Another attempt at "proper" birding

I had no ill effects from either Christmas food or the chest problem that started before Christmas,it was a glorious winters afternoon so we had no excuse for not trying some proper birding that we had not been able to fit in over the last couple of weeks. Our local reserve,about 10 mins drive away can be quite good for both Gull roosts and Starling murmurations. As it was the last couple of hours of daylight we thought this would be our best bet. By the time we sorted ourselves out the light was fading a bit so we walked to what we consider the best viewpoint to watch for Starlings. We were in luck as within 5 minutes of getting set up small groups of birds were moving in and performing a little dance over the reed beds. As the flocks gathered together we began to get a proper display with probably 5,000 birds doing their best dance. Not big as the size of murmurations goes but it seemed pretty good to us and lasted 20/25 minutes before they all dived to roost in the reeds and the show was over. A nice return to some proper birding again,let's hope it continues.

  • That's really good news Pete & bodes well for 2019. We used to get some murmurations near our previous home but haven't seen any around here. They are certainly a sight worth seeing, so well done.

    I was reading your about your childrens bins on another thread & I thought the magnifying glass with a light sounded great. Another idea could be a bug raising basket that you can put caterpillars in & watch them transform into butterflies (great for adults too). 

  • So good to hear you managed to get out to see the Starlings and 20 - 25 minute display was a good viewing as sometimes I've seen them dive into the reeds after 5 mins !    When numbers build up it is thrilling to hear the beat of their wings as they circle the area making those wonderful shapes before swooshing down into the reeds for the night - I think it is one of those experiences you never forget and stays with you.      Hope you get in a lot more birding in 2019 Pete and it is a good year for you and yours.    

  • We had seen somewhere that you could make something like a bug basket yourself so we intend to have a go at that when we have them on a sleep over,last time we were making a kazoo and a basic harmonica.

  • Nice to hear you managed to get out for a while Pete, they say there are around 100,000 starlings at LM at the moment and should get more comming in I might pop over when weather is a little better and try and get somw pictures or a movie of them.

  • As you say, a murmuration, and even a small one,  is a great way to return. Good luck on further trips