cedros Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Early this morning it sounded like a train was coming. It was large flock of those medium sized birds that make quite a noise (a whooshing sound) when they fly. Yesterday I thought there was a plume of smoke in the distance. It was again a flock of these birds. Does anyone know what they are? I just see them at certain times of the year. They usually fly fairly high but sometimes they are at ground level. They fly rapidly so it is difficult to identify them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubia Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 yellow headed blackbird. nests in the bullrush at nite....noisy in the morning and evening..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted April 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Definitely not Yellow Headed Blackbirds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Golondrinas maybe? (swallows( Just guessing. But they are amazingly fast and darty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted April 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Definitely not swallows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo1 Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 probably starlings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted April 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Not starlings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuphel Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Well, Cedros - can you tell us any more about these birds other than size? Color, any outstanding markings or possibly a description of their call might help to identify these mystery birds. People offering suggestions and being told no they're not is kind of a boring game and it could take a long time to figure out the actual type of birds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigd Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Chimney Sweeps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted April 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 A person knowledgeable about birds would know right away what they are. Very fast and noisy (a whooshing sound from their wings that can be heard quite far away) flyers. I've never seen them close enough or long enough to see what colour they are. I've never heard any call from them. I'll have to read up on chimney sweeps (swifts). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuphel Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 So how do you know what ones they aren't? Not meaning to criticize, just wondering. I know for a fact there are huge flocks of the yellow headed blackbirds around the lake at this time of year, and they can make a wondrous amount of noise if they all take off at once. But if you aren't close enough to see them how can you know if it is not them? And man of us are knowledgeable about birds, if given enough information to identify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted April 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Yellow Headed Blackbirds, Swallows, and Starlings fly completely differently than these birds. It could not possibly be them. I only had time to take a quick look at information on Swifts but it looks like it could be two different species of them that I have been seeing. Swifts are fast flyers and usually fly high so you don't get to see their plumage or hear their calls. You can get an idea of which ones they are by how they fly and flock and where they are living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artsnob Posted April 7, 2016 Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 Canadian Geese, My Brother lives in San MIquei de Allende, The geese droped down in his yard and pool, Guess about 1,000, They stayed three days, after they left the back yard was barron of any plants, but he could go into the fertilizer business with everything they left... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned small Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 4 hours ago, artsnob said: Canadian Geese, My Brother lives in San MIquei de Allende, The geese droped down in his yard and pool, Guess about 1,000, They stayed three days, after they left the back yard was barron of any plants, but he could go into the fertilizer business with everything they left... Canada geese fly in a perfect V formation and you can here their calls for miles no matter how high they're flying.I brought my goose call with me to see if i could chat with them on the lake but there are none here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 8 hours ago, bigd said: Chimney Sweeps Sweeps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted April 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 Quote I think they meant Chimney Swifts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 I sure hope so.... as much as I enjoyed the chimney sweeps in Mary Poppins.... Having a whole flock flying overhead sounds dangerous.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigd Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 They roost in chimneys therefore the "name" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 1 hour ago, bigd said: They roost in chimneys therefore the "name" Chimney swift From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Chimney swift Flying in Texas, United States Conservation status Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Apodiformes Family: Apodidae Genus: Chaetura Species: C. pelagica Binomial name Chaetura pelagica(Linnaeus, 1758) Range of chimney swift Breeding range Wintering range Synonyms Hirundo pelagica protonym[2]Chaetura pelasgia Stephens, 1825[2][3] The chimney swift (Chaetura pelagica) is a bird belonging to the swift family Apodidae. A member of the genus Chaetura, it is closely related to both the Vaux's swift and the Chapman's swift; in the past, the three were sometimes considered to be conspecific. It has no subspecies. The chimney swift is a medium-sized, sooty gray bird with very long, slender wings and very short legs. Like all swifts, it is incapable of perching, and can only cling vertically to surfaces. The chimney swift feeds primarily on flying insects, but also on airborne spiders. It generally mates for life. It builds a bracket nest of twigs and saliva stuck to a vertical surface, which is almost always a human-built structure, typically a chimney. The female lays 4–5 white eggs. The altricial young hatch after 19 days and fledge a month later. The average chimney swift lives 4.6 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 Large flock/gaggle?.... of Chimney Sweeps.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I-b_GJ4ltk I'd forgotten how enjoyable that was! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted April 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 Cookie I didn't see any gaggle there. A flock flew over my house early this morning when I was watering. Not quite as high this time. I was directly under them so I could see how individuals flew. I will have to take my binoculars out with me when I water in the mornings. There is a bit of warning that they are coming as you can hear their wing beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 You didn't see Dick Van Dyke and his "gaggle" of chimney sweeps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cedros Posted April 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 No. It was too long to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 You missed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artsnob Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 Anyone want some goose organic fertilizer, I will bring some from SMA, my brother has more than he can use, replanting his back yard after goose layover,, Although I might use it all in my garden, I don't think I will put on my orchids.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.