Crows surfing the wind ?

[luvmytooo]

It is very windy here in NY today , up to 60 mph winds at times !
I was out for a short time in the field with the dogs and I saw a flock of crows that were circling and what looked like surfing the wind. They would tumble an let the wind take them for a bit , then recover and do it again ! It looked like they were enjoying themselves tremendously . I was wondering if anybody has seen this behaviour before in crows or any other wild bird.
It was really cool to watch and I wish I couldve stayed longer , but the wind was so bad and there were limbs down everywhere , I heeded my husbands warning and stayed as long as it took for all the dogs to empty ,then it was a race back to the house. They won lol.

 

[BillsBirds]

Wouldn"t it be great to be able to fly? I've seen hawks & eagles glide on the wind. Also, sea birds do it, like gulls, terns, and others.

 

[Safira]

It was bad wind here too, I watched a few vultures in the sky riding the winds. It looked fun If I wasn't so afraid of heights (or falling)

 

[MissyMe83]

I just love crows and ravens! I haven't seen or heard of them doing the "wind surfing," but I believe it! I did see a video of a crow "sledding" down a roof in winter over and over.... I'll go look for it real quick and see if I can't attach it to this post : )

Here it is! Now tell me that they aren't thinking, feeling, bright creatures!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="[ame=http://www.youtube.com/embed/mRnI4dhZZxQ]Sledding Crow In Russia - YouTube[/ame]" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[luvmytooo]

I just never saw birds actually tumble like that , let themselves go , and then recover...it was really something to see !
I have seen tumbler pigeons, ( I think that is what theyre called ) but to see those big black gorgeous crows do that , I couldnt believe it !
Very , very cool !

 

[BillsBirds]

I love the way he brings his "sled" back up to do it again. Tumbler pigeons are also called Rollers. They're fun to watch also.

 

[luvmytooo]

Thank you for that video MissyMe83 ! That was really a great video. How smart that crow is to use a plastic cover it looked like as a sled ! They are beautiful creatures.
That crow is truly enjoying itself , lolol. Love it !

 

[luvmytooo]

I love the way he brings his "sled" back up to do it again. Tumbler pigeons are also called Rollers. They're fun to watch also.

Yes , Rollers , I couldnt think of that name , lolol.
When he brought his "sled" back up to the top was what completely cracked me up !! lolol. Ohhh, my side hurts from laughing

 

[roxynoodle]

We had that wind on Friday. Before of what you get today though, because it will be COLD!

 

[luvmytooo]

Thank you , that was a nice read , very enjoyable.
Thinking back to that time outside in the wind and reading this poem , really cool....thanks again , alienus99

 

[Mare Miller]

I loved that book, alienus99! It was truly the inspiration for us to allow Amigo free flight.
Thinking back on his first windy day experience, was pretty scary. He was still just learning to land at that point and the wind added an extra element of excitement for us all! I was afraid he was going to get swept far away but what he ended up doing was, after being blown down the property a ways, hang on to a branch till the wind gave him a break then he flew back to the house. After almost 2yrs. of free flight, I can watch him really enjoying himself, playing in the sky! He likes to dive bomb out of a tall tree then pull up about five feet from the ground and swoop into the next tree, fun to watch!