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Hi
Nick,
Saying
that you saw a lot of birds in a flock is like saying I saw a lot of birds, what
were they? Experienced migration watchers often identify birds to genus or even
species from distant flocks in Europe and the Americas. The important thing to
note is the shape and behaviour of the flock; was it strung out like an ibis
flock? grouped like waders and ducks? was the flock continuously changing shape
or steady? These are the sorts of things to look for and compare with species
you know for future reference. Very few observations of migrating flocks have
been documented in Australia, so it may not be possible to identify your birds.
This is because the number of migratory birds in Australia is small (number of
species as well as volume of birds) compared to the Americas and Europe/Africa
and we have few birders interested in such things. Lets face it compared
with Europe and North America we have a very low ratio of birders per
capita.
Phil
Straw
G'day All,
On the 1st of August several large flocks of birds
(I witnessed 5 or 6 and others indicate at least 15 flocks) appeared
on the radar at Gold Coast Airport. These flocks were visible through
binoculars and must have contained at least 200 and up to 1000-2000 birds. All
flocks were flying north at about 1000 feet AGL and approximately 2-4 km
inland. They appeared dark in colour through the binocs (it was about 930
in the morn). Does anyone out there have an idea of what these might have
been or did anyone else witness it?
Cheers,
Nick Murray
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