I find nature fascinating. I suppose I should read more about the critters who frequent my yard so I wouldn’t end up in front of the window thinking “Why in the world did they do that?” Last night was definitely one of those instances. I mentioned before that hundreds of birds have been flying across our little corner of the prairie each afternoon around five o’clock. Of course they may do it all day when I’m at work, but they seemed to adhere to the same schedule last weekend. The most recent flocks are robins or cow birds or starlings. Last night there were a couple of flocks of each.
I’m not sure which birds flew across the pond last night but I suspect they were starlings just by the sheer numbers. I could see birds for about two miles to the north. Anyway, a few dropped down to an area and then a few more and a few more until they formed a large circle. They stayed on the ground for about five minutes and I thought they must have found something to eat. Then they all flew away and about ten minutes later another half dozen birds dropped down on the same spot, and then more and more until the ground was once again black. Someone please tell me why two flocks of birds, too far apart to communicate, would stop on the same spot of prairie. It was a little creepy. I imagined the first group or perhaps even a group from last week marking the spot in some way that can only be seen from the air- bird sign for “rest stop”. Lol
The usual group was at the feeders last night- cardinals, white crowned sparrows, juncos, doves, red winged black birds, meadowlarks, and quite a few Harris sparrows. I didn’t see the one with the band.
Nasty weather this morning. Waiting for daylight and the news report to see how bad the roads will be. More rain, ice, snow and combos of each ahead for the next few days. I plan to spend some time with my flower catalogs so I don’t get discouraged.
Stay warm and safe today!
Maybe they were creating their own type of fairy ring. : )
Posted by: Megan | January 21, 2011 at 09:29 AM