Starling Trail

by Jeff Bevan · Published 14th January 2017 · Updated 16th January 2017

I have been going to the Tor View to watch the spectacular display of starlings leaving their roost for several mornings. So today I decided to have a change and go to the south side of Waltons Heath and watch the birds lift over the hide. Things did not go to plan!

The Moon

The moon today was fantastic, shining down the line of the path along the southern edge of Waltons Heath. I wanted to capture the birds flying in front the moon.

Full moon – Over Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_3086

The screen on this path was well placed as I could see the Tor View hide and look up the path towards the moon.

South Central Sceeen – Waltons Heath, Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_3096

The sky was perfect with the full-ish moon providing an unusual morning light.

Twiggy – Waltons Heath, Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_3103

The Starlings

On schedule the starlings lifted out of Waltons Heath (East) and flew up and over the Tor View hide dropping back down in Waltons Heath (West).

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_3119

Near to me the birds kept low and fast. Further away the birds flew high in the sky avoiding the hide by some distance. I could not see but the hide would have been full of people.

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_3151

Several small waves of birds filled the sky.

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_3215

So far so good, but most birds had been roosting in Loxtons Marsh and disappeared behind me. They were too far away to photograph in the low light. The Waltons birds had re-grouped in the far west. This was too far away in the opposite direction. I found myself perfectly positioned between two big groups of birds but not close enough to either.

This was the best shot I got of the birds in front of the moon. I had hoped this sky would be full of birds. Maybe next time!