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Oddest thing you've seen a bird perched atop?

12 years ago

One day after a late morning shower, having never before seen ducks in my neighborhood, I saw one momentarily land and perch atop a residential street light. It was an odd and amusing sight since I'd never seen a duck perch on anything.

I've seen buzzards(?) perched on highway street light arms, and an owl on another residential street light, but this duck was perched atop the light itself, and was striking a pose, lol.

What's the oddest thing you've seen a bird perched atop?

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Comments (10)

organic_bassetlvr
12 years ago
This is not an odd place but one Halloween there were 13 Black Vultures (buzzards) perched on 13 different fenceposts in my neighbors field. With their long, white shins shining & their hunched over poses they looked quite creepy. I wish I'd had a camera!
Susan
catherinet
12 years ago
That would have been a great pic Susan!
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beegood_gw
12 years ago
I don't know if this is odd or not but one day I looked out my window and there is a Canada Goose sitting on my corral fence. Sometimes they will sit down on the sunny side of my garage roof to get some sun.
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
12 years ago
A Turkey Vulture on the neighbor's chimney?

Claire
organic_bassetlvr
12 years ago
As a beginning birder back in the 60's, my first time to the coast, I saw Great Blue Herons way up in treetops. I had seen them all my life in creeks & riverbanks but never knew that they nested in trees-and in big colonies! Looked in my Peterson guide & yup, that was a well known fact. Same trip I was poring over my Peterson guide trying to figure out what the screaming black & white gulls were-seemed like there were dozens of candidates. Luckily a guy with binoculars but no guidebook in hand said "try listening to the gulls." So I did & closed my eyes and heard "Ha, ha, Haaa." They were laughing gulls. That kind birder spent the next several hours helping me learn the shorebirds-peeps.
Susan
tmff
12 years ago
I second Great Blue Herons in trees. Makes me laugh every time. I even once saw a Great Blue Heron perched upon a ROOFTOP in a city neighborhood. Never could explain that one.
pecospaul
Original Author
12 years ago
Susan, wow, that must've been kind of spooky, lol. A picture of that would've made great art prints. It's for similar reasons that I've wanted to buy a real camera forever.

I image searched "blue herons in trees"...beautiful sight of what they called a rookery; link attached below. I also searched "laughing gulls"...ha ha ha!!!

Though I know very little about birds, I've always enjoyed watching and listening to them...except the time a mockingbird called all night long, lol.

To me, seeing a bird perched on anything but a tree is interesting because it's unexpected. A goose on a roof, a vulture on a chimney...definitely amusing.

I wish I could share this picture but I'm unable to upload a file from my phone. We've all surely either seen or heard of falcons perched on buildings. One morning a friend awoke to see a falcon perched on his 12th floor balcony, directly outside the bedroom window next to his bed. How's that for a wake-up surprise!

Here is a link that might be useful:
pecospaul
Original Author
12 years ago
Susan, I have a story slightly similar to your laughing gull story.

Prior to going to bed one night about 4 am, I took my dogs outside for a few minutes. Suddenly a noise overhead caught my attention, I looked up to the shadows of large birds flying in a characteristic v-pattern.

I've heard and seen ducks fly overhead before, but this call was totally different. Stupefied by what they could be, I immediately went online to search. I don't remember what I typed for a search query, but since I could only see their light-colored outlined form, I was left to search by the sound I heard...woo.

I soon realized I hadn't heard woo, rather it was whoop. After listening to a clip of whooping cranes, I identified their sound to be exactly what I heard.

While researching information on whooping cranes, I learned they're endangered, and were nearly extinct; at less than 400 birds in the wild, it is one of the rarest birds in North America.

This has to be one of the luckiest whooping crane sightings ever. I'm still amazed by the circumstances that led me to see these rare birds, and to have witnessed a flyover during their migration...surely a rarer sight.

Paul
organic_bassetlvr
12 years ago
Wow, Paul, awesome catch on the Whooper! I've never seen a Whooping Crane or even a Sandhill crane. Both are on my want list.
Susan
tucker_sp
12 years ago
As far as odd perches go, I have two - one is a pelican perched on a telephone wire, constantly teetering forward and backward to maintain its balance, and not doing a very good job, and half a dozen black vultures in Florida perched on a billboard advertising a funeral home. Black humor indeed!

Tucker

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