Another anniversary of sorts today; but first ............
One of natures greatest spectacles to witness, in my
opinion, happens every year about now. Thousands of Starlings gather, and swirl
around in the skies just before sunset, as they drop into their roost sites.
An amazing spectacle; and it's FREE!
Of course there are other birds that do this, but it seems
the Starlings get all the limelight.
Well, how about a few thousand European Golden Plover, swirling
around in the sun.
They don't confine their gatherings to dusk; they'll do it
all through the day.
And when the sun is shining .......... what a spectacle!
In winter they can usually be found out in fields, an
estuary, or on a wet nature reserve somewhere, often associating with Lapwings.
A little bit smaller than a Lapwing, at 28cm as opposed to
30cm, but a group of them can sound just as vociferous as a group of Lapwing.
They belong to the same family group; Charadriidae (Plovers
and Lapwings)
When they all suddenly take to the air, that's when the
magic begins.
They swirl around in the sky in a seemingly tight formation,
and then drop back down again, into their noisy groups.
Flying gold.
And on the subject of 'flight', an interesting titbit I
found on the BTO website.
"A question about the flight speed of Golden Plover,
(now known to be up to 60mph), during a shooting party in Wexford, Ireland,
prompted Sir Hugh Beaver, (then chairman of the brewery), to found the Guiness
Book of Records in 1955."
I did a shortish video of some the other day; runs for about
three and a half minutes.
Hope you enjoy it.
Oh yea, the anniversary.
Well, it was 4 years ago today, that I had my heart attack.
Now I enjoy every day that I wake up in the morning.
Enjoy your day.
