alfred hitchcock/the birds

cliffo had a question yesterday on starling but no pictures
in the midlands we used to have flocks of them chattering in the trees and then flying off in a cloud but lately we see them with their young but not the massed ranks we used to

They are watching to see if your going down the whole salers Sandra to buy their feed in bulk good luck with all these. lol

thanx pam i will check cliffo out, dont think ive come across him yet,
lol morgana, i think you may be right heheh

these are fab to watch, like huge swarms of bees but bigger, the shapes they make is unbelievable. Norfolk is great for watching them.

Mezmerising I think is the word

x x x

hi jen im with you i like to see them, i watch till every last one has flown by, wonderfull site :o) xx

i'd never thought of them going off to bed....
i thought they were just flying low like that to get the night time bugs :-/
learn something new every day :-)

yes all birds sleep at night kimmy except certain ones of course like owls etc, tucked up in the trees and bushes hehehe , its something we just dont think about isnt it :o))

Flocks of birds like this remind me of my life in Australia, the time I wandered through the outback enjoying the environment. The huge flocks of Budgerigars would fly over to drink at the nearby Billabong before heading off to their bedtime roost. This week I watched large flocks of waders flying south on their winter migration.
A wonderful sight.

one of natures wonders to be sure

that must have been a fantstic site tanny in ozz, ive seen it on tv but much better to be there :o))
your so right sea.. i love to watch them :o)

I've seen the starlings roosting on the Somerset levels on tv......it is a wondrous sight :)

Watching Autumn watch at the mo is it is showing flight formations of birds in the wash.

just got in and realised autumn watch on so just watching to Drc

sorry missed you trhere amblealice, your right it is wonderous to watch them :o))

Great displays Sanbaz

I've never seen flocks of starlings, only sparrows and crows I've seen in flocks. I hope they don't come here. I have a bird phobia... =:O .....lol

That must be difficult at time Hywel?

Difficult in a town because there are pigens and they walk right in front of me. I keep crossing the road back and fore to avoid them .. lol - It's good excercise I suppose :o)

just caught the last of the displays Drc but great,
hywel i have a friend like you , she went into a frenzy when we visited london, trafalgar square, she completly flipped, it was awfull for her, must take you longer to walk to where you want to go lol poor you :o))

Phobias are very real and difficult to manage, mine is heights and being locked in confined spaces yet I will happily get into the smallest lift must be because I know the doors are not locked.

The only thing I like about pigeons is the taste! Starlings are ok to watch when they're flying about, but theyre noisy bullies!

yes they are noisy bullies but i love to watch them, how they apear from nowhere its amazing, love the young ones so cute

I can handle feeding birds in my garden, but not in mobs like that, & the town pigeons freak me out! One of my previous neighbours kept racing pigeons & they drove me up the wall! I couldnt go out if he was exercising them!

must be awfull, im glad im ok with birds mari,,

I should find out when and where they flock on the levels. It can't be too far from us!

I only got like that after watching that b****y film!!

really mari,, but you know thats not real , how strange, my friend went to the bathroom when a child a was a pigeon trapped in there, so it started flapping about and she was scared, so thats what did it for her

I know its not real, but I was a kid when I saw it!

sorry missed you there barbara, what do you mean by the levels?

oh right well that explains it, does more harm to a child as they dont know a film isnt real i guess

I don't know how I had it. As far as I know it's how I've always been.
I also have agoraphobia but that sort of came gradually in my 30s. - after I fainted far away from home and on my own.
Good you don't have it Sandra.
I don't mind small birds like sprrows bluetits etc but large ones I can't abide - like pigens and hens and birds of pray.
When I was little and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I used to say a farmer but I would'nt have any hens on the farm ... lol

talking about the young when the families come on to my garden I think its the leatherjackets & crane flies they are after, I have very little trouble from them now, once they've all gone the starlings go too isn't nature wonderful!

Hi sanbaz yes we get loads of birds flying over

Hi Sandra - wonderful sight only ever seen this roosting display once the shapes they create are fantastic and anyone who objects to starlings should view ..try search starlings at Otmoor.

Although not been think the Somerset levels and roosts in Norfolk have reed beds which they eventually roost in and this attracts the huge numbers.

You not too far from Martin mere RSPB reserve which known for its wetlands and reeds so perhaps you might get the chance to see this display one afternoon ?

Yes Sandra - we too get massive flocks of starlings going to roost each evening and it is a wonderful sight. In our instance there are some flocks that swoop around en masses - then seem to "dive" all together into the caves down on the shore near our cliff bird sanctuary. It is quite a sight. One year - we had a tremendous storm that filled the caves and we lost many thousands of the poor starling - oh and bats too that roost in other caves. The starling numbers took a long time to recover - but they have now. We also get hundreds and hundreds of crows congregating on the local school roof top at dusk ...before taking off for the woods nearby to roost....what a NOISE...eeek!

