Murmurations of Starlings

[Lowell]

Anybody else getting visited by large flocks of starlings as I am? It seems around mid-morning every day lately a few hundred visit my backyard.

Even my cat who was napping on the deck and is usually interested in anything small that moves decided to saunter over and move her napping point under a table. "I saw that movie "The Birds" I saw her thinking."

I know they cluster this time of year but I have not seen this many in years.

[edgar_rhode]

any pics or video? they are amazingly distracting when i’m driving.

[Gannon]

reminds me of a large sighting early one morning near the lighthouse on Belle Isle...the birds made a huge swirl above me, I'd been waiting for them to finally launch from the trees they were collecting in, then wound away like a long ribbon...only to fly across my field of vision with the sunrise behind me.

the underneath of their far wings would reflect the sunlight on the downflap

and the entire murmur was flapping in sync, every wingtip reflecting together across the sky


I can still hardly believe what I saw that morning...I'll have to look up the date, I'm sure I wrote it all down.

[Jimaz]

This thread deserves a video.

amazing starlings murmuration [[full HD) -www.keepturningleft.co.uk

I've written computer simulations that look like that. It's a good example of how simple rules can form complex behavior.

[Johnnny5]

Mesmerizing to watch their migration [[I've seen chains of them travel for hours on end while waterfowl hunting on Lake Huron.) Unfortunately, they're also a catastrophically damaging invasive species that are responsible for the deaths of millions of native song birds every year [[Through the raiding of nests) and massive amounts of crop damage. They are avis non grata on my property and regularly face the pellet gun welcoming committee..

[G-DDT]

As long as they don't all end up dead in a large cluster in Arkansas.

[Detroitnerd]

As long as they don't all end up dead in a large cluster in Arkansas.

No joke. There's avian flu that has been responsible for the destruction of tens of millions of birds this year, and restrictions on the commingling of birds up and down the Mississippi Flyway. Hope those little guys get safely to a nice, warm winter, and come back in the spring.

[G-DDT]

^^^Gawd! first bats now birds. I dread a time when our skies only are abuzz with the flight of hoards of mosquitoes and drones.