Birds Fly Over Water In Shape-Shifting Pattern
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February 25, 2021 @ 10:44 am
One of the best parts of living in the river bottom area for 20 years was the annual blackbird migration. It included blackbirds, redwing blackbirds, yellowhead blackbirds, and grackles. They would all live in the cattail swamps and warm water sloughs all year, come later August they would begin this dance. More and more birds would gather, roosting anywhere they could at night. Shortly after dawn, they would take -off. It sounded similar to a jet engine; thousands of birds taking to the air! They did not all take off at once, it was somewhat staggered with each group forming a ball and swooping for a while then leaving the lowlands. The morning ‘take-off’ would last up to an hour. The swooping balls would last until mid-morning. The process would reverse in the late afternoon, with the swarms of birds swooping in balls until choosing a spot to roost. This would go on until October. The blackbirds would be gone before the fall duck season opened. It was rare to see the duck population gather at the same time as the blackbirds, but it happened once or twice. I look at it as athletic preparation. These birds don’t put many miles on while they are here and need to prepare for the long flight to wherever they migrate. The young birds born this year have lots to learn. The flock needs to pick leaders and decide on the strongest fliers. It is not unusual to find dead birds on the lawn who just were not up to the task. But, pretty much overnight, they are gone. They do their morning ritual and don’t come back. It takes 3-5 days for all of them to be gone. A few winter over. These birds are very welcome here. The adult birds eat seeds and grains, but mostly from weeds and an occasional field crop. But the babies! They only eat bugs. Both parents spend most of their time catching and bringing home great wads of mosquitos. All-day long until their little ones have fledged. Sometimes, the parents raise a second clutch.