Birds in Flight, flying in the clouds at flocks of Starlings at Blackpool, Lancashire, UK. Starling murmuration at sunset. One of the great birding spectacles of the winter is the starlings' pre-roost assembly. Prior to settling down for the night, flocks of these gregarious birds swoop around until there is one enormous, swirling black mass. In the winter up to a million birds, swarm, swoop, shift, swirl and twirl, moving as one while performing amazing aerial acrobatics. this ballet at dusk is a pre-roosting phenomenon known as starling murmuration.
On windy days, the huge flocks of mumurating starlings whose numbers are estimated at 20,000 plus take to resting momentarily on the beach at low tide. The noise they make can be described as a mumur or chatter, but is quite intense and is thought to form part of a communication of sorts. The interaction between the huge numbers is amazing and is thought to be formed on the single principal of maintaining a defined distance to nearest the neighbour. In this close knit formation they then appear to form, what are in effect, random shapes depending on the viewer's viewpoint.
Size: 3134px × 2089px
Location: Blackpool, Lancashire, UK
Photo credit: © MediaWorldImages / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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