They say it's better to be late than never, and so it proved with our starlings. We usually have a large roost of starlings at Minsmere in late November, but this year they failed to materialise. Until Christmas that is!
Over the Christmas and New Year period, about 10,000 starlings started roosting in North Marsh each evening. Soon the flock increased to about 25,000, although it has declined a little now.
Standing on the North Wall as dusk approaches has been a superb way to end the day, and staff and visitors alike have enjoyed spectacle. The swirling flocks have been exciting to watch as they almost paint pictures in the sky.
But it's possibly the sound that catches the attention more. You can easily hear the whoosh of thousands of wings over the incessant twittering. The flocks attract predators too, especially sparrowhawks looking for late meal.
The starlings even performed during the gales mid month, but the wind caused disruption on the reserve. We had to close for a day due to the risk of trees blowing over, and were without power for most of the next day. No power means no till in the shop, no food or hot drinks in the tearoom, and no computers for staff. We're back to normal now.
With the arrival of cold weather at last, one of my favourite birds, a smew, appeared on the reserve late in the month. We often see females, but this was a stunning drake, or white nun. Maybe he'll stay long enough to hear the first booming bittern, which will probably be sometime in February.