusiastically welcome the confrontation - almost hope for some action. 53 years old now Dave 24 and bullet proof was a long time ago.

    Need to get over my pride, or I may be seeing some old friends sooner than I wish too.

    Do these birds now hear phones so often that they actually have learnt to mimic them? How the world is changing.

  2. #2
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    Jul 2011
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    BFN Freestate
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    12,151

    Default Re: Unnerving experience.

    lol

  3. #3
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    Jan 2014
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    75
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    1,483

    Default Re: Unnerving experience.

    Try to teach the birds how to emulate the sound of cocking a shotgun.

  4. #4
    User
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    Mar 2012
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    Port Elizabeth
    Posts
    5,955

    Default Re: Unnerving experience.

    Quote Originally Posted by treeman View Post
    I am now dealing with why did I not stay inside and call response
    This was a major hurdle i had to get through to my mother. The days of going outside to see what the noise was, are over.

    Thankfully she stopped being the first responder to every noise and now calls the security company.

  5. #5
    Banned
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    Port Elizabeth
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    Default Re: Unnerving experience.

    I just got off the line to my conservation guy, had to tell Mark Marshal my story. His response non plussed he said "yes, the Fork Tail Drongo's have also been reported to be mimicking the phones.

    Cody and I are right now waiting all doors, windows open, I want to record this if its a resident bird.

  6. #6
    Banned
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    Nov 2017
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    41
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    2,743

    Default Re: Unnerving experience.

    Quote Originally Posted by treeman View Post
    Was raining this morning so I did not go work. Family left for work school and I contemplated doing things I had to do or sleeping again. Such choices.

    I moved to bottom room where the rain is loudest and got some papers to go over, I also got safe key out as I was expecting a cash collection a bit later. Went through my asleep messages from last night and noted that there were two wall jumpers last night in my little area. They would be jumping back out from where they hid last night to merge with the pedestrian traffic as it picked up for the day.
    I was just thinking this when a cell phone rings in my back yard, 3 rings and dead. I can see exactly where he is in the thick part of garden we keep for bird life.
    I decide since I have the keys and the garden is tangled I would retrieve the S/A 12 Gauge.
    30 Seconds later I have soundlessly gone out front door locked it and stowed keys where we do, pre-dialed my armed response and have the wall jumper cornered. He ain't going nowhere. I am far enough away to know that if he is a shooter he sure is unlikely to put one out through that stuff and get to me by aiming and he will have to cross open ground to get out. He is blocked, "het Jou KatVis"

    I tell him I know where he is and rack the 12 G dramatically

    Confidence will get me killed one day! The phone rings and gets killed again and I nearly die of fright, the guy has moved right across property to far corner, how, when WTF, I need to stop playing hero, I am 53 now not back then still.

    I move to where he was and tell him again he is cornered, tell him stay put and I press dial on phone.

    The wall jumper rings again this time he is directly above me.

    It all came together just as fast as reading the messages, hearing the phone ringing and knowing one of them was in my yard.
    A Fiscal Shrike, Jackie Hanger, Jaksman bird, it has learnt to imitate the standard cell phone call tone. Now that I know its a bird, I can fault the imitation, but at the time it had me completely fooled.

    I am now dealing with why did I not stay inside and call response, why did I enthusiastically welcome the confrontation - almost hope for some action. 53 years old now Dave 24 and bullet proof was a long time ago.

    Need to get over my pride, or I may be seeing some old friends sooner than I wish too.

    Do these birds now hear phones so often that they actually have learnt to mimic them? How the world is changing.

  7. #7
    User
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Eastern Cape
    Posts
    1,028

    Default Re: Unnerving experience.

    A future project piece of wood full 4 or 6 inch nails that is misplaced laying somewhere next to a wall is a very good wall jumper deterrent.

  8. #8

    Default Re: Unnerving experience.

    Quote Originally Posted by ady View Post
    This was a major hurdle i had to get through to my mother. The days of going outside to see what the noise was, are over.

    Thankfully she stopped being the first responder to every noise and now calls the security company.
    I nearly went out about 3 years ago to an intruder. They opened a garden tap, full open at about 9pm, while I was watching TV. Fortunately my wife had the presence of mind to stop me and called Security company, who I then went out with. By then the jumpers were long gone, but at least I wasn’t ambushed.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  9. #9
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    Feb 2014
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    Constantia Kloof (Roodepoort)
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    43
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    81

    Default Re: Unnerving experience.

    HAHAHA, ja good one! Also had a neighbor with a parrot that sounded EXACTLY like one of those old Telkom phones when it rings. Every couple of days you hear "the phone" ring, followed by a scream "F$@%-off Polly".

    But in all seriousness. We did have a "jumper" in our yard last year. My house alarm is silent, and my outdoor passives caught the guy pretty early into his "expedition". Was watching him on our camera system the whole time. I could at any point easily have gone outside to "get him" easy. But I decided to wait for armed response, which only took about 2 to 3 minutes. The missus had them on the phone the whole time telling them where the guy was etc etc. My biggest concern in this situation was, I don't want anyone to know I have a firearm. It's not about being Rambo. That guy runs away, but then comes back in 6 month's time with his friends, cause now he knows you have a firearm.

    I have the whole video of the incident, if anyone wants to see it.

  10. #10
    User
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Port Elizabeth
    Posts
    5,955

    Default Re: Unnerving experience.

    Quote Originally Posted by tcbc View Post
    I nearly went out about 3 years ago to an intruder. They opened a garden tap, full open at about 9pm, while I was watching TV. Fortunately my wife had the presence of mind to stop me and called Security company, who I then went out with. By then the jumpers were long gone, but at least I wasn’t ambushed.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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