Starling Trail

A foggy start to the day so I ventured out to the Tor View hide in RSPB Ham Wall on the Somerset Levels.  With limited visibility this hide gets you into the middle of the staring action.

Around 7:45am the birds started to move around the reed beds.

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_0283

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_0344

The groups got bigger and bigger but they were still only bed hopping.

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_0401

There was a roar of wings but in the fog you could not see the flock that must have taken off.  Suddenly, at 8am the birds in front of the hide took to the air.

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_0412

More and more birds appeared through the fog.

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_0425

Exploding Island

With the fog getting thicker I had to switch to my 50mm f1.8 lens.  This lets in lots of light but has no zoom.  So I focused on a small island of reeds next to the hide.  This just about filled the frame and was covered in starlings.

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_0501

On mass the birds started to lift.

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_0507

Black-headed gulls were keen to get into the shot as the birds exploded into the sky.

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_0512

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_0514

The birds fly overhead.  Some droppings even landed on the seats inside the hide!

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_0520

The last few birds leave.

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_0524

The island is empty for another day.

Starlings leave Waltons East – Ham Wall, Somerset, UK. ID 809_0529

And Finally

Back at home I had a go at converting my pictures into a time-lapse movie. There is a bit of a jiggle at the start when the birds took me by surprise after which it is pretty steady.  Remember this series was taken with a standard 50mm lens with no zoom.  As you can see you get very close to the birds in the Tor View hide.