Starling Murmuration

Earlier in the year I was excited to find out about a large murmuration of approximately 20,000 starlings, only a couple of miles from me. They would gather over a field before landing at their overnight roost. I visited this area a number of times, whilst these birds were returning each evening and putting on an aerial display. Initially they would arrive in small groups, circling around the outskirts of a large field/quarry, gradually increasing in numbers as others joined from all directions.

The group are quite orderly during the early stages of collecting but once all individuals are present and the light rapidly begins to fade, the murmuration hits its spectacular crescendo. During the final minutes before roosting, the group tends to get a little lower and follow a tighter, more predictable path. This is often the point when predators try their luck, sending the starlings into a more freeform jazz arrangement, creating some incredible shapes as they attempt to avoid their attacks.

I put more time into recording video than taking photos as it’s hard to do it justice with still images, not to mention the low light when it takes place. So I’ll lead with the two video edits I made followed by a few photos.

Using a slow shutter speed in this photo, I was able to capture the group at the perfect moment where the slower moving birds are frozen in flight and the faster ones are a blur. This is the one photo I took that I think conveys the “organised chaos” of the murmuration. The contrast between the static and the motion blur helps give it a real kinetic energy.

The setting sun made for some stunning looking skies over the quarry which really put the cherry on top of an already fantastic cake. It was hard to imagine being anywhere better during those few moments.