Possibly the last murmuration?
This time last year they had pretty much left the area and the bulk migrated, this year there not playing by the book and I'm putting it down to the rough weather maybe?
Numbers were up this weekend again, Thinking this may be the last murmuration for the season that I would see I've titles this possibly the last murmuration as I struggle to get out of work in time during the week to check on them. I'll just add that they are still here and that will follow in a few days
Please don't ask for location as its private granted access sorry.
I have been following this roost now for a few years.
Each visit is a new and different display of these amazing birds.
Murmurations are huge groups of starlings that twist, turn, swoop and swirl across the sky in beautiful shape-shifting clouds.
Just before dusk, small groups of starlings from the same area come together above a communal roosting site. The group grows ever larger, moving in unison in an aerial dance that casts gorgeous shapes against the waning daylight.
Starlings are known as ‘partial migrants’: birds that migrate in some places but not in others. Our own starlings tend to stay put while those from colder countries in eastern Europe head to our shores, swelling our numbers during autumn and winter to form seriously impressive flocks.
Scientists believe that murmurations offer safety in numbers; protection from predators like peregrine falcons that are attracted by the sheer number of birds. After all, it can’t be easy to single out just one starling from a whirling group of hundreds or even thousands! Experts still aren’t completely sure how each starling knows which way to turn without bumping into the others.
Murmurations always form over the birds’ communal roosting site. As the number of starlings reaches its peak and the last of the daylight begins to fade, an unspoken signal seems to tell the group to funnel towards the ground with one last sweeping motion and calming whoosh of wings. Roosts can be anything from a reedbed to a seaside pier where the group can huddle together for warmth and chatter about the best feeding grounds.
Track credit : Unclubbed 2 - I'm Not Alone (with Jenny Lynn Smith)
UnClubbed2 is an inspired collection of stripped back, acoustic covers of some of dance music's best-loved tunes. These laid back, blissed out covers are performed by a range of hugely talented vocalists including previous UnClubbed collaborators Abigail Bailey and Zoe Durrant, new to the UnClubbed project but established artists Kim Wayman (Telepopmusik) and Sarah Howells plus fresh voices Jenny Lynn Smith and Gerard O'Connell.
