Showing posts with label large flocks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label large flocks. Show all posts

Monday, January 30, 2012

Birds Invade Town: La Grange, Ky. Swarmed By Black Birds

Residents in a Kentucky town are saying "Get the flock out of here" to thousands of black birds that fill the sky each night.
At dusk, the birds take flight in La Grange, Ky., and create what some locals describe as a "cloud of birds," according to TV station WAVE. The birds nest down in a wooded area for the night and depart each morning in a huge pack, reports said.
Fine-feathered friends, they're not. Residents complain that they're constantly cleaning up after the avian arrivistes, who started showing up last November in the community northeast of Louisville. Nearly everyone has heard their town compared to Alfred Hitchcock's classic film "The Birds."
To protect themselves from bird poop, some people have begun carrying umbrellas, even on sunny days, CNN reports.
The birds' unexplained presence has allegedly coincided with a surge in respiratory ailments, according to one woman who spoke with WAVE.
While nobody is sure why the birds migrated to La Grange, wildlife experts told CNN that the behavior of flying clockwise in large groups is called murmuration and is common among starlings.
In an effort to scare off the unwelcome newcomers, a married couple blasts a noisy air canon. But the birds keep coming back.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Birds flock to reserve near Malmesbury

Starlings have been flocking from all over England and northern Europe to Lower Moor Farm Nature Reserve near Malmesbury, with spectacular aerial displays every evening.
The displays have been observed around 4pm every evening at the reserve, which has become an ideal place for starlings to roost.

Bird enthusiast Paul Darby said: “Seeing the display is mesmerising, fascinating and moving. Generally in this country numbers of starlings are down, which makes it even more special to see them.”
Lower Moor Farm Nature Reserve, which was opened in May 2007 by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, consists of a waterscape of lakes, brooks and ponds linked together by ancient hedges, woodland and meadows.
For an opportunity to experience this event, visit the heronry bird hide at Sandpool. For directions and more information on Lower Moor Farm, visit www.wiltshirewildlife.org