Amazing 500,000-Bird Swarm Captured on Video Over Sacramento County

[The Straight Story]

Amazing 500,000-Bird Swarm Captured on Video Over Sacramento County

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CA - It's a sight that had drivers pulling off the road and bystanders gawking at the skies in awe in eastern Sacramento County Friday evening -- a massive bird swarm, an estimated 500,000 strong, swirling and fluttering in effortlessly shifting formation in front of stunned spectators.

The amazing flock of European starlings was captured on video by News10's Will Frampton along Highway 16 and Watt Avenue around 4:30 p.m. Friday.

The contstantly spinning, almost eerie scene drew a crowd as some people pulled over to take in nature's incredible show.

"I'm not sure what it is," said Jeff McLeod, who pulled over to check things out. "It's pretty crazy, though. At first it looks like a funnel cloud, and then, I don't even know what they're doing."

The roost is probably one of the largest gatherings of the starlings in the region, according to retired Sacramento State natural sciences professor Dr. Jeri Langham.

video at link:
http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=71764&catid=2



the video is amazing!

[SpiralHawk]

1. the k and the r

behold and be amazed at our Winged Relations in Spirit Form -- to the ethers responding, rejoicing.

[cliffordu]

2. THAT was awesome.

[MineralMan]

3. Thanks for posting that.

I've seen big flocks of starlings, but never one that large. Fascinating.

[The Straight Story]

4. Here is another video on it:

http://www.news10.net/video/default.aspx?bctid=56452633001#/Recent+Videos/Massive+Bird+Cloud+Stuns+Viewers/52821470001/52747302001/56474331001

[tabatha]

5. Actually, that is not wonderful

because European starlings displace native birds.

It is a big problem.

[The Straight Story]

8. Kind of like Eurpoeans displaced natives

:)

[elehhhhna]

6. link to video. BIRDCLOUD!

http://www.news10.net/video/default.aspx?bctid=56452633001#/Recent%20Videos/Amazing%20500%2C000%2DBird%20Flock%20Swarm%20Sacramento%20Skies/52821470001/52747302001/56452633001

[VanW]

7. Beautiful, but European Starlings are an invasive species

They crowd out native species and take their habitat.

[The Straight Story]

9. Well, there are a lot of hunters out there, open up season on em

:hide: :evilgrin:

[Subdivisions]

10. We've so wrecked the planet that what was once commonplace is now

so rare that people become awestruck enough to pull over on a highway to gaze in wonder.

Which makes me sad.


ETA: I realized these are an invasive species of bird. However, domestic species used to fill the skies just as this flock has done.

[VanW]

12. Yes, Passenger Pigeons used to flock in the billions

wiki:

The passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) or wild pigeon was a species of pigeon that was once common in North America. It lived in enormous migratory flocks - sometimes containing more than two billion birds - that could stretch one mile (1.6 km) wide and 300 miles (500 km) long across the sky, sometimes taking several hours to pass.<1><2>

The primary factor emerged when pigeon meat was commercialized as a cheap food for slaves and the poor in the 19th century, resulting in hunting on a massive scale. There was a slow decline in their numbers between about 1800 and 1870, followed by a catastrophic decline between 1870 and 1890.<6> Martha, thought to be the world's last passenger pigeon, died on September 1, 1914, in Cincinnati, Ohio.


Pretty sad.

[Subdivisions]

13. I remember as a child how plentiful birds were. Now, not so much. Welcome to DU, VanW. n/t

[VanW]

14. Thank you

I remember a lot more birds around when I was younger too. There are some success stories, though-- Bald Eagles have made a great comeback.

[amborin]

16. yes, we actually have Band Tailed pigeons eating sunflower seed; they are hunted & endangered

and not to be confused with rock doves, colloquially called 'pigeons'

[progressoid]

11. Starlings - yuck

[Subdivisions]

15. I was just watching the video. These birds were responding to predation.

If you watch carefully, you can see a larger bird, perhaps an eagle or hawk, diving into the flock. The flock is being corralled and then attacked. just as dolphins would do a school of fish.

[ohheckyeah]

19. I noticed the other bird, too.

Whatever it was, it is a beautiful sight.

[The River]

17. A Rather Small Swarm

compared to what we would see in west-central Illinois (1950's).
They filled all the trees in town and everyone with a
shotgun, including the police, would blast them
in the evening when they tried to roost. The trees just
rained dead birds. The next day thousands of wounded
starlings would be running around town.
Cats and kids with BB guns finished them off.
Any car parked under a tree lost their paint job.

[blogslut]

18. I get excited when a flock of geese passes overhead

I'd probably faint dead away if I saw something like that.

[TrogL]

20. How big a flock have you seen

One went over here last year that was amazing. I heard it coming half an hour before it got here, it took over an hour for it to go over. Somewhere between 10,000 and 30,000 birds.

[blogslut]

21. I'm not good at guessing numbers

When they fly over, they often do it at night and I hear them coming but can't see them cause my eyesight is terrible. The ones I've seen during daylight don't seem terribly big - like maybe a couple thousand birds at most. Then again, I'm not that good with perspective either. They fill up a good third of the sky when they're directly overhead.

Mostly I just dig the sound of them coming and waving up at them as they pass over me. I wish tem safe journey and stuff like that. :)

[eppur_se_muova]

22. Ah, starlings -- the "Zebra Mussel of birds". nt

[Forkboy]

23. LOL at one of the comments: "And at least half slept with Tiger!!!! Ba-ha-ha-ha"

Brutal. :rofl:

[winyanstaz]

24. I have a starling story to share....

There was a bird lady living on the Olympic Peninsula in WA state..and someone brought her a wounded starling to heal.
She put him in with her other parrots and soon discovered his wonderful abilities.
He could do everything the parrots could do and so much more!
He could sing the whole song..Rocking Robin! It was amazing to hear him (it was her voice down to a T) singing the song and see him dancing on his perch.
Starlings can talk way better than a parrot, much clearer and many times more complex.
The down side is...they can shit sideways a good 15 feet or more..so you would need a special fine mesh on their cage sides to keep the room from being painting in starling poo.