Is it possible for several thousand birds to be asleep in a single tree?

[Avalux]

I'm asking because my local news just reported on the dead bird story. The talking head said that it was weather related, that the birds were asleep on a single tree, got sucked up into a storm and then died and fell. There was zero mention of how many birds really died, so if I didn't have prior knowledge, would be led to think it was just a few birds from one tree.

I hate TV news.

[hlthe2b]

1. In a Hitchcock movie, sure. In the real world, who knows?

[XemaSab]

2. It's possible

I don't know what to make of this story.

[Booster]

3. What utter bullshit. News has become just a joke.

[Avalux]

6. Thank you.

You're the only one in this thread who actually read the content of my post and not just the subject line. ;)

[H2O Man]

4. Yes,

so long as it's humming birds in a Red Wood.

[virgogal]

7. I just posted that same info and there was your post beating me out.

I'd better learn to type faster.

:-)

[H2O Man]

17. Yes, I saw that.

Definitive evidence that "Great Minds Think Alike."

[virgogal]

19. You betcha ! :-)

[virgogal]

5. Maybe hummingbirds in a redwood could do it.

[slackmaster]

8. Maybe they were all pining for the fjords

:argh:

[uppityperson]

9. Ever been under a grove of trees stuffed with starlings? Pooooooopy

[Still Blue in PDX]

10. If it was a humongous tree.

Weren't these red wing blackbirds? They are itty bitty and they do hang out together in amazing numbers.

[On the Road]

12. I've Seen Birds Line Up on a Branch Jammed Together Side by Side

especially in winter. It would have to be a pretty big tree and pretty small birds, though. Just doesn't sound right for there to have been several thousand. Something's off somewhere.

[Orrex]

11. Better than a single bird being asleep in several thousand trees

[Speck Tater]

13. When they flock together to roost for the night, yes. Absolutely.

People who doubt the claim probably know nothing about ornithology and/or have never done any serious birding.

[SoCalDem]

16. and they weigh very little, so a large tree could probably accomodate them

or perhaps a few trees close together


http://www.learner.org/jnorth/search/RwbbNotes1.html#weight
Q. How much do redwings weigh?

A. They weigh 62 - 65 grams, or 2 1/2 ounces--a little less than a CD in its plastic case.

5000 birds @ 2.5 oz = 12,500 oz divided by 16 oz = 781.25 pounds

a very large tree could handle that

[doc03]

14. I have, crows by the thousands roost every night during the fall

and winter around the Ohio river in the Wheeling WV area. I have seen starlings in large groups like that but never red wing blackbirds. I can't believe birds could be sucked up by a storm like that, do they have any record of a storm? It seems to me a storm capable of sucking birds up would have blown the trees down too. The fish kill and the the bird kill had to be related somehow.

[Systematic Chaos]

15. And all those fish who died not all that far away about the same time?

Well, they were in that tree having a poker tournament with the birds.

Yeah, that's it!

:grr:

[EstimatedProphet]

20. How do you know the two events are connected?

[PBS Poll-435]

18. Probably not a single tree, but maybe a Doubletree?

[Capitalocracy]

21. Dozens, couple hundred, yes

Could even theoretically be a small group of trees, they tend to stay fairly close. Thousands in one tree, no way.

And if that's what this guy said, I would be skeptical about his sucked up in a storm premise as well.

Not to spread alarmism.