Starling Flypast

It may not be on the scale of the fabulous displays at Gretna Green or Leighton Moss, but the starlings put on a great show above Bradford City Park this evening.

For me this is another way in which the shortening and lengthening of the days is marked. I tend to walk through the city centre at the same time each evening, but there are only two points in the year when, for a week or so, my walk coincides with the starlings settling down at night. Tonight they were displaying when I arrived at the City Park just after 5, and they were moving in to roost on the belltower of the town hall at about 5:20. It was also a bigger murmuration than I'd seen there for a while, with the flock getting replenished with smaller groups arriving as the display developed.

Getting a good image was a bit hit and miss, not helped by the light rain falling on the lens, but this arrangement of the flock in the shape of a bird selected itself.

A nice natural wonder, in the heart of the city.

starlings swoop
above the city
murmuring wings