This is a bird murmuration which is hundreds or thousands of birds flocking together. The birds follow each other around because they can't tell where the flock is heading so they just follow the birds in their immediate vicinity.
This murmuration dove down toward the ground and some in the middle of the swarm didn't pull up fast enough and got stunned or died when hitting the ground. They can reach speeds of up to 50 mph if I recall.
Oh shit, you were there? The amount of shot comments by people like you claiming to know are the worst. This person offered an explanation, you let us all know why you’re likely alone. Have a great holiday, wiener.
As an Atlanta air-traffic controller I am very familiar with this phenomenon - it’s called a “funnel gunnel” - and it’s a microburst of wind. It once helped me win a small boat race in Citrus Cove, Florida.
I know somebody that got flocked by pigeons and she was fighting for her life. I can't imagine getting dived bombed and possibly pecked/scratched from all directions when they hit the panic button.
No this is a flock of birds flying in a microburst. Powerful random downward wind that is extremely dangerous for aircraft.
- air traffic controller here.
Not entirely random, but really interesting thought!Microbursts occur from a difference in air temperature between air aloft and air at the ground. Usually instigated by wet, cool air from rain-soaked clouds, with the dichotomy of warm, dry air at the surface. Suddenly the air gets so cool that it has a desperate desire to sink all at once, thus causing a microburst.
The hard deck is 5,000 feet above ground level, a perimeter set not just for the safety of our pilots but for the safety of their aircraft. 5,000 feet is not just a rule, it is a law, as immutable as gravity.
Seemed like one or some of them might have hit a high power line. Could have arced to a bunch of them or maybe that through off their ability to sync. Just a guess, i know nothing about birds.
It's very likely that this was a reaction to an aerial predator gone very wrong.
Basically evasive maneuver without realising how close to the ground they were.
Every February for an afternoon this happens in my parents’ neighbourhood with the cedar waxwings. They’re literally everywhere and come down to drink the snow that has melted around the drains. It’s fascinating to watch. Then suddenly they all just take off and it’s like it never happened.
Wait 2022? I am wondering if this could have been a similar situation to 2019 where the berries that birds were eating were not ripe. Basically, back in 2019 they conducted a study on why birds in the NOVA area where flying erratically and smashing into things. It was found that the seasons came late causing berries that birds eat to grow later. Apparently, those berries had alcohol content when they weren't fully ripe.
Roads and parking lots sometimes are mistaken for water by birds. They think they are going for a sip or dip and realize too late it is solid.
It may seem like a strange mistake, but open flat patches like that only occur naturally in bodies of still water. Birds often don't comprehend it as anything else.
Once they realize it is not water, they panic and try to get out of the dive, but the density of the murmur makes it turn into chaos, especially for those that don't see ahead beyond the birds in front.
This is a bird murmuration which is hundreds or thousands of birds flocking together. The birds follow each other around because they can't tell where the flock is heading so they just follow the birds in their immediate vicinity.
This murmuration dove down toward the ground and some in the middle of the swarm didn't pull up fast enough and got stunned or died when hitting the ground. They can reach speeds of up to 50 mph if I recall.
Wow, that's double the air speed of an unladen swallow
African or European?
I don't know that!
Hello
TIM
Yeet!
the European (Barn) Swallow typically flies around 20-24 mph (32-39 km/h estimated 24 for the African
How do you know so much about swallows?
Well you have to know these things when you're the King.
Well, I didn’t vote for you.
“… Listen, strange women, lying in ponds, distributing swords is no basis for a system of government”
You dont vote for kings.
You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!
That person swallows.
You had me at Swallow…
Are you suggesting that the coconuts where brought here by swallows?
And what if he's carrying a coconut?
What if it is carrying a coconut?
gets yeeted off the bridge
are you suggesting coconuts migrate?
How do you know so much about swallows?
https://i.redd.it/jednnuq3yy8g1.gif
A drop of banana for scale
ouch
Poor birbs
Wow that's some crazy flocking knowledge
More likely they were escaping from a predator rather than randomly slamming into the ground.
The amount of uninformed and wrong info in this thread is amazing.
And what makes you do sure it wasn’t aliens? Or Atlantis?
It was quicksand only found in the Burmuda Triangle.
