Starling Trail
It has been a while but the starlings are back roosting at RSPB Ham Wall. I missed several opportunities in November, but eventually some good weather aligned with my time off from my day job. And, it has been a beautiful few days. Wonderfull colours in the sky and five hundred thousand birds.
The best vantage points are where the starlings arrive between you and the sunset.
It does not always go to plan, and often the birds descend into the reeds through a dull sky.
Of course, there are plenty of distractions to watch such as the dancing marsh harriers.
But the starlings are the star of the show.
The birds rarely make the murmuration patterns we all hope to see.
The dawn at Ham Wall can be glorious. Sitting in a hide waiting for the sun to rise and the starlings to lift out of the reeds.
We have had some amazing morning colours.
Shoveler ducks provided the entertainment during a cold morning’s wait.
The starlings gather in one spot ready to leave the reserve for the day. In real life it looks much darker than it looks in the pictures.
Suddenly, the birds explode in to the air.
Flocks pour out of the reserve across the red skies.
And finally…
There are usually large crowds at Ham Wall in the evening. Not surprisingly many visitors are excited to see a marsh harrier. But to me the best time to watch them is in the morning when they dance in the sky focusing down into the reeds.
This picture is a composite of four photographs of a marsh harrier dancing in front of the sunrise from the Tor View hide.