This afternoon as I contemplated the universe on the back porch, a flock of blackbirds came to visit in nearby trees, At first they were noisy, talking to one another, and just minutes later, they were quiet. I could still see them in the trees, they were just silent. They eventually flew off without a sound, so I got the chance to count seven birds.
That reminded me of an interesting lesson a couple years ago. I was spending time at the Mars Analog Research Station (M.A.R.S.) in the Utah dessert. One day I saw a flock of about a dozen blackbirds, the only birds I saw for two weeks. The wonderful sight of these birds noisily flying thru the desert sky made an impression on me.
At the end of our mission, we visited nearby Goblin Valley State Park and an interesting ranger was on duty. Turns out she's from Asheboro, NC and working a season at that park. I described the flock of birds I had seen a couple days before and asked her if there was a way to distinguish between blackbirds and ravens.
The young lady said it was their calls that helps her distinguish between the two. If the bird is a blackbird it will go "caw-caw." If it's raven it will go "Nevermore."
True story.
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