Wild Bird Wednesday 624 - Starlings

The Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is one of the 20 most abundant birds in the UK.  But this statistic hides a considerable decline in population: at last estimate there were 1.8 million pairs of Starling in the UK, but this is less than 50% of the population that was present in the 1960s. The UK starling population UK has fallen rapidly, particularly since the early 1980s and continues decline. There have also be population declines in northern Europe.  This is not a pretty picture for a once ubiquitous species. 

In the winter the UKs population is increased by birds from continental Europe, and as this time they form large roosting flocks of up to a million birds.  At these roost sites murmurations can occur - these are the flocks of seemingly coordinated birds that form rapidly changing patterns in the sky.  The exact reason why Starlings behave in this way is not fully understood, but it seem likely that it is related to predator avoidance.

When I was in Somerset at the end of the year I went to Shapwick Heath Nature Reserve to watch a murmuration.  There were good numbers of starling about on the evening - as well as booming bitterns - but the sky was a little grey!  Oh well.

These are some of the images I took on that evening.

Each dot in this picture is a starling!

And these are some of the shapes and patterns they made.

Given that the light and the weather were pretty ordinary, I was pleased with the pictures.

As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below.  Cheers  SM

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