Sunday, December 5, 2010

Alfred Hitchcock would have loved this!

When Alex and I got home from the shop today, the trees behind our house were filled with birds. Alex thinks they're European Starlings, but I'm convinced they're African Swallows who've already dropped their coconuts.

Thousands of them descended upon the forest, and they stayed there for quite a while, chirping their heads off. Perhaps the Nikifortchuk Residence is a stop-over on their trip from the North to the Equator in the autumn. We'll keep our eye out for them on their return flight in the spring.

Every March our trees out back are filled with buzzards. Big, ugly buzzards. They're on their way home to Hinckley, Ohio.

All those bird feeders in our yard must be paying off and word's getting around the bird community that we're Feather Friendly.

Does anyone know what kind of birds these are and where they're heading?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Deb, these look like starlings. We're birders, too. Starlings are almost always the birds you see making huge bird clouds in the sky, and filling the trees from time to time. Our trees are full of 'em lately!

Cousin Jan in MI

Deborah Knight said...

Thanks, Cousin Jan! Alex was convinced they were starlings but I wasn't sure. I really wanted them to be African Swallows that carry coconuts in their beaks.

I guess they're on their way through Michigan, over to Ohio, and then down to Florida. Wish they'd take me with them!

OzB said...

Hey, that's our flock Deb! LOL. They were here on our property for a few hours on 27th September - millions of them. Then they went down to our big pond - the ground was black with them. And the noise!! They come here every year around the same time. I assumed they gather for the annual migration!

Deborah Knight said...

Their route is becoming clear. They must be up in Georgian Bay, they head south toward London, cross the border at Windsor, pass by Cousin Jan's place in Michigan and head down to Ohio. I'll send a note to Cousin Father Dennis (?!) in Lexington to see if they've made it to his place yet.