The Somerset Levels is an huge area criss-crossed with natural water channels called 'rhynes'. You wouldn't want to walk there in the dark! It frequently floods - then you see sheets of water, from the raised roads.

In the time of the Civil War, the poor fleeing (local) soldiers tried to escape across the levels - because they knew the routes - but they were still rounded up and killed off, eventually. Remember Judge Jefferies and his 'Bloody Assizes'? He showed no mercy.

Quick History lesson there!

I always thought the Starlings were gathering at this time of year prior to making their migration south. I always remember when I was younger (Many maaaaaaany moons ago) they would be sitting in the trees in our village and if you walked under them they would all fly off and without fail you would get covered in their droppings. Not nice at all :~((
But their formation flying is stunning. I think this is practicing before they fly away?

Starlings are resident Ian ....certainly our flocks are here all year round and indeed are augmented by more - flying over to our shores to escape from the continental MUCH colder winters.
Ian if you follow this link you will be entranced by the YouTube film of the world-famous Otmoor Starlings - which happens all winter as has been mentioned above...go and have a look - I defy you not to be moved by it....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH-groCeKbE
Cx

hu hywel i really feel for you and what you have to live with,agoraphobia is an awfull thing for people like yourself, i had a neighbour who suffered with it to,she couldnt even go in the garden she loved when it was bad, you do really well hywel to keep life going as normal as possible :o) x
thanx donnah look wonderfull flying above us, i watch till the last one flys over :o)
hi ray/jane, i will look that up thankyou, yes im not to far from martin mere also have lands like that here close to blackpool, marton mere smaller but similar where we get the birds coming, down the lanes from me,also another very large area round the corner where i have seen bird watchers parked up viewing the birds, i keep saying i will go and see when i get time :o)
alz... thats a sad story about the storm and the poor birds loosing their lives, nature can be cruel,crows are noisy arent they, lots here in the small wood areas :o)
thanx barbara for the history lesson lol learn something new every day on here thanx :o)
lol ian could just picture you looking up at them and getting one in the eye heheeh

ive just watched the youtube film and it was amazing to see them,how they all meet up from all over within a 25 mile radious to make these displays, it warms their bodies up ready to keep warm over night, amongst other things, beats me how they dont bump into eachother lol glad ive seen it :o)

Yes - something I have always wanted to witness I must say ....our flocks are miniature by comparison Sandra but fascinating none-the-less as they spiral and wheel and then just appear to dive into the cave mouth .....and disappear for the night!! Next morning...but you have to be up very early....they ALL fly back out again same way....LOL
The farming methods have certainly decimated the numbers as the fields never lie fallow like they used to..and I guess that is why we see so many more in the gardens....they even nest in mine...I get whole families of them lined up on the clothes rope being fed by mum and/or dad.....greedy and messy they may be (my car can testify to that :<<(o)) but they are lovely to watch!!

i might try to find out where close to me i can see this, like BB said probably martin mere which isnt a great distance, maybe my lovely hubby would take me :o))
i have loads of them to but like you i dont really mind, they are only trying to survive like the rest of us.i have a soft top and itd always got something left on it, lol

Aye Sandra - my garage - like most - is FULL of everything but my car ...LOL... so the birds discovered my Discovery long ago and thank me for all their food with their "donations" ...yuk!!
A month or so ago - a friend came to stay overnight - and my car was parked further down the avenue as a result - unwittingly right under the collar dove's roost.....you should have seen my windscreen and bonnet in the morning...OMG...I couldn't see out!!!

lol alzh... well my car cant go in the garage as baz has his classic car in there, so that is his baby lol
its worse when the birds are eating the berries then we get all colours heheh, bless them ;o)

What kind of classic car does he have Sandra?
And yes - the Multi-coloured - swop shop doesn't have a look in this time of year....LOL

we had a wolsey 1952 sold that now, and he`s got a cortina mk 2 early seventies, also a austin 1400 year 1970 which he using for work, but i dont mind as keeps him out of trouble lol, and always makes a profit when sells them again, we go to classic car shows sometimes and did the blackpool to scarbourough car run last year which was a great experience

