It has been a hard winter. As the light disappears, small and large flocks arrive, starlings streaming over the shadowy hedges and join hesitatingly into larger and larger groups. Soon I can’t make out any individual birds. It is a single lithe being - swooping, sweeping, twisting, turning, separating then coalescing back into a dense mass.
"Each starling keeps an eye on seven others to stay in its position." A. says to me. An algorithm to live by.
In the cold there is the whispering, murmuring and swishing of thousands and thousands of wings. This sinuous creature continues to circle, dance and weave high and low over and around the forest then, just as the light disappears, it melts into the darkness of the trees.
February 2024, Co Kilkenny, Ireland
I will very shortly be offering each of the murmuration photographs for purchase. The images can all be seen in the MURMURATIONS gallery of the website. A few of the images will be offered as limited editions and the majority will be offered as open editions. Details will follow shortly.