Starlings. I love them. They are beautiful, characterful little birds in their own right, but when they join together to create their winter murmurations, they are truly stunning. I have been very lucky to regularly watch a murmuration at my local reedbeds, but over the past few weeks they’ve moved south and are now gathering over Walberwick and Dunwich. This lovely little group formed an almost perfect pear-shape this evening. If you haven’t had chance to watch a murmuration yet, I urge you to. It’s magical.
Golden birch leaves at RSPB Minsmere
Gold grows on trees...
Every time I visit RSPB Minsmere, I can’t help feeling a little thrill that the BBC Springwatch team made this jewel of a reserve their home for three consecutive watches. I love the Springwatch and Winterwatch programmes as they combine brilliant talent (Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan et al) with proper science, gorgeous sound and camera work and super storytelling to create fabulously entertaining shows.
So, once I’d thrown my arms out wide and announced, ‘welcome to Springwatch!’ loudly in the car park, I headed off for a walk. The woods were strangely quiet, and other than a pheasant, some blue tits and a blackbird throwing around fallen leaves on the hunt for insects, there wasn’t much about to hear or see. However, the woods at this time of year are lovely. They reveal all their sculptural beauty, and just a few golden birch leaves remain to light the canopy with bright buttons of gold.