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Dawn Chorus -- Duck Murmuration Over Lake Erie [1]
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Date: 2023-03-12
Lake Erie Metropark is at the mouth of the Detroit River where it empties into Lake Erie. Bigger.
The unknowing prey were mostly Canvasbacks, with Redheads and a few other ducks in the mix. They had formed a huge raft in Lake Erie. Here’s a close look at these beautiful birds.
Canvasback drake at Belle Isle earlier this winter.
Redhead drake. Although they have similar colors, there’s no confusing their profiles.
Canvasback (rear), Redheads and Mallard (middle) for size comparison.
The predators had been hanging around for weeks. Large rafts of other birds had been in that area, bringing Bald Eagles to the duck buffet.
Mature Bald Eagle surveying the raft.
This immature Bald Eagle was making passes over the raft as well, here pausing to survey its next move.
Many thanks to Appy, who worked processing wonders with this photo of the immature Bald Eagle raking across an inlet. Gotta see it bigger.
The raft was already sizable when we arrived, but more ducks were flying in every minute.
Canvasbacks flying in. Bigger.
Part of the raft. It extended at least that far to the right.
A closer view of the raft.
The raft became restless. I had my eye in the viewfinder. Good thing I’m not Eagle food as I wasn’t watching what was coming in from the left.
Mature Bald Eagle flying low over the raft. Closer look.
The mature Baldie came back with a juvenile in tow.
Bald Eagles making a sweeping turn over the raft.
Continuing their turn. Bigger.
The ducks opted for safety in the air instead of being, well, sitting ducks in the water.
More taking wing.
Suddenly, a signal went out and the ducks started their murmuration. The Canada Geese and Mute Swans in the foreground did not join in. Bigger.
Title photo bigger.
What has stayed strongest in my memory is the roaring sound. The birds didn’t vocalize much at all. Instead, the deafening sound came from all those flapping wings. At this point, I just put down the camera and stood in awe, mesmerized by the visual sweeping patterns, the waterfall-like roar and the breeze created by the birds as they flew in close.
I’ve seen murmurations of Starlings, but never any waterfowl. One theory about murmurations is that they provide protection from predators.
Of course, the more birds in a flock, the more eyes and ears to detect the predator before it’s too late. And a gigantic mass of whirling, swirling birds can make it hard to focus on a single target. A falcon or hawk can get confused and distracted by tricky wave patterns in the murmuration’s movements. It also must be careful not to collide with the flock and get hurt. The Conversation. (The link has a couple amazing videos of massive Starling murmurations.)
The Eagles continued on their way, so evidently the murmuration foiled any predation. Here, the flock is settling back in.
What’s going on in your birdy world on this spring forward Sunday?
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/12/2151261/-Dawn-Chorus-Duck-Murmuration-Over-Lake-Erie
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