Murmurations at Ham Wall

Majestic Murmurations

Winter is the time of year to witness the magical murmurations of hundreds of thousands of starlings over the reed beds of the UK.  At the end of December I was lucky enough to visit Ham Wall RSPB reserve near Glastonbury in Somerset with some friends.  The nature reserve can be visited throughout the day but the best times for murmurations are at dusk and dawn.  The volunteers and RSPB employees who work at the reserve can point out where to go to get the best views and as we arrived, a little later in the day than expected, we rushed over to the reed beds in the direction they indicated, a short 10 minute dash so we wouldn't miss anything.

Murmurations of starlings

Different flocks arrive from various directions and swoop and swirl around before dropping down into the reeds, turning the once golden brown reeds into seething black shapes. At first it is hard to believe there are so many birds around but as more flocks join in the eye gets accustomed to what is taking place. The sound of thousand of wing beats overhead and the noisy twittering is quite astounding. 

Thousands of birds landing in the reed bed

As flocks arrive and move together there are pulses of birds rising and swirling before dropping down again. After half an hour or so a mass movement started and streams of birds left the original reed bed, moving across the reserve to another area where the grouping and swooping continued.

A ball of birds

 

A plume of starlings move across the reed beds

We moved further into the reed beds to get closer to the new area of activity and as we walked along the paths thousands of birds flew overhead, chattering and whooshing as they went. 

Starlings flying overhead

A good hour into the display the sounds reduced and the movements calmed and eventually the birds settled down for the night. My friends and I were far from settled though, the experience is really awe-inspiring and we decided then and there to get up before dawn the following morning to see if the same thing would happen again.

Getting up in the dark is hard to do, especially when it is cold and damp. Too early for breakfast at the hotel, we headed out with just a cup of tea to sustain us and drove the few miles back to the reserve.  It was still dark when we arrived and we wandered along the paths using our phone torches to show the way, arriving at the hide closest to where the birds had settled just as the first glow of sunrise was touching the sky.

Dawn breaking over the reed beds at Ham Wall

A handful of hardy souls were already in place with tripods, cameras and binoculars at the ready.  Everything was quiet and still, we listened for signs of movement.  People pointed out areas where they thought they'd spotted activity. As the sky got gradually lighter noises started as the birds woke from their slumbers. First a few tweets and chirrups but soon a groundswell of twittering picked up and the dawn chorus was in full swing.

Small groups of birds flew low over the water from one patch of reeds to another.  As the light levels increased we became aware of large black patches in the reeds and realised that these were masses of birds so close together that none of the reeds could be seen.  The black patches were moving, swelling and expanding, birds would dash out and scoot over the water and others would swoop back again. The noise continued to grow as more birds awoke and the sound of fluttering wings joined in. We watched in amazement.  Masses of birds were rising up and swirling around, setting off on the hunt for food. 

Photographing the action was difficult as the light levels were low and the movements were just blurring but this showed the directions the flocks were heading in quite well.

Movements of the flocks of starlings

All of a sudden the sky turned dark as hundreds of thousands of birds took flight en masse amid incredible sounds of wing beats and twittering, we were completely mesmerised, it was a majestic display!

Masses of starlings leaving the reed beds

We had been at the reserve for just over an hour and now the starlings had gone, as we walked back to the car other birds were beginning to appear; swans, herons and plenty of lapwings but we didn't pay them too much attention, our heads were still full of the amazing sights and sounds we had just experienced. It was time to return to the hotel and get some breakfast.