Starling Roosts seem to be talked about more and more.
Luckily for me I discovered that there was a good sized roost just a 20 minute drive away from my house, at Reydon in Suffolk. The resverve is owned by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, and is called the Hen Reedbeds.
This is a great little reserve that I visit a lot anyway, so finding out about the roost there was a bonus!
The roost can amass up to 60,000 birds, and is quite a sight, as the birds can quite literally be overhead, and then swoop down into the reedbeds almost infront of you!
The roost happens from the end of November through til the end of January I believe, and the general rule is that the weather needs to be calm, and without much rain for a good performance. Its all over and done in around 15-20 minutes, so arrive early, around 3pm.
Below are a few pictures of the birds starting to arrive with a small flock, and then slowly building its way up to a few thousand birds.
A few hundred to start..
A few more..
More...
How many...?
I've lost count...!
A few pictures of them swirling around.
