--- In "Aaron Ximm"
<> wrote:
> Quite amazing, has anyone seen this (or heard this... or recorded
this(!))
> in person?
I visited the Westhay starling roost
http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/west/series9/week_three.shtml (halfway
down)
a couple of times last year, and the noise is truly awesome
http://www.suffolkbirds.co.uk/article/62/starling-roost
Not being from the US, I am not honor bound to detest Starlings, so I
went specially to his site to see the spectacle and hear the sound.
Somewhere I have the sound of a 'dread' at that site - when the birds
suddenly go quiet and then fire up again, which was tripped by a car
backfiring that sounded like a shot. You can hear a mini version of
that effect in the starling conference on
http://www.suffolkbirds.co.uk/article/36/starling-conference
Unfortunately at westhay there is a gasoline powered pump 1/4 of a
mile away which I had to filter. Although I don't believe there is
any LF vocalization in the starlings, the sound of their wingbeats at
they settle in the reeds and hack round makes an interesting
counterpoint to the noise, particularly after a dread.
A hot tip is to get to the roost early in the season. I first visited
in December. Two months later, the stench of the roost was absolutely
stupendous - so revolting it was difficult to stay long enough to
record!
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