A local friend had left a message last evening to say that
the Starlings have been gathering at dusk
in large numbers down at Siddick Ponds Nature Reserve at Workington,
about ten miles from here.
With similar weather today, our guess was that the same would
happen tonight, so we drove over to the coast.
The birds gather towards dusk, which at this time of year was
about 4pm.
We got there early and there was very little in sight except
the steam cloud from the Iggesund Paper Mill just up the coast.
That's better . . . a flight of geese flies in from the north.
Out of the pond we started to see more birds.
A young swan sits gracefully on the water as a mallard paddles
by.
Two more swans, these older birds resplendent in white feathers.
search for food below the water line.
On the far side of the ponds a cormorant flies in and settles
in order to spread his wings and dry them and possibly to
absorb any last warmth of the day.
What could be Golden Eye ducks milling around as the swan swims
by.
. . . and goes to meet up with a larger family, out towards
the other side of the pond.
A large, sleek bird flies in low above the reeds.
The graceful grey heron is in search of an evening fish supper.
A crow sits silhouetted in the branches close to the path .
. . as we all wait for the main show !
Looking up to the sky, the most prominent thing
was a large vapour trail left behind from a passing aeroplane.
- - - o o o - - -
The suggestion was that the birds would gather
and fly around at dusk,
prior to settling down for the night.
Last night they gathered by their thousands
and filled the sky with movement
before settling down for the night,
taking advantage of the extensive reed beds here
at Siddick.
The skies are clear and we wait in anticipation .
. .
then a few starlings begin to appear.
- - - o o o - - -
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As they fly around the skies above the ponds,
they twist and turn in a small formation.
Each time they turn they seemed to be joined
by another flock that had appeared out of nowhere.
They covered the ground, flying far away over
the woods opposite . . .
. . . or over here, directly above our heads.
As they moved closer then far away the camera
was having difficulty focusing
so I tried it on 'manual' and focused on the
distant trees, hoping that would produce a clear image.
Now they were large in number and on the far
side of the ponds they acted in unison
and we could see them twisting and turning to
form ever-evolving shapes.
Another large flock appeared from nowhere and
joined the group.
In the gathering darkness they would fly to
the far end of the ponds . . .
. . . only to return moments later.
Their aerial socialising done they suddenly
changed their behavior, with sections splitting off from the
main flight.
Each group fell into a seemingly suicidal drive
towards the ground . . . and totally disappeared !
In less than a minute or so they had all flown
into the reed beds
and apart from a few late comers and the odd
flurry of wings in the reed bed, they had settled for the night.
- - - o o o - - -
We had been privileged to witness one of the
wonders of the bird world
and I hope I have captures an idea of the occasion
here and in the following video.
- - - o o o - - -
Click
here or on on the picture to watch my short, two minute
video on YouTube.
- - - o o o - - -
Technical note: Pictures taken
with my iPhone 11pro mobile phone camera or Panasonic Gx8
with a zoom lens
Resized in Photoshop, and built
up on a Dreamweaver web builder.
This site best viewed with
. . . nature reserves available for the wildlife.
Go to Home Page .
. . © RmH . . . Email
me here
Previous
walk -
12th Nov 2023 - Mockerkin
Mob - Tower Ridge
A
previous time up here -
Sorry no photos from here as it was a first for me today.
Next
walk -
26th Nov 2023 - Mob
Walk - Heughscar hill
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