Swishing you a Merry Christmas
I HAVE to mention starlings again this week, because I have been treated to the best-ever aerial display just a couple of days ago.
Starling murmurations are the great gatherings of the birds as they seek a roost to stay warm in the colder months.
Resident birds are joined by migrants from Northern Europe as they swoosh and swish across bright, cloudless winter skies.
At the moment we have a number of giant North West murmurations happening; at Blackpool, Leighton Moss and our Lancashire Wildlife Trust nature reserve, Brockholes, off the M6 at Preston.
I was attending an event at Brockholes and popped outside around 4pm to see thousands and thousands of starlings in an astonishing murmuration that went on for some 20 minutes.
Last year it was estimated that there were 20,000 birds involved.
I have been reliably informed that this year there were many more.
As I arrived groups of between 20 and 30 birds were rushing around, with clear blue-turningto-oranges skies behind them.
Then, they started getting together in their hundreds then thousands.
At one point more than half the big sky was covered in birds, it took my breath away.
They swished around above the tree line, creating shapes that let your imagination run wild – ‘look a bottlenosed dolphin!’ ‘a dog’s snout!’ ‘a giant whale!’
As they close in together there are huge black areas and then they whoosh away, like waves on a frisky sea.
I stress, this is one of the wonders of wildlife and it’s happening here in the North West, right on our doorsteps.
How do tens of thousands of birds manage to choreograph these amazing moves without running into each other?
The most amazing thing is that these some are the same starlings that squabble on my bird table.
Dozens of them turn up and, if they are spooked, they shoot off in all directions; every so often one of them crashes into a window.
If you have a bird table, you will know the starling and its purple and green sheened feathers.
Its boisterous behaviour makes your garden a noisy place.
Imagine what 20,000 of them sound like!
One thing I must mention is the closing stages of any murmuration.
Groups, involving hundreds of birds, suddenly drop in formation from the sky into a tree or reedbed.
There is a ‘whuuusha’ noise and then lots of chattering in the foliage.
When you watch starling murmurations your heart misses a beat every time they flow back towards one another.
And, if you are lucky, they will fly en masse over your head.
These moments are very special indeed.
If the weather is fine over Christmas, head out to Brockholes or other starling hotspots and enjoy a festive treat.