The SE Michigan forecast called for a seasonably cold and breezy Saturday, warming up to just above freezing. That thaw signaled the end of the early February arctic blast. The most important draw was full sun, which has been rare this winter. I set out for a day of birding with my pal. We pretty much struck out on our first few stops, and decided to go to the Downriver area, as it’s known locally. That’s the southern part of the Detroit River, and where it empties into northwest Lake Erie. A last minute stop at Lake Erie Metropark made our day, with the unexpected drama of predator and prey.
The unknowing prey were mostly Canvasbacks, with Redheads and a few other ducks in the mix. They had formed a huge raft in Lake Erie. Here’s a close look at these beautiful birds.
The predators had been hanging around for weeks. Large rafts of other birds had been in that area, bringing Bald Eagles to the duck buffet.
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What has stayed strongest in my memory is the roaring sound. The birds didn’t vocalize much at all. Instead, the deafening sound came from all those flapping wings. At this point, I just put down the camera and stood in awe, mesmerized by the visual sweeping patterns, the waterfall-like roar and the breeze created by the birds as they flew in close.
I’ve seen murmurations of Starlings, but never any waterfowl. One theory about murmurations is that they provide protection from predators.
Of course, the more birds in a flock, the more eyes and ears to detect the predator before it’s too late.
And a gigantic mass of whirling, swirling birds can make it hard to focus on a single target. A falcon or hawk can get confused and distracted by tricky wave patterns in the murmuration’s movements. It also must be careful not to collide with the flock and get hurt. The Conversation. (The link has a couple amazing videos of massive Starling murmurations.)
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What’s going on in your birdy world on this spring forward Sunday?