I stopped wearing a watch some time ago. Not because I don't like watches...and not because I don't particularly like wearing them (which now doing a lot of computer work, a watch IS annoying to wear). I think I tried using my internal clock as a less obvious purveyor of time. Clearly all living creatures have some sort of internal time keeping function.
With that said, I still am amazed at some things I see in the world around us. Nothing more than the show I see every night at 5PM. These birds seem to know when the work day is done and it is time to party. They are loud, swooping, and everywhere. On this day the slight foggy and dreary weather added to the atmosphere and off-putting feeling.
You will want to enlarge these shots...
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| They are in the tree tops, on every power line, light fixture, vehicle roof top, the ground...thousands!! |
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| The spacing between some of them is exact and repeated for several birds in a row. |
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| Every once in a while most will take to flight and relocate on another line or fixture...Hitchcockian |
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| There appears to be a caste system...the upper class get the highest wire, the middle class are crowded together below them and the poor or the weak get the lowest wire. And as we know shit obeys the laws of gravity on the wire. |
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| One of the biggest parties appears to be on the top of the building. Those in waiting take up positions on the entry wire. |
It really is a interesting dynamic to watch. In the last picture I had watched from below (not directly of course) and noticed that obvious gaps were left in the order of the line. Bird after bird would attempt to land in a space between two others only to be 'scolded" out of there. Sometimes it would take 3 or 4 different birds attempting to land before one was accepted.
After about a half an hour of constant din and periodic power struggles and jockeying for position, the entire avian flock falls silent and takes to the air. Thousands, en masse. Their black bodies darkening the already dimming sky. On the ground taking all this in is a little unnerving. Like the feeling you ARE in Hitchcock's movie as these low-flyer's swarm everywhere. You get the sudden thought that if they had a mind to they could collectively take you down and out in a pecking frenzy. Then in minutes they are gone and nothing but the sound of cars on the road can be heard.
Tomorrow they will do it again. And they don't need a watch.
7 comments:
Our two pups go down for a nappy nap every morning at 10am, and by 10pm they are ready for bed. Even if Hubby and I aren't in bed yet, they pass themselves out on the couch.
Too cute.
PS: I love my jogging watch.
You're right I did enlarge. Very Birds! And hey, I haven't been big on wearing watches either.
That is really fascinating and scary. I like your comment about the caste system. It appears accurate.
xoRobyn
What's amazing is watching them fly. Who is the leader when they change directions ten times?
Here, such behaviour precedes migration. Is that relevant here or is it because of something else?
I find the urban landscape in your pictures as interesting. Especially the last one with its network of tall poles. That, for me, is an amazing and unusual (and very disconcerting!) sight.
I'm pretty sure I saw this in a movie once... creepy
Whisk: I know dogs have that clock thing worked out. Mine know 5PM for a walk and dinner. If I forget they remind me by sitting at my feet staring at me like I'm stupid...or can't tell time!
Copyboy: I need to shoot some video of this on an overcast day to really show that Bird's quality.
Robyn: After watching them for a while it really looks like those who try and move to a wire not befitting their station are blocked from landing. It is quite fascinating.
Alex: It is something to watch how they do take off at once and then change direction back and forth like some Borg collective is directing them.
Lucy: The urban setting is even more imtimidating when you go to the local WalMart at this time and the entire roof of the store is lined with birds, the tree islands in the parking lot are alive with them, they are all over the cars and the ground. It is really a tense walk from the parking lot into the store as the noise is deafening and they seem to be swooping every where.
Baygirl: Creepy about covers it. Or maybe very creepy!
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