A mini-murmuration of Starlings - Newhaven - 1.12.2015

Murmurations are those swirling masses of Starlings making moving clouds before the birds land to roost for the night. The groups can run into hundreds of thousands. I have counted about sixty in this little cluster. I am not sure whether they all roost on that lighting mast for the night. There are well known murmurations that roost on the wreck of Brighton's West Pier and also on Hastings pier.There are a couple of shots of ones at Hastings here www.ipernity.com/doc/philsutters/28464963 and www.ipernity.com/doc/philsutters/28464965 Another great location where there are huge numbers is on the Somerset Levels. There is research going on to gauge the numbers and to study the murmuration activity, across the UK. The Royal Society of Biology and the University of Gloucester are asking for sightings to be recorded on their special website. www.rsb.org.uk/get-involved/biologyweek/starling-survey