A handful of residents were treated to a beautiful display over West Bridgford as thousands of starlings were seen putting on aerial displays.
Murmuration
According to the RSPB it’s basically a mass aerial stunt – thousands of birds all swooping and diving in unison. The murmuration is completely breathtaking to witness.
It is thought that starlings do it for many reasons. Grouping together offers safety in numbers – predators such as peregrine falcons find it hard to target one bird in the middle of a hypnotising flock of thousands.
They also gather to keep warm at night and to exchange information, such as good feeding areas.
They gather over their roosting site, and perform their wheeling stunts before they roost for the night.
The starling population has fallen by more than 80 per cent in recent years, meaning they are now on the critical list of UK birds most at risk.
The decline is believed to be due to the loss of permanent pasture, increased use of farm chemicals and a shortage of food and nesting sites in many parts of the UK.