I'm talking about good murmurations...
Post categories: birds,Ìýthings to do
| 11:16 UK time, Monday, 28 February 2011
Okay, so it hasn't quite got the same ring to it as the classic Beach Boys track 'Good Vibrations' but it's just as spectacular to watch and listen to! As thousands of starlings take to the skies each night prior to roosting.
Nobody knows why they do it, which makes it all the more fascinating. Some suggest it's done for safety in numbers i.e. the birds gather 'en masse' (before settling down for the night), making it hard for predators such as owls and peregrines to pick them off individually at dusk.
Others believe it's literally a pecking order - deciding who goes where and organising themselves into groups (on the wing) before landing.
But perhaps they're just being sociable and catching up with each other before bed time?
Whatever the reason, it's clearly something important for the birds to do as they use up precious calories flying around in great flocks, when they could just simply land.
A starling murmuration by Sharon Williams.
Still baffled? Watch videos of starling murmurations here.
Aberystwyth Pier has always been a hot spot for this spectacle in Wales - so much so, that and made a short film about the pier starlings.
There are however plenty of other places to find starlings and I've been contacted recently by Dave Brennan in Carmarthen who reports: "A huge starling flock roosting at St David's Hospital/Trinity College in Carmarthen with flock estimates currently around 250,000-300,000 birds."
"It's an absolutely fantastic spectacle in the evenings but not everybody living nearby is entirely happy due to smell! The birds will probably be leaving to return to continent soon though."
And in South Wales, Keith Davies has seen large flocks in Newton, Porthcawl: "Tonight I came home and they had all come to rest in the shrubs and bushes on the roundabout at the bottom of Danygraig hill on the way into Porthcawl. The sight was amazing and I think this is going to be a regular event."
If you've seen a good sized flock in your area then send in a photo or video to our or you can email me here at wales.nature@bbc.co.uk
Gull
Comments Post your comment