November 12th was a golden morning, as bright as a ripe rosy apple. After the heavy gloom and rain we’ve endured recently, we just had to take advantage of the weather and take Rosy, Ferdy and Pippin out down the lane and for a trot along the muddy track in the sunshine. Charles had received an intriguing email that morning about an unusual event.. a murmuration of starlings that would be spectacular to witness and that it might take place at sunset at Titchmarsh Lakes.. During the winter months large numbers visit Britain from the continent and converge together at night to rest . We knew just had to go and invited our friends to join us.
It was a scramble to get there by 3.30 as the car park and verges were covered in parked cars . We joined the stream of people quietly but purposefully walking towards the lakes – it felt like a pilgrimage. We stopped on an open path between the two lakes. There was no guarantee that anything would happen as the starlings move to different locations. Everyone stood and patiently waited. We looked around us , taking in the beauty of the scene, as the golden sun sank in the still bright sky. Geese and water birds were honking on the lakes and flying around.. Then as if out of nowhere, small streams of starlings small groups of birds appeared in the sky like small dots.. swirling in ever changing shapes as they merged and circled and increased.. They came from all directions, building up to a silent crescendo as thousands of tiny birds swirled in patterns all around us.. As they passed right over all you could hear was the beating of many wings.. the murmuration.. It felt so exciting and alive with the pulse of the starlings moving as one – creating ever changing arcs and shapes in the wide sky. Such a mesmerising performance .. As the sun set and the light dimmed, the swirls of starlings got progressively lower until finally they settled into the dusk on the reed beds. The birds disappeared, leaving us and with just with their chattering . Against the backdrop of a magnificent sky flecked blue and pink we left the scene, as if leaving a theatre after the curtain has fallen, our minds and senses thrilled and awed by the privilege of witnessing one of nature’s spectacles ..