Post by Harrier on Jul 2, 2015 20:36:05 GMT -8
I took my daughter fishing/camping up by Merritt yesterday and today, and last night I had a great bird experience. We were watching 4 or 5 nighthawks hunting over the lake at dusk while we were in the boat fishing the "evening rise." I'm used to seeing bats descend on a lake at that time, but it was the first time I've ever seen nighthawks up that close. Anyway, as I was enjoying the spectacle, one of the birds let loose with one of the most bizarre and out-of-place noises I've ever heard. It sounded like a fighter jet in a dive! I just googled-it, and apparently it's called "booming." It's a mechanical noise caused by air rushing through their primaries at the bottom of a dive and they use it as a territorial or aggression display. It was very cool and very surprising to hear it!
Another note from my trip: I was enjoying the view from my campsite over the beautiful, placid lake today, when a Cooper's Hawk burst out of the bullrushes with a baby blackbird in its talons and three adults in pursuit. Now I know why Red-Winged Blackbirds are so aggressive around their nests. They need to be!
Another note from my trip: I was enjoying the view from my campsite over the beautiful, placid lake today, when a Cooper's Hawk burst out of the bullrushes with a baby blackbird in its talons and three adults in pursuit. Now I know why Red-Winged Blackbirds are so aggressive around their nests. They need to be!
