[obol] Friday the 13th and tips for avoiding bad luck while birding around gunners

From: Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
To: Oregon Birders OnLine <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2015 11:47:02 -0800
Hi all,

This whole "3F13" thing (three Fridays falling on the 13th in a given
calendar year) mentioned in Barb Combs' posting got me curious, so this
morning I worked out the math.

The interesting thing is that this happens practically as often in a
leap year (as in 2012) as in a "common" year (such as this one, 2015).
The recurrence interval within a given century is 28 years, so we'll see
this happen again in 2040 and 2043, should we live that long.

In "3F13" leap years, the months in which Friday lands on a 13th are
always January, April, and July. 

In "3F13" common years, the months are invariably February, March, and
November.

So there ought to be two "3F13" per 28 years, on average. The way that
the Gregorian calendar handles years divisible by 100 or by 400 throws
in a bit of a wrinkle -- it turns out there are 30 "3F13" years between
2001 and 2400, so the actual rate is 2 per 26.7 years.

If anyone is curious to see the gory details, just let me know ....

About birding around gunners (seeing Courtney's posting this AM), it's
REALLY important to learn the difference between the sounds that rifles
and shotguns make, to be able to assess if you are in real danger.

Shotguns tend to make a deep, loud boom; rifles (and most pistols) make
a sharp crack. If someone is firing a shotgun with a typical birdshot
load and you're at least 50-60 yards away, you're not in mortal danger. 

However, if you can't get the gunner's attention by yelling as loud as
you can (or using a whistle if you carry one), you might want to turn
your face away from the sound, to reduce the chance of taking a pellet
in the eye.

If someone indeed is firing a shotgun in your direction and the pellets
are carrying as far as your location, you'll hear their patter as they
rain down on the vegetation around you. If they are actually firing AT
you from less than 100 yards, you'll feel the sting of the pellets (it's
really hard to miss a stationary target with a shotgun at that range, if
you're trying).

If you hear a sharp crack indicating a rifle or pistol, the level of
danger is much greater. I would personally get behind the biggest tree
or rock I can find, until I manage to figure out where they are and
which direction they're shooting. Bullets from a high-powered rifle can
be lethal at distances of half a mile, possibly even more.

Since the individual at Glaze Meadows was set up for dog-training
(and/or possibly out-of-season duck hunting), it seems most likely that
he was firing a shotgun. It sounds from Courtney's description (and
looking at Google-earth) that he was most likely beyond lethal range for
a shotgun, especially if he was using steel pellets rather than lead.
There could still be risk of injury and it sounds like the gunner at the
very least might have been careless.

I don't doubt that this was a very frightening situation, and it's good
that the individual was contacted and warned about what seems to have
been careless use of a shotgun, if not also poaching. But it seems
extremely unlikely that he was actually shooting AT anyone (as stated in
the subject heading), or this story would have had a different ending. 

I urge birders to maintain some perspective in responding to this
reported incident. 

I live next door to one of the most intensively hunted patches of ground
in the state, per acre, and I go birding there in all seasons. I've
encountered a few careless/reckless individuals, and as a rule I report
these individuals. But they're a very small minority among the thousand
or more hunters that I've encountered while birding, over the past two
decades.

Good birding,
Joel

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis










OBOL archives: www.freelists.org/archive/obol
Manage your account or unsubscribe: //www.freelists.org/list/obol
Contact moderators: obol-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[obol] Friday the 13th and tips for avoiding bad luck while birding around gunners

Other related posts:
