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A band of Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in the garden

Subject: A band of Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in the garden
From: "Dominique Laloux" <>
Date: Thu, 25 Dec 2003 14:01:09 +0100
The list is pretty quiet for the moment so, even though this is nothing
really special, I though I would share it...
 
For the last month or so, a small band of about 50 Common Starlings
(Sturnus vulgaris) is using our hedge of cherry laurels as a dormitory.
I have never seen them arrive, but we have been hearing them most
mornings when leaving for work. Last weekend, I watched about 35 of them
leaving in the morning...
 
Here is a recording of the background noise we can hear most mornings
when leaving the house :  <http://www.pca.be/samples/Etourneaux.mp3>
http://www.pca.be/samples/Etourneaux.mp3 (file size : 1Mb)
 
Someone on another list mentionned, just a few days ago, a "giant"
dormitory in the East of Belgium, where perhaps as many as 200,000 birds
come back every night. I wonder what the level of noise might be.
 
I have seen twice in the past some huge clouds of these birds : one was
just above the Vatican (I recorded it on video), the other was along a
highway not far from home. The impression given by that one was of a
live funnel, with thousands of birds "dropping" from the cloud into
large bushes. Quite an experience...
 
DL 


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