Given Tom's recent message about bird migrations I thought I would
take the liberty of forwarding a message I received from a friend in
San Francisco a couple of days ago:
...........................................
So we're driving down to the beach, for no reason but
that it's a nice day and it's one other way to get to
where we're going when I look out over the waves and
see this very long, very thick flock of birds flying
low over the waves. Lots of birds. We're talking the
flock runs the entire length of Ocean Beach! Proabaly
thirty birds thick! So, after I crashed the car, I
pulled the bins out of the boot and scrambled over the
carnage (no pun intended) to get a better view.
Sooty Shearwaters! On their migratory path up the coast.
I remember seeing somewhere when I was with you that
they breed in Southern Australia and then fly past SF to the
Bering Sea. Thinking to myself back then, gee... that's
something I'd like to see. AND I DID!
So now I have an impossible benchmark. That was by far
the LARGEST flock of birds I had ever seen! The Park Rangers
watching with me said the flock extended down to Fort Funston
four miles away. Since that was the way we were driving, I
was able to confirm this factoid.
I just thought I'd share this with you, having planted the
seeds of this ornithological obsession in me several years
ago one hot summer's day.
Your avial (?) protege.
.................................................................
Mike
Michael J. McLeish Ph.D.
Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Monash University
Parkville VIC 3052
AUSTRALIA
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