Duck gathering in Michigan turns out to be a record-breaker
WeirdNews
Duck gathering in Michigan turns out to be a record-breaker
(Web Desk) - What appeared to be a developing oil spill in the Mackinac Straits region of Michigan was actually a gigantic swarm of tens of thousands of ducks and other waterfowl.
Divers who were worried about a potential oil spill began calling the Mackinac Bridge Authority on December 21 of last year. The number of calls about the oil spill increased as time went on, which was to be expected given that the black mass that had gathered on the water appeared to be expanding. But instead of oil, there was a record-breaking swarm of Redhead ducks. Near 7,000 of them were first congregated there, according to the authorities, under and around the Mackinac Bridge. Since then, their population has increased, and the “oil spill” currently consists of several tens of thousands of birds.
Authorities repeatedly assured worried callers that the oil slicks they were trying to report were just an abnormally big flock of birds, but many of them didn’t seem persuaded, according to Fox 2 Detroit. To be fair, from a distance the black mass does appear extremely different.
A Michigan bird watcher who was able to capture some images of the enormous bird crowd this week estimated that there were about 25,000 birds there and continuing to rise. As the ducks get ready to migrate to the Gulf of Mexico for the winter, it appears that such gatherings are common.
It’s not anticipated that the ducks will stick together for very long; as soon as the ice forms, they will begin moving toward Mexico, but for the time being, there is safety in numbers.
“Your chances are very excellent that you’re going to get away if an eagle comes out here if you’re surrounded by a couple of thousand other ones like you,” bird counter Steve Baker told The Detroit Free Press.
