Starlings great formations

This awesome airborne Moby Dick is not fictional but a work of nature - comprised of countless starlings moving in formation in the winter breeze.





The image, captured on camera at Gretna Green on the Scottish borders, shows what experts call a 'murmuration' of starlings.


This is when they fly back en masse to their winter roost from a day's feeding which can be as much as 20 miles away.


As they return in their hundreds of thousands, there is safety in numbers as they constantly swirl and change formation to confuse predators.

Their wheeling and diving creates many shapes, such as the whale, complete with fin and nose, which was snapped by starling-watcher Gail Johnson.

These two were taken by fellow enthusiast Fiona Exon, who said: 'There were fantastic flowing formations and shapes. A photo can't fully portray the beauty of this amazing sight.'

Joined by Scandinavian starlings who have flocked here for winter, the number of these birds swells in December.













Source - DailyMail

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