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Birds and Nuptial Flights

nuptial flights birds

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#1 Offline lucas3431 - Posted August 21 2017 - 11:13 AM

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So has anyone else ever noticed birds dancing or acrobating in the skies during a Nuptial flight?

 

On three occasions I have noticed this, today here in Ireland/Dublin it was rather easy to find queens than what it was nests, all thanks to the help of birds. The birds feast on the Ants as they mate in the skies above us. It is easy to judge how high the Ants fly. Here it seems L niger fly from 20ft - to about lets say 150ft.

 

Lesser Black backed Gulls don't have the flying abilities as the smaller birds do so they tend roam around on the ground picking off wandering Queens. The Common Gull has it rather handy food on the go in midair about 60ft.

 

As for the smaller birds such as Starling's it's enjoyable watching these little guys somersaulting around of highest about 60ft-100ft+.

 

The ones who really control the skies during this time are of course SwiftsSwallows and House Martins, they swoop around like little jet fighters taking mouthfuls of our six legged friends, hunting height are from 5ft-150ft+ and more haha, at this time of year these birds will be stocking up for their long migration journey back to Africa.

 

Just a little something I wished to share while out walking during a Nuptial Flight.


Edited by lucas3431, August 21 2017 - 11:16 AM.

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#2 Offline AntsMaryland - Posted August 21 2017 - 11:31 AM

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yeah, and when birds eat the flying alates they get "high" on formic acid.


Aphaenogaster cf. rudis 

Tetramorium immigrans 

Tapinoma sessile

Formica subsericea

Pheidole sp.

Camponotus nearcticus


#3 Offline T.C. - Posted August 21 2017 - 6:55 PM

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Oh yeah! I've literally competed with birds at times. They can be on one side of a parking lot and wipe out all that is there before you can get there. For them it's easy pickings. Female alates are just these chubby bugs that can hardly fly with no maneuver ability at all.
“If I am killed for simply living, let death be kinder than man.” -Althea Davis

#4 Offline Shareallicu - Posted September 15 2017 - 7:41 PM

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There was a bird feasting on one of the ant colonies in my yard a few days ago!  







Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: nuptial flights, birds

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