No one in my childhood ever warned me to look up for the deadly quicksand.
It's called 'quick'sand, but you sink in it slowly. You can't explain that. Wake up sheeple.
Ah damn I didn't think about that... you're probably right
They were obviously trying to reach agartha
In Stargate lore Atlantis is alien and its in another galaxy. Well until the end of SG:A.
Literally where did they say it was random? No need to be an✨ asshole ✨
Yes. That includes your uninformed and wrong info.
Oh shit, you were there? The amount of shot comments by people like you claiming to know are the worst. This person offered an explanation, you let us all know why you’re likely alone. Have a great holiday, wiener.
That is what I thought also.
It was Bob's fault. Classic Bob.
I love the word murmuration. I try and use it as often as possible, but sadly we don’t see many murmurations where I live.
I think the were dodging a bird of prey
As an Atlanta air-traffic controller I am very familiar with this phenomenon - it’s called a “funnel gunnel” - and it’s a microburst of wind. It once helped me win a small boat race in Citrus Cove, Florida.
So this wasn’t a flock up?
Imagine walking down the street when that shit took place. Fuck that. There's easier ways to get trauma.
I know somebody that got flocked by pigeons and she was fighting for her life. I can't imagine getting dived bombed and possibly pecked/scratched from all directions when they hit the panic button.
Pidgeons? I thought we had an agreement with them???
Another proof that they're drones, she just knew too much
And everything went dark for a second, as they covered the source of light.
Probably Hitchcock's inspiration 😋
If someone was walking there while that happened, thank God there was a recording. Because no one would believe you
On the other hand, free protein for weeks
Ground control gave the wrong info?
Or the captain made the wrong turn?
When I see them flying they follow each other, so maybe they miscalculated the height?
Ground control was busy trying to reach Major Tom.
Terrorists tampered with the flight sensors and set ground level 100 feet lower than it should be
Hey! I know that movie!!
Get McLean, he’ll sort it!
DEI hires are to blame. /s
Wrong altimeter setting.
Obviously the sky fell down there. The birds just happen to be in that part of the sky at the same time.
This sentence is very Terry Pratchett coded for some reason
WKRP’s Thanksgiving turkey drop.
As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!
Oh the humanity!
Les Nessman reporting.
As the years go by there will be fewer and fewer that will get the reference. I remember watching this episode on its first airing.
You win the Silver Sow award!
Me too, and I laughed til I cried. And then there’s “Red Wiggler, the Cadillac of Worms🎶”.
Ngl that looks absolutely terrifying, imagine being there in person as it happens.
I'd move state if that happened near me. You won't catch me living on top of that hell mouth.
It’s like one bird tripped then they all fell. Domino effect. lol
Pigeon Nascar accident
The Earths core has stopped rotating!!!!
We need to go deeper
When I watch that film I can't help but think about some production assistant who had to yeet dead pidgeons at Nelson's Column for a day
Tucci gang
I haven’t seen a “The Core” reference in the wild maybe ever, thankuforthis
My gods. Can Hilary land the shuttle in time to help us? Where is Aaron now? I'll call Stanley!! It's 2003 all over again.
I wonder if it was a predator or something like a drone that spooked them... poor flock!
That’s exactly what it looks like. They’re evading a predator, a hawk or falcon probably.
My impatient ass, "What flock? There's only a single... ohhhhhhhh."
Literally, I was like “is this happening off camera or something?” 😂
"Oh-for-f#<×'$-sake, who is it leading this year? It's not Steve the Bird, is it? He's rubbish, he is "
Bc of one mistake, alot have died lmao 😭😭💀
Something about this sentence makes me think you're from the West midlands.
Last time they let Bob steer, assuming Bob survived
No this is a flock of birds flying in a microburst. Powerful random downward wind that is extremely dangerous for aircraft. - air traffic controller here.
Not entirely random, but really interesting thought!Microbursts occur from a difference in air temperature between air aloft and air at the ground. Usually instigated by wet, cool air from rain-soaked clouds, with the dichotomy of warm, dry air at the surface. Suddenly the air gets so cool that it has a desperate desire to sink all at once, thus causing a microburst.
I dont envy the person who ended up cleaning them up.
