[NatureNS] strange bird behavior

Date: Mon, 18 May 2009 11:09:09 -0300
From: "Margaret E.Millard" <mmillard@eastlink.ca>
To: naturens <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
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Maybe someone here could help me with this.

I was asked the other day if ever I had seen very small birds hunting and 
catching flies.
I asked what kind of birds and was told they were little birds, someone said 
they might be young hummingbirds but the gentleman didn't think they were 
quite that little.
He said he watched (and his wife) quite a long time one afternoon. There was 
a lift off of flies from growth at the edge of his lawn, where bushes (I 
would suggest small alders, birches, oaks and general scrub that grow up 
through his rock wall, but I haven't actually seen them yet).
He said a whole bunch of these little birds arrived and they watches as the 
birds caught what seemed to be each fly in the air and when they were all 
gone the birds would dive down into the bushes and disturb them so another 
group of flies would lift off and they caught them, too. The birds were 
clearly harvesting them. He said "they shot right up and caught each one of 
those flies".

 This was repeated again and again for a long time, a good part of the 
afternoon. The woman said she definately didn't think they were hummingbirds 
(they have feeders out for them) but she said they were very small birds and 
fast! They couldn't pick them out clearly with the binoculars so I haven't a 
description but he thought they were different colours. I think he said it 
was in the fall so I thought maybe a migrating group of warblers but I 
haven't a clue really.
Does this "hunting" activity ring a bell with anyone?
Marg Millard, White Point, Queens
http://margmillard.ca 


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