Monday 21 November 2011

Starlings seen on my journey to work............. plus a Youtube sensation

I spotted these Starlings as I travelled to work this morning.
They were all huddled together on the telephone wires.
I stopped to watch and they started to swoop down and feed amongst the stubble of the field.




Rubbish images but it was lovely to watch.
I have heard there are about 15,000 roosting starlings at Moore Nature Reserve.
I have a few days off work at the end of the week so I hope to have a visit.

On Friday night in the UK we have a wildlife programme on the BBC... Autumnwatch.
Fridays episode showed a wonderful video clip of starlings flocking and about to roost.
It's known as a "Murmuration of Starlings" and is spectacular to see.
Here is that clip.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

"The video clip was removed by the owner on Youtube but I have found another version.
 It was wonderful to see the delight on the faces of the girls as they watched the starlings from their canoes.

 I have found another clip of these wonderful birds gathering in the evening before settling down for the night.
Just in case the original disappears again.



My little flock looks so paltry in comparison.

To see more wonderful birds click on the image below to view
World Bird Wednesday LIII
CLICK THIS PICTURE!
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37 comments:

  1. TexWisGirl21 November 2011 at 19:08

    the murmuration video on the web is really amazing to see!

    i'm starting to see blackbirds and starlings here again too. always a sign of fall/winter...

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  2. Magia da Inês21 November 2011 at 19:18

    ❤ FANTÁSTICO!...
    º° ♥ Boa semana, amigo!
    Beijinhos.
    º°❤ Brasil

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  3. John21 November 2011 at 20:09

    Hi Andrew,
    These are great images!
    That film on Autumnwatch was something to behold wasn`t it!? Quite amazing! I was lucky the other day in watching a flock, although not on the same scale as this film, in Peterborough along with Mike Weedon. We counted a few thousand at least!
    J
    Follow me at HEDGELAND TALES

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  4. ADRIAN21 November 2011 at 20:20

    Why do they do it? They are quite bright. Seems such a waste of energy. It is great to watch though.

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  5. Bob Bushell21 November 2011 at 21:13

    They are great, with a funny call, and they come together at bedtime. Your video is more than beautiful, it is a "Murmuration of Starlings".

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  6. Unknown21 November 2011 at 21:24

    Wow!! What a sight. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  7. Malgorzata Ingstad21 November 2011 at 22:12

    Amazing sight!

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  8. tiptoethruphylsgarden.blogspot.com21 November 2011 at 22:57

    I`m sure that they have a reason for gathering & bunching up like that,but wow,what alot of them!phyllis

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  9. joo21 November 2011 at 23:00

    Fascinating post!

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  10. John @ Beans and I on the Loose21 November 2011 at 23:11

    Wonderful, Nature is.

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  11. Unknown22 November 2011 at 01:32

    It's a wonderful thing! I think your shots are great! My husband and I saw some starlings last spring doing that. We were in awe and it was just a tiny flock - I did put it on my blog - I will have to link it up to WBW someday.

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  12. Chatty Crone22 November 2011 at 02:33

    I can't help but think that migration is a miracle from God. sandie

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  13. Unknown22 November 2011 at 12:16

    Fantastic captures! As to the video, I've seen something similar in Africa, but never knew which birds those were.

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  14. The Herald22 November 2011 at 14:33

    Andrew, they're amazing to watch but for some reason just a little bit scary, it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! Just the sheer scale of it I think!...[;o)

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  15. Brian King22 November 2011 at 17:14

    Wow! That's a LOT of birds! Typically, I'm not a fan of starlings, but to see that many at once is amazing.

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  16. Rambling Woods22 November 2011 at 18:37

    That link was posted to my birding group...amazing..I always think how relieved I am they aren't at my bird feeders....Michelle

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  17. mick22 November 2011 at 19:03

    Very interesting to see all those Starling roosting on the wires. Great to get some photos of them too.

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  18. Fábio Martins22 November 2011 at 19:08

    Very nice set. A lot of birds there!

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  19. holdingmoments22 November 2011 at 20:27

    One of natures most amazing spectacles.

    There's a roost here, that I must get to see again.