.add birds 2000
Nature been acting weird lately for sure
This video was used in the series Morning Wars on Apple TV S4 Ep3 Turning Points.
The Warrens were investigating a case there I hear.
According to my sibling that's how the stalk delivered me as a baby
looks like AI.
Imagine being a bird and you are all following Greg because Greg is leading the flock. And then Greg takes a wrong turn. Fucking Greg...
Do you love me?
I would guess an electrical arc got a bunch of them.
more likely a murmuration took a downwards turn
Or a hawk came at them from above
It certainly does happen even if quite rarely.
That is weird
It was Lizzid Peeple!!
Bloody drones.
6G fried their brain
The mothership had a communication system glitch.
"EMP!!! ELECTRONICS ARE DOWN!!!"
The flock happened?
Ive seen bird droppings. But never like that.
https://preview.redd.it/r87il35myx8g1.jpeg?width=780&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25e1c0a635d18cf63d31fea3159300c879270d8b
There are high rollers and low rollers Clarice
How often does something like this happen?
The core has stopped
Terrifying.
Flocking hell.
Well someone’s bad at steering
"Wait, I know. We should'a taken a left turn at Albuquerque!"
I use this line frequently. Sadly not many get the reference. Gen-X gets it. 😂
Shameless Psy-op to convince the freethinkers that birds are real
Poor birds...
If your friends all flew into the ground, would you?
Their batteries died
You know what's happening
A shocking number of them got up and flew immediately!
My guess is some sorta gas leak.
Could have gotten into something toxic or whatever and it hit them all at the same time..
https://i.redd.it/bmdai4qiyw8g1.gif
Let's just wait until the results of the black box/flight recorder come in!
What's the term for a collective headache?
Tbh, its more like some bird of prey just disrupted the flock flow pattern.
Are those birds or bats?
They are training for the day they will rain it down on the land dwellers.
That’s what they call a murmuration miscalculation.
It seems that, for 2-3 seconds, the atmospheric pressure was extremely high!
GPS signal lost
Nerve gas
Beached whales for the same reason ….
They hit the power lines.
this kills the flock
"YO WHO TF LEAD US INTO THE GROUND"
Seemed like one or some of them might have hit a high power line. Could have arced to a bunch of them or maybe that through off their ability to sync. Just a guess, i know nothing about birds.
They zigged when they should have zagged
They fed the cats of the whole neighborhood
It's very likely that this was a reaction to an aerial predator gone very wrong. Basically evasive maneuver without realising how close to the ground they were.
Oops, looks like you dropped your birds.
This needs a NSFW
They are not watching where they are in relation to the ground, just in relation tothe birds around them.
Often a predator above the flock dives on the top layer ... they all dive and hit the ground because the middle birds are "blind" to the ground.
5G
Pew pew pew pew pew
Sad that so many of them seemed to have died or were really hurt.
5G
Batteries ran out
Must've been the Wind
All the survivors agreed that this was the last time Kevin would lead the flock.
Oooo Flashforward
Every February for an afternoon this happens in my parents’ neighbourhood with the cedar waxwings. They’re literally everywhere and come down to drink the snow that has melted around the drains. It’s fascinating to watch. Then suddenly they all just take off and it’s like it never happened.
Wait 2022? I am wondering if this could have been a similar situation to 2019 where the berries that birds were eating were not ripe. Basically, back in 2019 they conducted a study on why birds in the NOVA area where flying erratically and smashing into things. It was found that the seasons came late causing berries that birds eat to grow later. Apparently, those berries had alcohol content when they weren't fully ripe.
PULL UP! PULL UP! PULL UP!
The drone operator spilled their coffee
BIRD MAGNETS BITCH
Roads and parking lots sometimes are mistaken for water by birds. They think they are going for a sip or dip and realize too late it is solid.
It may seem like a strange mistake, but open flat patches like that only occur naturally in bodies of still water. Birds often don't comprehend it as anything else.
Once they realize it is not water, they panic and try to get out of the dive, but the density of the murmur makes it turn into chaos, especially for those that don't see ahead beyond the birds in front.
Wind sheer
They went below the hard deck
Mom: If your friends would jump off a cliff would you do the same? Meanwhile birds: