Saturday, December 21, 2013

Victoria is for the Birds!



If you are old enough you will remember Alfred Hitchcock's horror film "The Birds".  So when you see your neighbourhood filling up with crows, it is hard not to remember the movie and the results.  We just lost our pet bird Mozart, so if you saw the movie, you know what has been going through my mind.  Every day at dusk, the crows in Victoria migrate to a communal roost. About an hour or more before dusk, the crows will begin to fly towards the roost, collecting together into ever larger flocks as they get nearer. Generally, it seems as though most birds do not fly directly to the communal roost, but stop at nearby "staging areas".

In some cases there may be several staging areas fairly near the roost. Often staging areas are in cemeteries or other areas where fairly open areas are surrounded by or interspersed with trees. Birds will fill the surrounding trees, hunt for food on the ground, and engage in general socializing. A roosting area may be virtually empty while nearby thousands of crows mill about in a staging area.  So why did they have to pick my cul-de-sac for their staging area?  They never use to.  I guess were just lucky.  There were hundreds in our cul-de-sac.  Enjoy.
For more pictures, please go to our Facebook page.

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