In the lands of the North, where the Black Rocks stand guard against the cold sea, in the dark night that is very long, word spreads amongst the starling flocks. Tales of an amazing, food-rich, safe haven are told. The name Otmoor is squawked from thousands of bills. And so (almost!) every year at this time, the numbers of starlings feeding and more importantly roosting on Otmoor starts to build up, as birds escaping the freezing cold of Northern Europe make their way over the North Sea to join us.
Our normal spiel is that the numbers build from mid-November through into December and then depending on weather conditions the roost might stay into the new year. This seems to be holding true at the moment and already up to 15000 starlings have been seen going to roost in the reedbed about an hour before sunset, with numbers set to build as we move into November. We had at least 50000 last year, with some great sky-dancing displays so lets see what happens this time around!
Marsh harrier, merlin, peregrines and sparrowhawks are all present on the moor at the moment, with the starling roost being a great attraction for these aerial predators. The photo below (taken by Terry Sherlock) at the weekend shows the salivating marsh harrier lost in a cloud of starlings.
For those old enough to remember, this sounds like the start of a classic Noggin the Nog story. I look forward to the RSPB giving the starlings of the north a home on Otmoor for the winter (and lapwings, golden plovers, wigeons and teals of course).