On 27th November 2020, Steve Joul went to see the murmuration of starlings at Fairburn Ings and here is his film and a couple of his photos.
If you wonder what a murmuration of starlings is, the RSPB website describes one as “a mass aerial stunt – thousands of birds all swooping and diving in unison. It’s completely breathtaking to witness.”
When I first moved to Leeds in the early 1980’s, I saw murmurations over Leeds city centre many times as dusk fell and they were an awe-inspiring sight. Unfortunately, in about the mid-80’s Leeds City Council decided that the starlings caused too much damage to buildings like the Town Hall and put in place netting and other measures to move the starlings on – if you look at the Town Hall you will see the netting. In a way, I can understand, having left my car in Park Square for an hour one evening in 1983: when I returned, the car was covered from top to bottom in foul smelling goo deposited by the starlings – and it was very hard to remove! However, I have always felt that in losing the starlings from Leeds City centre we lost something special.
The starlings form a murmuration as they gather over their roosting site. It is believed that they do it because grouping together offers safety in numbers – as predators like peregrine falcons find it difficult to target one bird in the middle of such a large number. Starlings gather to keep warm over night and, according to the RSPB website, to exchange information, such as about good feeding areas (which if true is amazing!).
Steve commented on his trip to Fairburn Ings: “The evening far exceeded my expectations: the development of the flock, the dramatic drops into the reeds, the sounds, the changing evening colours, the lovely weather.”
How fantastic! If you get the chance to see a murmuration, I strongly recommend that you take it! This is a murmuration which Barbara filmed in Skipton in February 2019.
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