These images show a stunning starling murmuration which captivated customers at a Gloucestershire supermarket yesterday evening, Wednesday.
They were taken by Fi Keates, whose post on our Gloucestershire Camera Club Facebook page prompted a flurry of comments from delighted nature-lovers.
“Sometimes one of nature’s greatest spectacles can appear in the most unexpected places like a supermarket car park,” said Fi.
Murmurations occur when large groups of starlings fly together in synchronised patterns, creating shifting shapes which swoop across the sky usually between October and March.
Starlings roost together in large flocks from autumn until early spring, with the birds gathering before sunset to perform the breath-taking aerial displays which protect the birds from predators and conserve warmth.
The displays are often seen above reed beds and woodlands but are also often spotted above urban area like supermarket car parks.
We have been asked not to reveal the location of the supermarket where these images were taken to avoid a large influx of visitors.
However, it is widely known that in Gloucestershire the most reliable murmurations in recent winters have been spotted around Slimbridge WWT and the Cotswold Water Park, now called Cotswold Lakes.
At WWT Slimbridge, starlings often gather to roost in reedbeds by the River Severn – staff recommend watching from around dusk near the Sloane Observatory Tower when murmurations are happening.
Displays are not guaranteed every year but when numbers build up you can see large flocks swirling over the reserve before they drop into the reeds.
In the east of the county, the Cotswold Water Park – now called Cotswold Lakes – regularly sees big pre‑roost gatherings, with birds coming in over lakes and reedbeds – Waterhay car park and nearby lakes have produced particularly good evening spectacles, sometimes with thousands of birds.
Smaller, more sporadic murmurations have also been reported at Walham brick‑pits just north of Gloucester, and along the Severn between the canal and the river near Sharpness.
Fi’s pictures led to dozens of comments from camera club members, with the images described as ‘beautiful’ and ‘a wonderful sight’.
One said starlings gather above Tesco in Stroud most evenings while another member said they were lucky enough to see them most nights above their home saying: “I still find it amazing.”
Others reported ‘spectacular’ murmurations in the Nympsfield area near Nailsworth.
