Autumn is one of my favourite times of year, not just because of the beautiful colours on display, but because here in the South Hams we are lucky enough to be visited by many migrating birds as they journey south in search of warmer climates.
Just recently a white stork has taken up residence locally, seeming to prefer West Charleton to the warmer countries further south that others have moved on to. It has been “storking” around the fields and marsh for weeks and I have taken to watching it through my telescope from home whilst I eat my breakfast.
One of my favourite parts of autumn is catching the spectacle of starling murmuration’s at Slapton. Every year on their autumn migration from Scandinavia to the low countries, starlings make a pit stop at Slapton Ley before heading on their way to places like France and the Netherlands.
The numbers of birds stopping at Slapton have fluctuated over the years most likely affected by the different weather and the impact of climate change. This year large numbers passed through at the end of October with smaller numbers coming through in the last few weeks with possibly the milder weather in early November keeping birds from traveling in search of warmer environments. But it doesn’t matter whether there are 100 or 100,000, watching the starling murmuration is one of the most spectacular displays of nature you can see (in my opinion).
A couple of weeks ago I set out after work to see the starlings. They don’t always roost in the same place and this year after roosting early in the season near Slapton Bridge, they have moved to spend their nights at Strete Gate. They may move again once the reeds that they settle on are broken down too much to perch on (imagine the weight of between 20,000 - 100,000 birds!)
I walked a short way along the back slope; the narrow bit of land between the road and the ley. Whilst waiting for the starlings to arrive, I watched as other birds flew over; the prehistoric looking heron, great white egret and cormorant as well as wagtails, stone chats and meadow pipits. Listening out I heard coot, moorhen and water rail, the latter of which sounds a bit like a squealing pig and is somewhat elusive. Or so I thought. Recently after telling a group on the Mindfulness in Nature course I was running, that it was extremely rare to see a water rail, one just appeared out of the reeds right in front of us!
The great white egret which has been hanging out at Slapton more and more is quite a sight to see in itself. They are the size of a heron if not slightly bigger, but all white with yellow bill and dark legs and when they are not gliding through the air like a pterodactyl, or fishing with its super long spear like beak, you will find them perching precariously in a tree. Whilst waiting for the starlings to arrive, I discovered that there is not just one egret here, but four; the most I have ever seen together. Something spooked them and they all took off from the tree gliding unwieldly in front of the sunset sky.
Starlings started appearing in small groups of 100 or so, fluttering around with the bright sky behind them. Gradually more and more small groups joined them merging together to make one large group. They danced in the sky sometimes bunching so close together they looked like they might crash. Larger groups of thousands of birds glided in from all directions and soon what could have been 20,000 birds were swirling and dancing. They came closer and flew over our heads and we could hear the sound of their wings beating which was quite incredible. Then mistaking a pigeon for a sparrow hawk, the murmuration condensed and contracted in disarray as they tried to avoid what
they thought was a predator invading their ranks. Eventually it was time to go to bed, and they swirled down in a funnel like formation whooshing into the reeds where they chattered noisily.