Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Murmuration at Rest

Currently the tallest perch in Victoria, this Farmer Construction crane played host to an immense murmuration of starlings yesterday. Their awesome group flight patterns are reflected in the apparent precision of their seating on this crane, each bird equidistant from the one next to it. Click here to see a viral video of a murmuration in flight over Ireland and the interesting article that grapples with the physics of how they do it.

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3 comments:

  1. JoJoSeptember 12, 2012 at 11:29 AM

    I saw it happen once when I was a kid and I never forgot it. They were on the electrical and phone lines across from my house and kept doing the murmuration over the road. It's an amazing site to see. Did you get to see these starlings in action?

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  2. Dean LewisSeptember 13, 2012 at 12:42 AM

    The morphing masses/flock from the video are amazing.
    It wouldn't surprise me if the starlings here do something similiar in the evening prior to bedding down for the night. I witnessed it often over the inner harbour about fifteen years ago, although it was nowhere near the scale of the flock in Ireland.

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  3. Benjamin MadisonSeptember 13, 2012 at 11:27 AM

    Thanks Dean and JoJo for your comments. JoJo I was busy doing something else at the time and didn't see those birds arrive or depart. I hope I will see it one day.

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