Believe us when we tell you that the picture above doesn’t even begin to capture the bizarre scene we just saw on Hamilton Road in Glen Ridge just a few minutes ago. Hundreds, maybe thousands of black birds were spread over just a few lawns. If we’d seen any film trailers, we might have suspected they were making a picture, but it appears that it was just a brief freak of nature. Any birdwatchers out there who can enlighten us?
How strange. This happened elsewhere, at another blogger’s house. https://asmallvictory.net/archives/007506.html
Looks like somebody was overseeding their lawn.
Birds grow from seeds?
Maybe the area was ripe with worms.
How can you tell when a worm is ripe?
Sigh. City folk…
Every fall the starlings migrate in large flocks south. They stop wherever to feed or roost.
Do they leave when the worms run out? Why do they leave? Taxes? Bad schools? Bad Pizza?
Wildlife Update: Cycling to work this morning, I spotted a turtle in the gutter of Bloomfield Avenue, just over the Baristaville city limits in Newark. It was not pigeon food — at least not yet — but you wonder how it was going to make the leap over the curb to safety.
I live on Brookdale Park in Bloomfield and have witnessed this kind of bird swarming in my own yard. Very eerie the first time you see it. This morning, though, I had another bird sighting as I walked the Brookdale Park track: the most beautiful (giant) red-tail hawk enjoying its breakfast on a low bough just above the bleachers. I was able to get within 20 feet of this magnificent creature and watch it up close and personal for several minutes. It had very thickly-feathered legs which made me think it was a juvenile eagle. But a quick spin through google images set me straight. However, I did discover that we might very well see some eagles migrating our way over the next several weeks. Keep your eyes peeled and your small dogs close. That hawk was doing some big eatin’!