BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?

Subject: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Áine
Date: 11 Jun 04 - 02:43 PM

I had a strange and wonderful experience yesterday, and I thought I'd ask if anyone else has experienced this and/or knows what it might mean.

I walked out of the front door of Moon On The Hill and saw that about 20 swallows were lazily circling in front of my house, about 15 to 20 feet above the ground. I watched them for about ten minutes, and then walked down the steps, closer to the street. At that point, the swallows began to circle closer to me and swooped around me, including me in their circle. Now, they weren't agitated in any manner whatsoever, and their swooping around me was very non-threatening. This little group was circling in front my house alone.

I watched them for about ten minutes more, until my son's school bus drove up the street and stopped at the bottom of the hill. The birds made a bigger circle, including the bus within it. I got my son off the bus and we walked up the steps and into the house. I got busy with him then, and I didn't have a chance to see if the circling stopped or not.

I've never seen this kind of bird behaviour before, so I just wanted to know if any of you Mudcatters had seen this before. I felt so happy and peaceful watching this litte bird 'happening'. It was a nice, special moment that never seems to come often enough.

All the best, Áine

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Amos
Date: 11 Jun 04 - 02:45 PM

Man, I love that image! I've never seen a gathering of birds do that,though!

A

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: GUEST, David Attenbrough
Date: 11 Jun 04 - 02:46 PM

They eat flies. Were you in a grassy place?

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: CarolC
Date: 11 Jun 04 - 02:48 PM

Sounds like a very magical experience. My guess would be that either:

A. The nature spirits were feeling very playful that day, and they like you a lot, or:

B. The swallows were circling around anything that might stir up some insects for their dinner.

If it were me, I think I'd choose A as my answer, and I could be wrong about B, but that the best I can come up with.

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: CarolC
Date: 11 Jun 04 - 02:49 PM

Looks like I cross-posted with Mr. Attenbrough.

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Áine
Date: 11 Jun 04 - 02:50 PM

Nope, no real 'grassy plain' to speak of, David. I thought they might be eating too, so I looked very hard to see if that was the case. I couldn't see any sign of bugs in the air, and I was very close to the birds. They were circling entirely over the street, in a pretty straight, horizontal circle.

All the best, Áine

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Rapparee
Date: 11 Jun 04 - 03:49 PM

I had this happen to me some years ago. It was great!

Afterwards, though, all I could think of was Hitchcock's film "The Birds."

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: pdq
Date: 11 Jun 04 - 04:56 PM

It means they don't like the color of the paint on your new car!

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Micca
Date: 11 Jun 04 - 07:01 PM

Áine, they were probably in a holding pattern until Swallow Central flight Control could clear them for landing!!!, sounds like a Magical experience even if it may have a mundane reason!, Magic is, after all in "the effect that the perception of a phenomenon has on the Psyche" and how that "raises our spiritual perception of the world to levels above and more satisfying than the mundane"

" 2 men look through the same set of bars
one sees mud and the other sees stars"

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 11 Jun 04 - 09:32 PM

Hanging in a thermal, looking for food.

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Ebbie
Date: 11 Jun 04 - 09:42 PM

Do swallows do the updraft thing? I'm familiar with ravens and eagles doing it routinely and with evident great enjoyment.

I think, if I were you, I'd let it be just one of my magical memories!

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Jun 04 - 11:19 PM

I had a Salvation Army band encircle me on a street corner once...but totally ignore me as if I weren't there....do you think THAT might have higher significance?

Birds are weirder than bands, even.

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: freda underhill
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 02:31 AM

I once had a flock of sparrows come and sit around me and my (then) 3 year old daughter (now 22 year old catter Bugface) in Hyde Park (sydney). First they came and sat around us, then they came and sat on us, shoulders, lap, legs, head. We were swarming with birds, and just sat there quietly looking at each other. The birds stayed until some Japanese tourists came and started taking photois - when they got too close, the birds flew off!

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 04:39 AM

They were probably just riding a thermal but it still remains a wonderful image.

I spent about 20 minutes last night just watching a pair of terns making endless mobius strip flights over a lake.... apparently without effort, just for the fun of it! They weren't fishing, they weren't eating flies, just endlessly swooping down and round and up and back, like a piece of Mozart rippling back on itself for the sheer beauty of doing it again.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Strollin' Johnny
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 04:43 AM

Freda, just goes to show what high standards sparrows have! LOL
J :0)

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: lady penelope
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 08:42 AM

Last night it was a huge flock of swifts. I live near marshes so I'm assuming it was dinner time, but there was definitely a sense of play about some of the swooping. There were smaller groups chasing each other round the chimneys and up and down the gardens, whilst the main groupkind of massed in a loose group above. Cerys (my cat) didn't know where to look! i really love my new house.......sigh.   : )

TTFN Lady P.

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: GUEST,John O'Lennaine
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 08:52 AM

Aine -

Don't look for a reason, just keep it. You may need it one day.

John

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Amos
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 09:58 AM

Liz:

I expect someone had taught them the old saying, "one good tern deserves another" and the effort to apply it led them into Moebius strips.

A

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Áine
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 11:56 AM

I like what you said, John - Don't look for a reason, just keep it. You may need it one day. This is the kind of situation that fits that old song that says catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, save it for a rainy day.

Consider my pocket full ;-)

All the best, Áine

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Megan L
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 02:07 PM

Ah now you just ask Esme Weatherwax she could tell you sometimes its just lovely to feal the wind beneath your wings :)

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Mudlark
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 04:41 PM

A wonderful image, Aine...a real blessing. Just hearing about it is going to keep me smiling for a while.

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 13 Jun 04 - 02:39 AM

In the same sort of vein - how do all those midges and mossies make such dizzying patterns above the pond without bashing into each other?

Strange thing happened the other day - I was in the kitchen when I heard a twittering from the garden. The pyrocantha was full of blue tits (about 8 in all I think) who were divebombing the pond in the nature of osprey.

Now there are no fish in my pond, the surface is partially covered with duckweed and there is usually a cat drinking at the other end. These tits were having a whale of a time fluttering over the pond and suddenly grabbing something in their claws off the surface of the water. It was a beautiful sight, they showed off their athletic abilities to the extreme - hovering, diving, then hanging upside down in the pitisporrum, eating last years berries. Made me late for work but what the heck, it was worth it!

I've not seen any blue tits since but there's a great tit in the buddliea right now!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Hrothgar
Date: 13 Jun 04 - 04:56 AM

Are you sure that you are not dead, and they were really vultures?

Blue tits sometime indicate cold weather.

:-)

Subject: RE: BS: A Circle of Birds - Meaning?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 13 Jun 04 - 06:31 AM

I know what the blue tits indicate, but what about the long tailed tit I saw on Friday then? And it was very warm.

LTS