Saturday, February 19, 2011

Black Clouds at Dusk
















Beach sunset watchers witness a strange and fascinating natural event every evening at dusk here. Seemingly out of nowhere, huge flocks of crows appear like black clouds in the last light of day. I have never seen as many birds in one place at one time and it is reminiscent of the old Alfred Hitchcock film "The Birds" where the crows attack innocent people on the street. It's easy to imagine it happening here because they are everywhere, on rooftops, utility lines, and mostly in the skies in random patterns. The black mob appears a bit more north for a few days but then is back a couple of blocks south.

They aren't eating like clouds of bats do at sunset. They don't appear at any other time of day. There's no sign that they are resting in nearby trees. Where do they come from --- we're on sand barrier islands surrounded by salt water. What do they eat? Any crow-knowers out there?

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