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No.2
Starling flocks

The aerial display of vast flocks of Starlings gathering together to roost is a winter spectacular not to be missed. At some sites the numbers reach several million birds, turning the sky almost black in colour.

Since 1970 Starling numbers have declined by 66% in Britain.

In winter there can be millions of these birds at roosts around the country. The numbers are boosted as many birds from northern and eastern Europe join the British population.

The birds flock together largely because there’s safety in numbers – there are more eyes to spot danger allowing the Starlings to spend more time feeding.

Starlings look black from a distance but have an iridescent purple and blue plumage spangled with white or buff in winter. Their backs are speckled with gold shaped ‘tears’ together with a purple and green sheen. Male birds have a blue base to their yellow bills while females have a pink one.

At around 21cms the bird is smaller and stockier than a Blackbird, and is characterised by its perky appearance and jerky walk.ÌýÌý

The Starling is a noisy bird making a variety of clicks, gurgles, and squawking notes. Their bird song is a quick-fire mixture of gurgles, rattles, trills and whistles. They area also good mimics of other birds' calls and sounds. They can even mimic mobile phones.

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Photo credits

Photos c/o Jaybee and North East Wildlife

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Photo gallery

Watch and Listen

Watch an aerial display of Starlings off Brighton's piers with presenter Janet Sumner:

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playing audio/video

Tips

Tips for viewing this species:

• A great thing is that wherever you live in the UK, there’s almost certainly a Starling show near you. Starlings are widespread through most of Britain except very high ground. The bird likes open grassland, farmland, parks and playing fields as well as suburban gardens.
• The largest starling roost in the country is Westhay, a Somerset Wildlife trust reserve in the Somerset Levels. There can be as many as eight million birds in winter - their numbers grow as the weather gets colder in December/January time. The numbers are swelled by birds from Poland and Russia if cold winters occur there.
• Other good places to watch the Starling spectacle are Ham Wall in Somerset, Hinton near Slimbridge (Gloucestershire), Minsmere, Slapton Ley and Brighton's West Pier.
• Winter is the best season for huge displays of Starlings. December is the month with the highest numbers and best displays.
• Look out for great morphing displays of these birds when there are clear skies and good calm, sunny weather
• Listen for the Starling's noisy calls - a 'tcheerr' sound and a mix of gurgles, rattles, trills and whistles.
• Take your binoculars for a closer view of individual birds on the ground but the aerial display of birds can be seen easily with the naked eye.

Habitat

The Starling is commonly seen feeding noisily in gardens. It has a reputation for being quarrelsome and a bit of a bully but much of this mock aggression is simply for show and is aimed at other Starlings.

Starlings form dense noisy 'murmurations' - no other small bird, apart from waders create such vast flocks that look like clouds of smoke from a distance.

These birds leave their roosts in an incredibly organised fashion, usually in staggered groups. The noisy flock falls silent every now and again to signal that a group is about to leave.

One of the best places to see a Starling spectacle is Brighton's West Pier despite it being derelict. Every evening the Starlings put on some of the very best shape-shifting displays in the land. However, numbers are declining at Brighton, down from around 80,000 in the 1990’s to around 33,000. There is also a large roost at the Palace Pier but these birds don’t tend to morph.

Another good spot is Camrose in west Wales where there's a roost with even greater numbers than Brighton. The birds fly into the wood on the edge of the village, coming in from every direction from miles around. First thing in the morning, hundreds, sometimes thousands of the starlings stream out in all directions. They’re gone all day, returning at dusk.