Starling murmurations: Public urged to watch out for amazing overhead spectacles
A view of a starling murmuration over Lough Ennell, Co Westmeath. File picture: INPHO/James Crombie
The Irish public has been asked to watch out for one of nature's most amazing overhead spectacles in the coming weeks — starling murmurations.
BirdWatch Ireland wants to record the number of murmurations that take place, which peak in December and January.
The amazing events see tens of thousands of starlings gather and dance across the skyline in perfect timing for what is one of nature’s most mesmerising performances.
The hotpots for the amazing spectacle include Lough Ennell in Westmeath, Borrisokane in Tipperary, near Nobber in Meath, Timoleague in Cork, Lackagh in Galway and Lough Ree in Roscommon and Westmeath Across the country over the upcoming winter evenings, thousands of starlings will be seen swirling through the sky in unison.
Known as a murmuration, this captivating spectacle occurs at dusk, just before the birds settle down to roost.
Starlings from as far away as Russia, Finland and Estonia will join our resident birds for the unexplained ritual.
In an effort to better understand where starlings are roosting, BirdWatch Ireland is asking members of the public to serve as their eyes on the ground by contributing to the Irish Starling Murmuration Survey.
The group is asking those who witness murmurations this winter to send information about the precise location of the flock and a rough estimate of the number of birds within it. All of this information is fed into an online map of starling murmurations in Ireland, which allows members of the public to find out where their nearest murmuration is.
“Witnessing a starling murmuration on a calm clear winter evening is something that will stay with you for the rest of your life, and we're quite lucky that so many of these mesmerising displays happen all over Ireland every winter," said Brian Burke, coordinator of BirdWatch Ireland’s Irish Starling Murmuration Survey.
“I'd really recommend people to keep an eye on the sky, see where your starlings are heading as sunset approaches, and try and figure out where their roost is. And of course, let us know what you find.”
 The largest murmuration recorded in Ireland to date was seen in Galway and comprised over 100,000 individual starlings.
There are several theories behind the purpose of starling murmurations. As starlings are vulnerable to attack from birds such as peregrine falcons and sparrowhawks, coming together in a swirling flock helps to confuse such predators and reduce the chance of an individual starling being caught.
It is also thought that gathering together could help the birds to remain warm during the cold winter months, and provide a chance to communicate about good feeding opportunities.
The success of the Irish Starling Murmuration Survey, which is sponsored by Regeneron, is in part down to the power of community. It is a citizen science survey that relies on contributions from members of the public.
For more information on the Irish Starling Murmuration Survey and to view the murmuration map, visit the BirdWatch Ireland website.
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