An interesting thread, thanks to the people who pitched in. Googling
around a bit, the Wiki page on Tundra Swan says they can migrate as high
as 8 km/27000 feet (5+ miles). I found another page that said they can
be heard for 6 km (fwiw). So, sound and altitude, much less acoustics,
are just gonna have to be another mystery. Which is OK with me, I'm
happy to know they're up there!
I sorta like a whimsical notion that since they took off from around the
Chesapeake Bay they just haven't got up to full flight altitude before
they get over us, LOL. And I truly love knowing that they're going to
the arctic tundra, just 'cause.
John Fox
Winchester
On 3/10/2014 9:35 PM, Frederick Atwood wrote:
I just had a noisy flock of tundra swans flying overhead here too in Oakton
(Fairfax Co) at 9:15 PM.
Frederick D. Atwood fredatwood at yahoo dot com
Flint Hill School, 10409 Academic Dr, Oakton, VA 22124
703-242-1675
http://www.agpix.com/fredatwood
http://www.flinthill.org
http://tea.armadaproject.org/tea_atwoodfrontpage.html
________________________________
From: Frank Fogarty <fogartyfa@xxxxxxxxx>
To: David Davis <daviszepp@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: va-bird <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2014 4:53 PM
Subject: Re: [Va-bird] Tundra Swans overhead
Hi all,
Just thought I would mention a tidbit I got from some ornithologists up at
Patuxent Reasearch Refuge regarding the height of migratory birds above the
ground. According to them, a given group of birds roughly maintains the
same height above sea level as it migrates regardless of the topography
below. I got that from a discussion on recording migrating bird calls, as
the scientists were taking advantage of that fact and placing their
microphone arrays on WV ridge tops to get them as close as possible to the
birds passing overhead.
Best,
Frank Fogarty
Smithfield
On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 11:07 AM, David Davis <daviszepp@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
John Fox of Winchester reported: "Heard at 3:20, never saw them. They must*** You are subscribed to va-bird as fredatwood@xxxxxxxxx. If you wish to
have been fairly low for me to
pick them up." [emphasis added]
Unless Mr. Fox is alluding to a hearing defect, he may have heard them
from much farther away than he realizes. In the cold, clear air of the
mountains of Shenandoah County where I hear and/or see a flock or two most
years during deer season in November, I sometimes hear them calling from
considerable distance. For some of the flocks that I have spotted after
hearing them first, I've estimated that they may be half a mile (perhaps
more) distant. In fact, I have never seen them low at that location. They
are usually far above the ridges--perhaps twice their height--and the
higher local ridges are over 2000 feet in elevation. In other areas,
perhaps where Mr. Fox birds, they may be a lot lower, but given their known
fall migration route across the northern Shenandoah Valley region, I
suspect that they maintain a rather high flight line. I don't usually
encounter them in the spring, so I don't know whether their flight path and
behavior are different in the spring.
Dave Davis
Arlington and Cedar Creek
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