Increased Bird Activity Prior To/during Bf Activity

[Catmandoo]

I read 2 versions of the thread tile. 'Increased Bird Activity' and 'Increased Bird Mimicry/imitation.

Increased bird activity is not necessarily communication by mimicry. I had one episode where the entire forest exploded with alarm calls. Daylight, about 7 PM, thick, dark forest with dense overstory and thick underbrush.. Normal bird tweets and then anything that could chirp, squeak, bark went crazy. Squirrels flew up trees and had there backs to me, looking down a ravine. I was not able to identify the cause of the panic/alarm calls. I recorded most of the raucous display but I can't find the file.

The perception that an area is too quiet may have basic explanations. Predators like hawks. When I monitor an area, I note the times of bird activity and rock falls as relating to civil twilight, sunrise and sunset. Early morning and the birds are very active. As the sun rises, the thermal air currentss build up and bird activity drops rapidly. The red tailed hawks are riding the thermals. I see this in forested areas with a good southern exposure.

[Guest]

I have heard and read that coyotes and wolves instinctively follow carrion birds specifically crows and hawks and turkey vultures …

[bipedalist]

Thanks for sharing that Biped… Does that mean we should also be cognizant of more turkeys in those areas? They roost in trees I presume for safety and to avoid predators so it seems like they would be seen in greater numbers.

 

Well the area I had many experiences within had a huge turkey population.   Lots of gifting feathers for sure.   They called liberally daylight and dusk and would respond to almost any loud call of any kind.   Never found too many turkey carcasses thereabout though.  Turkey calls were not in my assemblage nor did I ever suspect BF imitating turkey calls in the zone I mostly explored .... doesn't mean others don't have a wider variety of experiences with birds or game birds.  

[gigantor]

I can see birds getting agitated when an animal comes through, I'm sure it happens all the time.

 

The time we got followed, there were no bird activity at all. I do admit that at the beginning of the incident, I wasn't paying much attention to the sounds, so it's possible birds did start alarm calls. All I can say is the calls didn't last throughout the incident. Maybe initially, but if they did, they shut up shortly after.

Edited February 12, 2015 by gigantor

[Guest]

Well the area I had many experiences within had a huge turkey population.   Lots of gifting feathers for sure.   They called liberally daylight and dusk and would respond to almost any loud call of any kind.   Never found too many turkey carcasses thereabout though.  Turkey calls were not in my assemblage nor did I ever suspect BF imitating turkey calls in the zone I mostly explored .... doesn't mean others don't have a wider variety of experiences with birds or game birds.  

 

Makes sense thanks for the response. If I could get some feedback on a couple more questions it would be greatly appreciated. Are the bird calls, rock clacks and wood knocks specific to certain geography or to specific Sasquatch groups?

 

Every human being has a unique preference for door bells with different chimes and some don’t. Some humans prefer door knockers and some do not. Why is not possible these animals might also have a specific preference for “knocking or calling†that people overlook when hiking outdoors? Similarly, like human beings we answer when our name is called and filter out or ignore other names. Could it be that they recognize a “rock clack†as a phony when they all know they use a particular predominant bird call?  

 

If somebody stepped up onto my portico and struck a wood knocker, when I know I have a chimed door bell, I would be suspicious of their intent. We go in the woods - their living room nonetheless, and start screaming and making bird noises banging on rocks without any understanding of the protocol what do we expect the response to be? … Just Saying

Edited February 12, 2015 by Gumshoeye

[Sasfooty]

The bird connection was one of the first oddities (after the frog thing) that I noticed going on when a group of the BFs were here. It eventually became impossible to not see the connection.

[Guest]

Did I miss something? What was the frog matter you mentioned Sassy?

[Sasfooty]

I don't know if I ever told the whole frog story. After mentioning that there is often something that sounds like a 400 pound frog zipping around all over the place, the thread usually descends into chaos, warning points are issued, & everybody moves on with no further discussion about frogs.

 

I'm currently warning point free & trying to stay that way, so I hesitate to dredge it back up.

