As spectacles go, the roof of a house seemingly lifting-up, fragmenting and taking flight is pretty special and it’s a memory that will stick with Londoner Richard Spink.
That was the impression he was left with when thousands of starlings, which had settled on a neighbours’ house in Thamesmead, came and went in waves, their bodies filling the sky over his head.
Richard said: “What I captured in the ten photos was a fraction of the number of birds. They covered both sides of the roof and were on our home too. Our garden backs onto the Thames, we have nature reserves and the Crossness Sewage Treatment Works nearby, so there’s plenty of greenspace. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this number coming and going. It was quite a sight.”
London used to have huge flocks of starlings and the birds are still the number one most common garden bird recorded in the RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch for Greater London. Numbers of the speckled birds have dropped 84% since the Birdwatch began in 1979.
The RSPB’s Tim Webb said “You can almost hear and feel the beat of wings as they lift into the air when you look at Richard’s amazing photos. Clouds of starlings form swirling patterns each evening as they gather to rest. It’s one of nature’s most mesmerizing sights and to witness this number in the Capital is an increasingly rare experience.”
Starlings are just one of the many UK species declining in number. A lack of natural food and nesting spaces are amongst some of the more common problems. The RSPB’s Give Nature a Home campaign is encouraging everyone to support wildlife by sowing wildflowers, growing hedges or planting trees in suitable locations. Visit rspb.org.uk/homes for more information.