WOW..you are into it in a big way. This family are Land Rover fiends. We all learned to drive on them and I had a 1972 Classic Range Rover for 33 years!!! It ran like a dream and I hated to give it up but as you will know - they don't rust - they ROT ...and it was developing holes where holes shouldn't be LOL !! I needed something less draughty (ahem!) so reluctantly sold it - but I believe it has been done up and goes to the L/R show at Billing ...not sure about the name!! We also have a 1958 Long Wheel Base Station Wagon Land Rover which my son stripped down - rebuilt - all in my neighbour's garage (well she was 106 at the time - so wasn't using it ha ha!) and it passed its MOT first shot and he still drives it when he is over from Canada.

i must say i do like the range rovers to but not for baz, hes likes the normal cars lol, you can see a few cars i put on a blog called classic day if you want to look, didnt have our car with us that day as it was unexpected really, :o)), its wonderfull though that people take the time to keep these old cars going, a part of history to carry on, cars were made to last much better then, dont last now.

Just had a look at your super classic car blog Sandra...what a day out!! Mind you - I am not that keen...and indeed we have a classic car rally here each year. The gathering of vintage vehicles is organised by the Robert William Thomson Memorial Fellowship in honour of the Stonehaven-born inventor of the pneumatic tyre. I kept getting invited to join in the show and grand tour with the Rangie and the Estate Wagon - but have never done it!!
As you say Sandra - cars aren't to built to last any more....and hopefully my Disco will see me out ...lol

They do it every night here as well, and they all congregate together in a morning on the roof tops and trees, but they do it and all do a brill display before they settle down for the night, seen them do it on tv animal programmes infact on autumnwatch last night they where showing some differant birds doing it aswell.

lol alzh... i do it for baz really, do like to see them but not my hobby, i`ll stick to the garden
yes i saw some of that carol, but i do enjoy watching them, its amazing how they are tuned into it from birth,:o))

Unfortunately, I do see many starlings around here - it must be a magnificent sight.

I stand corrected Alz. Lol
I honestly thought they migrated for the winter Derrrrrrr.
According to that piece on utube they do it to warm up before night fall and to gain 'pack seniority' as the dominant males get the warmest/safest perches for the night. Truly amazing!

Aye - it is a stunning sight Ian...I would love to see the BIG show at Otmoor in real life. I believe the sound is stunning too....that YouTube piece had music which set my teeth on edge - not necessary I felt!! The sound of their wings must be great.

I agree, it would be amazing to see for real. It's 120 (ish) miles from here but I'm tempted to book a travelodge or something for a couple of nights!

i heard their wings tonight as they flew right over me today, was great all that fluttering of wings, like a dark cloud above me ;o))

Oh that sounds like a lovely treat, Ian....I'll bet Carol would enjoy seeing it too.
Too far of course for me.... nearly 500 miles - and anyway I wouldn't leave my dogs!!!

Oh super Sandra....it is thrilling isn't it. My lot is far smaller of course - but you still hear the wings ....not in weather like tonight though.....anybody got a spare Ark...LOL

lol alzh.. its really blowy here with rain to, did have a short spell of sunshine earlier though, apparently nice tomorrow

We've had that miserable rain that doesn't seem to fall but just hangs in the air! We did have a couple of hours when the sun shone but it's raining again now :~((

I watched a flock of geese flying off on my way home today, but no camera! :~(( By the time I ran in & grabbed it, they'd gone!

they are lovely mari, we get alot round here,, funny how they fly in that arrow like formation, great to watch them to

They were making all sorts of shapes, it was pretty windy, lol!

If I am on the hill early in the morning - I see then when they are going over in their thousands - between their feeding stations on two river estuaries. Very haunting call they have ...the call of the wild indeed.

Lovely! I think theyre amazing! They taste pretty good too! A horror to pluck, though!

Never plucked a goose that I remember ....plenty pheasant etc but the worst ever is a pigeon.....aaaargh!

Dont bother to pluck those! Just fillet them!

Sorry??????? Fillet a pigeon...now that IS a new one on me!! Unless you are doing what the gypsies used to do and bake 'em in clay!

I just cook the breast! Too much hassle plucking them!

Oh - I see....I thought you cooked them whole in clay in an oven like the gypsies do...as they used to do with hedgehogs too if I remember correctly... Either way - it gets rid of the feathers of whatever apparently. I'll stick with mostly veg thanks...having said which I have just been given some lovely WILD smoked salmon......mmmmm!!

I didnt get any this year! Apparently the anglers have been asked to put them ALL back, as stocks are so low this year! My dad's a fishing nut & used to be a ghillie!

My lot came from Canada !!!!

That explains it! Tay AND Ness are low on fish this year! Its been too hot for them!

did anyone see that starling on Autumnwatch unsprung
OMG! he was very cute and so tame!

