Murmurations in Brighton

Back in November OH and I went to Brighton. You may have read about it when I finally posted in December.  It's now nearly February and despite drafting a post in November I've only now just gotten round to posting it. My excuse, from October to early January I had a constant stream of ailments so all blogging went out the window. But it's a New Year and so I need to pick up where I left off. And so back to Brighton on a glorious sunny day in November....

It was a glorious day but we had gone with a purpose. To see the Starling murmuration which I had read started 20 minutes before dusk starting in November through to March. It's something I've seen on the TV but never in real life and it was incredible. To be honest I wasn't sure we would see anything but stood out on the new pier we saw a handful a starlings. These were joined by a few more, then a few more until it felt as if it was snowing startlings as they swooped around the pier before they landed. Sadly my photos don't quite do it justice but I was trying to live in the moment and try and enjoy the spectacle.

And once they all started to roost under the pier we thought that was it until we started to head back to the seafront when we noticed another batch of starlings were performing on the old pier. As we were a bit further away we could really see them swoop up and down en masse before they settled down for the night. 

And there we have it. Nature truly at it's best and one of the most life affirming days out I've ever had. The combination of the views, the colours, the noise, the wind and the cold it was such an uplifting experience and true nourishment for the soul.