OK, here's the unexpected video!

[elleng]

Pardon the upside-down etc, as I don't know why it went to video, and didn't know what I was doing!

Enjoy hearing the breeze, seeing the river being tousled, and the really good view of sunset which I wasn't able to capture in a single photo!

http://s765.photobucket.com/user/ellenbedlington/media/20131229_165412_zpsd87d509d.mp4.html

[NYC_SKP]

1. Yay! Glad you found it!

BTW, did you ever figure out what kind of bird it was you saw the other day?

[elleng]

2. THanks! The consensus is bird was/is a cardinal.

Didn't see him again today. Staying out of the rain, I guess!

[NYC_SKP]

3. We have different birds here, egrets, herons, cormorants, etc.

And between them and the doves and jays and crows and sparrows I've always wondered:

Where do they all go at night?

[elleng]

4. Good question, SKP! Prolly Birders know.

We have doves, jays, crows and sparrows too. Look forward to catching pic of Blue Jays and Doves. Won't see your egrets, herons or cormorants, tho.

OK, some answers:

•Many bird species choose cavities or niches to roost in at night, which prevents predators from having easy access to them. These same cavities also provide shelter from poor weather, and may include bird roost boxes or empty bird houses.

•Ducks, geese and other waterfowl will float on the water to sleep, which gives them the same noise alarm system that wading birds take advantage of.

•Small birds sleep perched high in trees, typically close to the trunk of the tree. The trunk holds heat from the daytime to provide better shelter, and the birds will be alerted to any vibrations predators make if they climb the tree looking for prey.


•Many birds, such as red-winged blackbirds and other gregarious species, form large roost flocks at night. This provides them safety in numbers as they sleep, and several birds on the edges of the flock may remain alert through the night to guard against predators or other threats.

http://birding.about.com/od/birdbehavior/a/Birds-At-Night.htm

[NYC_SKP]

5. Thanks for the info!

I feel bad for the birds when it's chilly and raining!

Love birds!

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Short story about birds in trees...

I'm a member of our local Audubon chapter and two summers or so ago we had a talk about red-tailed hawks in the back yard of our "clubhouse."

The local birds were tucked away for the evening, the feeders were quiet, and we heard all about hawks. Then, the door of the hawk's "cage" (a small log was hollowed out and a door attached, with the whole thing stuck on a 6' pole) was opened and immediately there was screeching, screaming, chirping, and a huge cacophony from the birds in the trees who were wakened by sentries that a major predator was in the area.

Nobody flew off-- seems they knew they were safer staying where they were, but the warning system was really incredible.

[elleng]

7. Very cool!

Nothing like nature!

[Callalily]

8. :-) Sometimes "accidents"

can produce some very interesting results!

[elleng]

9. Thought so!!!

Wish I'd been able to get the great piece of sunset that's in the video but not captured in photos. Was frustrated, trying to zoom while camera was videoing!!!