Saturday, November 10, 2007

Visiting starlings

It amazes me that a flock of starlings gathers here on a busy street. I was transfixed for several minutes by their activities. If I were a kid, I'd find this vid incredibly boring. It's just a bunch of stupid birds! Nowadays, I find it magical.

19 comments:

CoffeeDog said...

It is magical, I love watching birds. Does this make me an old fuddy-dud?

Unknown said...

wow! that is really amazing.
i wonder what they're doing...

Anonymous said...

I love watching birds too. At first I thought some of those birds are large but then I realized I was seeing the seed pods on the Sumac Tree. If you want to keep the starlings coming around put out some Popcorn they love it.
Birdwatching 101: What type of bird am I seeing? Starling--Short tail, Yellow bill, speckles of silver or brown on body.
Common Blackbird--Long tail, Black bill, Shiny with no spots.
I enjoyed the video so very much. Maybe not as much as a living, breathing Anus but still very interesting, thanks.

jali said...

That was so cool.

I'm always amazed watching birds flying in their patterns, then making their rest stops and taking over an area.

I pulled over one night to watch birds flying in a circular pattern - I watched for quite a while before I realized that they were bats. Right in the middle of the city. Bats. They were gorgeous.

Patricia said...

i love watching birds this time of year. the bare trees make it easier to see them and it's like they're doing practice maneuvers for the long flight south. they swoop, dive, scatter and then regroup, all like they're being led by some invisible conductor. i love it.

Doug said...

As a kid I would have been bored, too. I was such an ass.

I love it now. Very cool!

Rox said...

I'm probably the only one who would have a crap attack over that many birds! They are nice to look at from inside but if I was walking down the street and saw all those birds, I'd cross the street recklessly and get killed by a bus!

And the bird poop?

You sounded like Mr. Rogers at the end, which I found to be so endearing!

Cooper said...

I love watching birds, too. It IS magical. They look like drifting leaves as they fall and scatter in that vid. Happy weekend to you and Spouse.

GayProf said...

Birds are cool -- until they invade your house.

Snooze said...

I'm with roxrocks. Ever since reading the Birds I don't like seeing too many birds.

Anonymous said...

Alfred Hitchcock ain't got nuttin' on you.

Java said...

I sat for 10 minutes, mesmerized by two mockingbirds chasing each other in what I suspect was a mating ritual. They went from one tree to another, to a bush, to the roof of a building; round and round as long as I watched. I would have watched longer, but duty called.

Summer said...

I loved your video and enjoy the birds in my backyard. We have 2 pair of cardinals that visit, the male will wait in the tree and scares other birds away while the female eats. The starlings look sort of like leaves falling when they would come out of the tree. Oh and nice voice too. :)

Anonymous said...

Torn, I came a across your blog a few days ago. I am enjoying it immensely. It is smart and fun and insightful. And beautifully written! You have a new fan.
It is taking me a very enjoyable while to catch up on the old posts!

Johnny C said...

Wow that window is a cat's paradise!

Truthspew said...

Bird behavior is fascinating. Pigeons are also very interesting if common creatures.

They're a sucker for food.

And sometimes in their zest for food they forget themselves and end up like this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kd1s/398116457/in/set-72157594536405890/

Polt said...

Freaks me out....reminds me of the playground scene from htichcock's The Birds!

HUGS...

Anonymous said...

You might be interested in this amazing NY Times presentation of R. Barnes's photos of starlings in Rome. Amazing.

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/magazine/20070422_BIRDS_FEATURE/

RJ March said...

Me, too, with the birds. I was going out in the morning and tossing breadcrumbs. There's this one with one foot that captured my heart. Before this, though-- birds? for the birds...

Old age?