Starlings in Brighton

[smurfchops]

Just returned from a weekend in Brighton and was fascinated by the rituals of starlings over the West Pier. They fly in amazing formations for almost an hour before roosting in the broken down pier. Does anyone know why they do this? I am sure they are not just doing it for the weekend as entertainment for us humans, they must do it every single day!

[WendyS]

This mass flying formation does seem to be a habit of starlings. You can often see them flying around in town centres and around fields and woods in large flocks before coming to roost. I don't know whether it's because there's safety in numbers and they like to do a lot of reconoitring for safety reasons before finally settling down for the night , but they have their favourite trees and roosting sites. If you look under trees planted in town centres, you can often tell a starling roosting place by the amount of guano on the ground underneath !

[smurfchops]

At least all the gunk goes in the sea .. I believe at one time, when the pier was under threat (maybe it still is) a society was formed to protect the birds and find a new site for them. Does anyone know what happened about this, and are the birds going to get a new roosting spot near the pier? I know they are "only birds" but there is no protection for them there now the roof has gone.

[logman]

judiewudie, I've also been fascinated by those flight formations of starligs, and sometimes find it quite eery, like something out of an Alfred hitchcock moovie. Its almost as if they have some sort of collective thought, a similar thing can be seen in shoals of fish, all chainging direction in unison. In my neck of the woods, i dont see any starlings at all until the spring comes, this is when they all come to feast on the moth caterpllars which feed on the oak leaves

[funnywebsite]

I saw this on Bill Oddie's bird programme not long ago. It is safety in numbers because hawks, kestrels go after them, it confuses the hawks, kestrels because they change the swirling pattern when they are flying around.

[Ward-Minter]

judiewudie I can see the old West Pier from my window as we type!!!!

[burnhal]

warden on a reserve near Oxford. We get up to 50 thousand starlings roosting- small compared to some I know! Generally November thru to Feb.The best bit is when they funnel down into the reed beds at the end of it all. The noise is terrific and they are right over your head with sparrowhawks etc hacking at the edge of the flock.

[smurfchops]

Ward-Minter you lucky thing, living in Brighton with that view. We were in a hotel looking out the window at the starlings and the world going by .. lovely place.

[funnywebsite]

That's what you get when you are a gay hippy

[smurfchops]

Well if I could live in Brighton with a fab view of the sea, I want to be one too !!

[funnywebsite]

me too