2/16/2006: Migrating starlings at sunset

This WaPo image is a group of starlings, arriving in Algiers. The caption points out that millions of birds migrate from Europe to Africa, and so I wonder whether any of the birds in that shot were also in this one which was taken in Italy.

Beautiful image, and one that really stretches the limits of JPG image compression. This one is about 116k in size. The millions of dots against the colors in the sky are hard for JPG to reproduce correctly. If you have a digital camera that can take images in a "RAW" or "TIFF" mode, this is one time when you might want to use it to get the best possible shot... if you're ever shooting thousands of migrating starlings against a sunset.

This truly is a beautiful image... amazing shot.

But....... having said that, am I the only one sick enough to look at this and think it bears an amazing resemblance to a couple of giant sperm swiming through the sky?

Hey... at least I admit I'm sick... what's YOUR excuse? ;-)

I saw a very, very scaled-down version of this on the way home last night...only a couple of thousand as opposed to a few hundred thousand. It did, however, cause me to spontaneously work up a verbal outline (to the wife, who was driving) of a Neo-Con children's story about Stevie Starling, a rebellious little Starling who refused to fly with the flock, and froze to death all alone in the winter.

The real heroine of the story is Sally Starling, who went along with the gazillions of other birdies, and earned the respect of her peers by supporting traditional bird family values because she raised her young to follow the flock, and so on, and so on...

I don't know which of the two posts is sicker. :lol:

It makes me feel good that there still are that many starlings on the planet. In San Fran they have taken similar pics, except the starlings are smog:dead:

[COLOR=Lime]Ooh it's so pretty. I don't generally like birds, but I love this image. By the way, this is my first post. I've viewed every single IotD, but this is the first I've replied to. [/COLOR]

Welcome, but that's really not a good color. Try something darker.

Which one of those is carrying H5N1? :worried:

I don't know, but they could carry it on a bit of string, tucked beneath the dorsal guiding feather...

Would those be African or European....

Never mind. I was thinking swallows.

dar512 wrote:

I was thinking swallows.

*cough*
:blush:

Happy Monkey wrote:

Welcome, but that's really not a good color. Try something darker.

Like default black. That's one of our personal favorites.

We are NOT a colored post board. Yes, we discriminate based on color. We already have one token color poster, and she seems to have gotten over it.

The lack of avatars and long, complicated, animated picture bearing signatures should have been your first clue.

If you understand and accept this, welcome.

If not, don't let the virtual door hit on your ass on the way out.

'Cause we're all about the words, baby.

I was thinking about the avatar question before the bandwidth problems, but you know this place does use a ton of bandwidth, it turns out, and every little bit will help, I think.

An single avatar - ONE of them - can use as much bandwidth as the words in an entire page.

The photo content alone would give most sysops a headache.

I've often thought how much birds flying in formations like this resemble large schools of fish under water, they all move and turn at a moment's notice. While many birds like waterfowl fly in a V formation with a lead bird one has to wonder if these huge flocks have a leader or are they just flying by "the Force". I mean, it's pretty amazing that a couple of 1000 birds are all buzzing along and then turn on a dime and head off in another direction. Must be quite a rush!

Over the years of living in the gulf coast region I've done a fair share of waterfowl hunting. Many times while lying in wait in a field of cut rice completely hidden in a camoflage I've had flocks of sparrows or starlings and others fly like this all around me ofen just a few feet above the ground if they are looking for a place to land and feed. It's a really amazing experiece, the sound of thier wings, sometimes you can even feel the wind as they all rush by.

While many birds like waterfowl fly in a V formation with a lead bird one has to wonder if these huge flocks have a leader

No, when the lead bird gets tired it'll break off and another bird will move up. The reason they fly in a V is it's easier, like dolphins riding a ships bow wave. The leader is breaking the trail and the rest sort of like drafting.

National Wildlife magazine claimed recently, scientists had determined the birds on the outside turn the flock by moving in and making the one next to in move in domino style. Pretty hard to tell, guess that's why it took them thousands of years to figure it out. :lol:

Elspode wrote:

The photo content alone would give most sysops a headache.

It gives the readers a headache, and occasionally seizures. A lot of the damn things are animated.

Look at any thread on this board. Fair warning ... it can be scary at times. They also suffer from smiley bloat, which makes them a good source for new suggestions.

Pssst...wrong thread. :lol:

Pssst...busted link, please edit.

xoxoxoBruce wrote:

No, when the lead bird gets tired it'll break off and another bird will move up. The reason they fly in a V is it's easier, like dolphins riding a ships bow wave. The leader is breaking the trail and the rest sort of like drafting.

Ah, but do you know why one side of the V is longer than the other?

because some birds are Left winged !!!

jinx wrote:

Ah, but do you know why one side of the V is longer than the other?

No, why? :confused:

More birds.:rolleyes:

Ba dump bump....and now ladies and germs.... :lol:

Which one's Clarice?

Elspode wrote:

The photo content alone would give most sysops a headache.

Not to mention those god-forsaken image sigs.

Look at any thread on this board. Fair warning ... it can be scary at times.

I was past the editing deadline, so I had to redo this.

That's pretty low key. Neither the avatar or the sig is animated, well, except for the dancing smiley bananas.

More typical (two rotating banners, two blinky marquis thingies, and a couple of other minor animations).

worse (Click at your own risk).