Nope! Sorry! Havent seen my telly in ages!

see below ~would love to go!
If the government gives the go ahead for the Severn Barrage~ this ara would be permanently flooded and the habitat of thousands of birds destroyed~see the RSPB site about it!

The Somerset Levels and Moors is the largest area of lowland wet grassland and wetland habitats in Britain covering 35,000 hectares. They stretch across the lowlands between the Mendip and Quantock Hills and are what is left of a once wider area of flooded fenland. The Somerset Levels have eight rivers and drains running through it: the Kenn, Yeo, Axe, Brue, Huntspill, King's Sedgemoor Drain, Parrett and Tone. The land here is only a few metres above sea level and is criss-crossed with ditches, rhynes (pronounced reens) and rivers that take the huge amounts of water through the landscape. Glastonbury Tor is the most prominent landmark in the Levels rising up 521 feet. In days gone by this was actually an island surrounded by sea and later inaccessible marsh hence it becoming known as the Isle of Avalon. The marshes that lie all around Glastonbury and as far west as the coast are collectively called The Avalon Marshes. Shapwick Heath, Ham Wall, Westhay Moor, Catcott Lows wildlife reserves all fall within The Avalon Marshes.

Today these wetlands are renowned for internationally important numbers of waterfowl who come here to feed and roost in winter. In summer waders come here to breed and it is one of the best places in lowland England to see breeding waders. Cattle grazing, hay and silage production maintain these large areas of countryside.

Ham Wall National Nature Reserve
Ham Wall National Nature Reserve, three miles west of Glastonbury, is owned and managed by the RSPB. It is one of the largest reedbed restoration schemes in the country covering 200 hectares of wetland. Conservation management has enabled reedbed together with wet scrub and fen to colonise old peat cuttings. Ham Wall is one of the prime locations to watch the flocks of millions of starlings coming into roost at dusk in winter. You can also see the starlings coming in to roost at Shapwick Heath and Westhay Moor, managed by Natural England and Somerset Wildlife Trust respectively. Other birdwatching highlights include bittern who can be heard "booming" in Spring, bearded tits, Cetti's warblers, reed warblers, swallows, swifts and house martins, gadwall, hobby and other birds of prey who predate the starlings and smaller birds.

The site is open all year round and is accessible by all with nature trails along the former Glastonbury to Highbridge railway line, viewing areas, sound and hands-on displays and handrails. Other nature trails extending 3.6 miles take in the site on rougher terrain. Guided walks are available throughout the year. There is a small car park off Ashcott Road for around 20-25 cars. There is a height restriction of 6 foot 6 inches on the car park. Dogs are allowed on the reserve but only on the footpaths and disused railway line. The National Cycle Route 3 run close to the reserve.

For more information check out the links right or contact the RSPB on Tel: 01458 860494. Email: ham.wall@rspb.org.uk. Grid reference: ST449397. There is a starling hotline number, 07866 554142, for information on where the starlings are roosting each week.

Great info, Arlene! Must've taken you ages to type up!!
Sounds lovely, I hope they dont flood it!
:~))

Thanks Marie but can't take the credit!~ cut and paste Marie! very easy on a Mac!

Cut & paste is a marvel, isnt it? Lol!

Thanks for info Arlene brings back memories ..many years ago set off to visit Slimbridge to see the Whooper and Bewick swans at Peter Scotts wildfowl trust in Gloucestershire.

As these are winter migrants best time to go there is this time of year.

Only 3 visitors there on a dark November day .. it has a theatre so we sat and watched his film flight of the snow goose remember the old Anglia TV programmes ?

Old Hillman imp broke down there so whilst waiting for repair allowed me to wait and he came in and explained how he had made film and the fact that sadly most visitors go in summer when in fact his vision was to provide winter nesting grounds for these birds.

A real treasured memory ..convinced me to buy a book and stupidly never asked him to sign it !

I`m really glad I haven`t seen much of starlings this year, they are terrible bullies and scare the songbirds away. I do wonder why we see that many nowadays, their aerial displays are amazing.

Sandra

~ I used to feel like that when there were large gangs of them however that dubious distinctioni s now taken by the rooks in the area~loads of them.
I now have only a bout half a dozen regular starlings who visit for food but we have had at least one pair of babies this year. Hopefully will get them all through the winter!

your right they are bullies but survival is nature i guess, welcome to GOY sandra, 3 sandra`s including myself :o)

hi arlene sorry we messeged at the same time, your lucky just having a handfull, i have packs of them here lol

~we have mostly finches and tits and quite a lot of sparrows and dunnocks~probably because we are close to the wood~even had our squirrel this morning!

same as me arlene, i love those tiny dunnocks so sweet, blue tits here all the time, they must like me lol