[Guest]

Okay fair enough, I understand … nothing else need be said on that.

[1980squatch]

Ok, I need to chime in what with the frog avatar and this part of my encounter story:

 

"As I entered the woodlot I noticed something quite odd- there were a large number of birds making a big racket in the underbrush in the woods just to the right of the lane. I noticed redwings, robins, jays and cardinals in particular, and they were flirting about the underbrush in a somewhat frenzied fashion. Many times I had seen redwings gather in large noisy flocks this time of year (pre-migration or corn field raids), but gather high up – this was different and struck me as strange. I continued my way, after 50 yards or so into the woodlot I approached a small bend in the lane where it veers perhaps 20 degrees or so to my right. My rifle was still slung over my shoulder with a sling, since the hunting spot was on the other side of woodlot near the lane exit on the west side.

At the bend in the lane I was still glancing back at the bird commotion, and when I turned my head forward again I froze..."

 

It might sound odd for me to be so specific on the bird aspects, but I spent a lot of time with my friends in pest control with air rifles back then.  We studied pest bird movements like scientists.  I feel strongly that this behavior was linked to what was standing 25 yards away.

[Sasfooty]

You're probably right, 1980.

 

Cardinals seem to be a favorite with the local BFs & come & go at the same time that the BF's do. There's also one that always has a woodpecker with him. The woodpecker will fly into the closest tree, making a gravelly noise, stick to the tree & just sit there watching me. It almost never does any woodpecking when it's here. If I go out of it's sight, it will follow & relocate to another tree. When it comes flying in, I know it's friend is in the woods. I wave at both of them & usually hear a whistle from the woods in return.

 

There's a female that always has cardinals with her. She used to come by just before dark & the cardinal calls would immediately start. It's still a question as to when it was her or the birds doing the whistling but I'm pretty sure it was her a lot of times. Sometimes I'd hear them in the middle of the night when they should be roosting.

 

There have been many unusual events involving birds since the BFs have been here. When the BFs are gone, there are almost no birds here either. It's really strange.

[Guest]

I have always thought ravens, crows, jays might follow a Bigfoot. I know trackers will listen for crows and ravens when looking for people in the wild. The birds follow the humans to scavenge any leftovers they may leave. Whenever I am out I listen for the ravens, crows and jays in the distance. Always listening and wondering?

 

^^^

A man went missing (2004) while elk hunting on land owned by his tribe in Bighorn Mountains, Montana. In October 2005 a hunter heard a crow screeching loud and incessant. He followed the screech and found the crow sitting on a tree, below it he noticed a skull and femur bones. He saw a pair of men’s boots and a men’s belt neatly rolled up next to the skull and femur.  

 

Source:  Missing 411, Western United States and Canada, David Paulides, p296-299

 

 

[Guest lightheart]

The interesting thing I have noticed is that when 2 sentries are posted on either side of a trail, one sounds off with a bird call and the other answers with the same call. The next day it is a different bird sound that they use. They are smart enough not to use the same bird sound twice in a row.

I am always glad to hear the sentry bird calls since it means that I will not accidentally catch one behind a tree I am going to pass by. That has only happened once....they were busy watching a guy and his son fish down the trail. It is really rare that they slip up but every once in a while they do. They are super curious about us.

[Guest]

This was my post from the Finding Bigfoot thread where this topic came up.

 

Based on general conditions, I don't have a reason to suspect that the bird sounds are imitations. I actually found Moneymaker's suggestion that it "could be" a BF's getting into trees or similar notions that is stirring birds up, plausible. I hadn't really considered that. There could be some merit to that line of thinking.

Why would a BF climb up a tree? Perhaps a juvenal BF, but a full grown BF?

[Sasfooty]

Why would they NOT climb trees?

 

Maybe they do it for the same reason that people climb mountains. Because they are there. Or maybe they do it so they can see what's over the hill. Or maybe they just do it for fun. There are lots of reasons to climb trees.

Edited March 11, 2015 by Sasfooty