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  20. Pat22 November 2011 at 22:21

    That huge flock in the video is really amazing and beautiful to see! You captured quite a few starlings yourself.

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  21. Springman22 November 2011 at 23:24

    Those are my kind of girls!
    Talk about a nature rush.They really saw it.
    Thanks for the great turn on to this video Andrew, that was wild!

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  22. The Glebe Blog22 November 2011 at 23:41

    The last big gathering of Starlings I saw was near Hibaldstow in Lincolnshire about 1980.
    It's quite amazing how they act in unison.
    Great post

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  23. eileeninmd23 November 2011 at 00:48

    It is cool to see these large groups of birds, great sighting and photos. The video is cool!

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  24. Tracey Leeder23 November 2011 at 02:40

    I cant imagine actually witnessing something like the murmuration shown in the video. It would be amazing really. Thanks for sharing. Love your starling shots too.

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  25. Jo23 November 2011 at 06:59

    Hi Andrew, I popped by here from World Bird Wednesday blog. I love flocks of birds and tried to capture such a scene of swallows on a powerline just this Sunday. the photos were nowhere near the real thing! I couldn't open the video. But no problem, I enjoyed your post. Greetings Jo (Kenya)

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  26. Hilke Breder23 November 2011 at 12:38

    Starling flocks are amazing to watch. You wonder how they coordinate their flight. I have seen several video clips but couldn't open yours. Anyway nice photos of them roosting on a wire.

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  27. Nature Rambles23 November 2011 at 16:07

    What an amazing sight!!

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  28. NatureFootstep23 November 2011 at 19:15

    I found that clip too. It´s pretty amazing. :)

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  29. Pantherka23 November 2011 at 19:27

    Andrew, amazing and fascinating video.

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  30. Arija23 November 2011 at 20:23

    Fabulous clips Andrew. The first one is like a black aurora playing across the sky and yes, the joy and wonder on the girl's faces is priceless
    Your second shot is like black snow falling, is it the end of the world??

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  31. Sallie (FullTime-Life)24 November 2011 at 01:04

    I adore the word murmuration. New to me, but perfect. I will come back and look at all your videos as soon as we get into one spot. Our Class B caravan is too small (in the evening Bill is watching TV while I'm on the computer and he's 6 steps away, so we can't both be listening. (Or else and worse, he's on the computer ;>)). Daytimes we're on the road after breakfast and I lose my blogging/coffee hour that I have when we're home (wherever that is ;>). But it's all good and all worth it.

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  32. Reena24 November 2011 at 02:56

    Those starlings are amazing! Loved the video!

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  33. Deb24 November 2011 at 03:57

    we have a lot of starlings here....

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  34. Jo24 November 2011 at 06:09

    Hi Andrew, followed you back from your comment on my blog. This scene reminds me of the Barn Swallows which spend from October to March in an area just north of Durban. The roost in reedbeds and have attracted visitors from all over SA and abroad to view this spectacular scene. Just like your starlings! They built an airport on that spot to accommodate last year's world cup soccer held in SA. Of course there were protests and petitions to no avail. I've not looked at the link to see whether this affected the roosting swallows in the way the protesters said it would. How amazing that you were born in SA! That must be on the South Coast of Natal. Amamzimtoti, perhaps? I was also born in Durban and my husband was born in Pietermaritzburg just 90km north and inland of Durban. We are now living as expats in Kenya and home is in the Free State in Central South Africa! I hope to follow your blog. Kind regards. Jo

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  35. Carole M.24 November 2011 at 07:28

    wonderful to see your post; firstly your starlings on the wires and grande-finale with the video-clips you added. Thanks for sharing; really spectacular those formations created by the starlings over the lake.

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  36. Art24 November 2011 at 15:05

    Lovely post!

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  37. Larry25 November 2011 at 03:10

    Great post on the Starlings Andrew! Nice shots of them on the wires. They like to roost on the high voltage towers here. I saw a few flocks of Starlings last week numbering in the five to six hundreds but have never seen anything like this. Awesome videos!

    Here in the US Vaux Swift flocks numbering in the thousands form in September and roost in a famous chimney in Portland Oregon at Chapman School. They circle the chimney like a funnel as they dive in to roost. Here's one video of the event.

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