Roosting Time

[Bluemonter]

Trade you. The New Jersey State Bird is a Mosquito ?

I always thought the New Jersey state bird was a plastic shopping bag.
Trees were full of them where I grew up.
Ahhh, the Motherland....

 

[cosmicfolklore]

My wife is more of the birder than me. I appreciate birds, and I encourage cardinals in my yard. We have feeders all over, but she is the one I turn to when I see birds that I can't ID.
We do have a large woodpecker that likes to jackhammer on the side of my studio. I always takes me by surprise when he does his M16 impression on the outside of the wall that my workbench faces. Gives me quite a jump. They are large dinosaur looking things. Not like other birds at all. Very odd looking in person.

 

[Bluemonter]

My wife is more of the birder than me. I appreciate birds, and I encourage cardinals in my yard. We have feeders all over, but she is the one I turn to when I see birds that I can't ID.
We do have a large woodpecker that likes to jackhammer on the side of my studio. I always takes me by surprise when he does his M16 impression on the outside of the wall that my workbench faces. Gives me quite a jump. They are large dinosaur looking things. Not like other birds at all. Very odd looking in person.

Pileated woodpecker...

 

[mawnansmiff]

If they're starlings Duane then the collective name is a murmuration of starlings!

Regards,

Jay.

 

[anotherbob]

reminds me of my first massive disappointment in life. When I was little Monarch butterflies used to stop literally in my back yard. Like thousands of them. Like one day you'd look at the window and all the trees looked like it was fall because you couldn't see a single green leaf. Then some asshat cut down the weeds apparently because they're weeds. And from then till now a few show up but not the magical overnight transformation. It was an early lesson in how stupid and damaging people and their total ignorance can be.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

reminds me of my first massive disappointment in life. When I was little Monarch butterflies used to stop literally in my back yard. Like thousands of them. Like one day you'd look at the window and all the trees looked like it was fall because you couldn't see a single green leaf. Then some asshat cut down the weeds apparently because they're weeds. And from then till now a few show up but not the magical overnight transformation. It was an early lesson in how stupid and damaging people and their total ignorance can be.

If you'll plant amaranth or milkweed, you can attract them again. Plus, if you plant amaranth, you can eat the seeds for a tasty snack. I plant amaranth in my crop rotation, and when I do, I can get up to 50 pounds of it for making breads and making my own grain cereal for breakfasts.

 

[Waning Embers]

You're lucky birds are all you've got.

Here in Sydney some suburbs (luckily not in my backyard) are infested with flying foxes (large fruit bats). They come out at dusk to feed in their thousands. They are smelly and poop all over our beautiful parks and botanic gardens which are some of their favoured roosting grounds.

Unfortunately they are a protected species and the greenies in the Parks and Wildlife Dept. don't believe in culling. They spend tens of thousands of dollars netting them and relocating them to someone else's backyard.

I would love to see wild flying foxes. I've only ever seen them in captivity. We do have plenty of brown bats though.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

Once, I enjoyed watching Canadian Geese flying in formation. Once. They shit like dogs and meaner than Rottweilers.

Years ago I worked on a large country house, and every day the poxy peacocks would shit all over my car.
Man, that is tough shit to get off.

 

[Waning Embers]

Years ago I worked on a large country house, and every day the poxy peacocks would shit all over my car.
Man, that is tough shit to get off.

We've raised those and guineafowls. They do leave a mess!

 

[mso489]

Back to the huge flocks of migrating birds, I think they have complicated patterns of navigating the cloud of birds, some leading and facing the air currents, and others riding the slipstream of the leaders and resting, with various ones alternating out of the lead position. Somehow the message is passed when they will all head down and roost for the night. A lot going on, like a city in flight.

 

[Derby]

On occasion I've watched those vast clouds of birds drift by in what must be flocks of millions, which I say only because I've sat or stood entranced for an hour or more and still they came. A sky full of feathered dinosaurs, if that is their lineage -- I'm intrigued but not convinced. Then I'll come home to a cocky little Carolina wren that all but perches on my nose, and two of whom built a nest in a watering can on my car port table. I occasionally chat with the crows in the morning, and listen for favorites, the mourning doves. That call imprinted on me when I was about three years old napping in the guest bedroom at my grandparents, hearing the call through the window screen.

Nice.

 

[Waning Embers]

Back to the huge flocks of migrating birds, I think they have complicated patterns of navigating the cloud of birds, some leading and facing the air currents, and others riding the slipstream of the leaders and resting, with various ones alternating out of the lead position. Somehow the message is passed when they will all head down and roost for the night. A lot going on, like a city in flight.

I've read that each bird copies the movements of seven surrounding birds to keep their movements coordinated.

 

[Brendan]

I would love to see wild flying foxes. I've only ever seen them in captivity. We do have plenty of brown bats though.

Wait a couple of months, what you are seeing with starlings at the moment is what I see with flying foxes in my part of the world.
Will try and take a photo or video when the time comes.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

I've read that each bird copies the movements of seven surrounding birds to keep their movements coordinated.

What, you mean seven birds all shit at the same time ! ?

 

[Latakia Dave]

This fellow was with me.

View attachment 92982




That was 3 hours ago but I will next chance I get.?

Great looking revolver poker! Frank does exquisite work...

 

[Waning Embers]

What, you mean seven birds all shit at the same time ! ?

Yep.

"All those birds flying en masse, roosting and ... pooping together."

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I would love to see wild flying foxes. I've only ever seen them in captivity. We do have plenty of brown bats though.

I want to see a flock of flying foxes!!!

 

[Waning Embers]

@chasingembers

Upload a video of that when you have a moment.

 

[beefeater33]

Great video!.............. Mother Nature never disappoints............. if we just take the time to observe..........

 

[unadoptedlamp]

That's a beautiful sound. If it wasn't from the US, I would have guessed a jungle. Very much alive. The natural world is such a mysterious, beautiful thing, I wish I had infinite time to stick around and look at it all. Don't expect you'd ever find boredom.

With a few pipes and some tobacco, of course.