Nature's Corner - Murmurations

Murmurations – Pictures in the sky!

Every Winter in the UK, we are lucky enough to have an influx of hundreds of thousands of Starlings mainly from Northern Europe and Scandinavia. Like so many other migrants, they arrive here to avoid the harsher Winters in their countries of origin.

The Starlings will add their huge numbers to our UK resident population of 1.8 million and will join forces with them to feed in vast flocks out on the open fields and moorland, as well as invading farm buildings where cattle or sheep are present and of course, making a nuisance of themselves at the garden feeders!

I am sure we've all seen the amazing spectacle of a murmuration on TV but to actually experience first-hand the loud whoosh or murmur (which is where the name comes from) as they fly en masse low over your head and form shapes in the evening air that Van Goch or even Picasso would have been proud of is something very special indeed.

It is widely thought that these murmurations are a visual invitation to attract other starlings to join a group night roost and that the birds huddle together to share their body heat, it may be that it can dissuade or confuse potential predators such as Peregrine Falcons or Sparrowhawks.

Reed beds are a huge favourite for these mass roosts, and we have two quite close to where we are; RSPB Conwy is always a favourite with the reeds on the lagoons at the reserve easily viewed from the parking area outside the reserve itself, the other being the reed bed at the entrance to Presthaven Sands caravan park at Gronant. It is amazing to see the birds arriving in small flocks and joining those already in the air above the reeds, then the shapes become more prominent with denser areas forming as they crossover sometimes appearing to make “Balloon” like shapes on high before plummeting into the reedbed almost like liquid being poured!

The sound emanating from the reeds once the Starlings have started to settle for the night is a cacophony of chatter and squabbling for the best perch on the reed stems that bend over under the weight of the alighting birds.

Of course, there are other roosts such as piers and jetties, with Aberystwyth pier being one of the more famous, but there are also impressive gatherings during the late evening around the Foryd (Blue) bridge at Rhyl, with the Starlings assembling in good numbers on the Yacht masts in the harbour before murmurating and swooping down onto the lower bridge structures out of sight for the night.

Best time to see them is the last half hour of daylight on a pleasant, still evening between late October through to late February.

Impressive birds when the sun shines on their plumage too; looking very much like small black jobs from afar, their feathers are in fact a blend of purples, blues, greens and reds covered in little gold coloured flecks. Love them or hate them, there s no doubt they are a real success story in the avian world. .....Dave Parry.