It was a great shame that, before Christmas, our Starling murmuration dispersed and disappeared to pastures new. However, a late discussion about work in the car park, and... what’s that?!
Over the farm and the woodland we could see a murmuration. Our Starlings had returned!
The past couple of nights I have been down to our silt pool look out watching over 2500 Starlings murmurating over the silt pool and reedbed, flying around making incredible whooshing noises as they pass overhead and then ultimately dropping, like being poured from a jug, into the reeds and settling down.
But why do our Starlings murmurate like this?
It is generally thought that Starlings group together for a number of reasons. Protection and warmth are probably the 2 main factors as predators such as Sparrowhawks and Peregrines find it difficult to target one individual among a huge flock of birds and a large group of birds together can produce a lot of warmth once they settle, especially important during these cold and freezing nights.
Another theory is that they can share information. Much like us, we tell people where we have eaten that day and whether it was good or bad, it is thought that Starlings can communicate good feeding areas, especially as they are likely to travel over 15 miles away from the roost!
However, this isn’t only a great place to see the Starling roost...
On Wednesday night I saw Goldcrests in the trees, Water rails calling from the reeds, Sparrowhawks doing their best to catch the Starlings and 10 Little egrets flying over the silt pool to roost in the heronry.
But this isn’t where the action stops! You can also witness another spectacle as in the woodland behind you, over 300 Rooks are coming into roost in the tops of the trees. It is a real spectacle to watch these generally under-appreciated birds coming in great numbers to roost and the noise is hugely impressive, especially when they get disturbed and they all pile out of the trees calling to each other and then proceed to squabble about where they are going to settle.
So why not drop down one evening and witness not one, but multiple wildlife spectacles. You will not be disappointed as you watch 2500+ Starlings whooshing around the sky, listen to more than 300 Rooks as they fight over the best roost spot or watch numerous elegant Little egrets as they make their way to the Heronry. Add Sparrowhawks and Water rails on top of this and it really is an experience worth watching. Just remember, you might need a hat when the Starlings fly overhead!
A lovely photo which makes me more determined than ever to come over to visit! Its nice to have your blogs to whet my appetite. Some fab winter wildlife spectacles to hear about in the mean time :)