We had spectacular views of the starling roost on Wednesday evening. The evening was bright with hardly a breath of wind and so we stood in the viewing lay-by on the seafront and waited. By 16:30 the number of starlings on the overhead power cables near Marazion town were massing. Then flock after flock gently breezed in over the marsh from the west and the north forming a large super flock high above the tree line. They swirled to and fro, back and forth occasionally whooshing over our heads before drifting back over the reeds. The flock was dispersed by a grey heron flying through the starlings and then by a confused sparrowhawk flying below them before disappearing into the woods. Eventually the flock began to descend lower and lower until they felt bold enough to cascade into the reedbed in one big black mass, which vanished without a trace in the tall reeds.
If you plan to visit the starling roost make sure you arrive early (an hour before sunset) and wear warm clothes. On cold wet nights you may find that the starling do not dance in the sky for long periods, instead they arrive in small flocks and go straight into the reedbed to shelter.