Birds of a Feather Flocking Together
By Gene Aronowitz
Every morning, Linda and I settle into what we call C&COTB, an initialism that stands for Coffee and Conversation on the Bed. We do this in our bedroom because early morning views from its six windows can be breathtaking.
During bird migrating season, a flock of about a thousand grackles, or a mix of grackles and other blackbirds, gather around our house for a few days. Grackles assemble before migration in communal roosts, some of which may contain as many as a million birds.
Periodically, we watch the whole flock swarm past our bedroom windows in a synchronized oval-shaped formation, first going in one direction and then, abruptly, in another. They fly like a single life form rather than a thousand. Each of the birds has become one with the flock.
They might suddenly drift into an open field as if guided by a decree. Or they might collectively elevate up into nearby trees, creating a woosh of air and a viscerally uplifting draft. The grackles make whistles and rusty gate-sounding squeaks as if transmitting their delight to one another. Then, they become silent as if meditating.
If we are lucky, they pull together and swarm again. We watch them not only with attention, delight, and admiration, but we also wonder why these birds behave so much more peacefully and collaboratively than we do.
