The first time I saw these images I thought they were photoshopped but they are not. A German photographer, Daniel Biber, captured these starling murmurations over four days of trying. He did not even know he had succeeded until he downloaded his images from the camera. The starlings in flight have the ability to form images to scare off predators. Truth is stranger than fiction, isn't it? Read this interesting article and see more images here. I think this is thrilling, don't you? xo
UPDATE: I found an interview with Daniel Bieber, the photographer, here.
UPDATE 2: I found the video of the two girls in a canoe that Linda and Anita commented about here.
10 comments:
Have you ever witnessed first hand a murmuration? I have not. But, boy, I sure wish for one chance. I didn't even know what this was until I saw a video a few years back . . . two girls in a canoe with the starlings all about them. You could hear the girls literally gasp for breath they were so excited. And when the birds flew off, silence and then laughter.
This is absolutely unbelievable and astounding! You post the most interesting things - a huge THANK YOU:)
This was absolutely fascinating to read about--thanks for linking the story for us, Rosemary. Nature never disappoints!!!
It's remarkable that the birds do not collide with each other. Amazing photos, thank you for sharing.
Years ago I saw the same video Linda mentioned. That was the first time I had heard of this phenomenon, but didn't know they could actually form specific shapes for protection. Nature is so amazing & never boring.
...all is grace!
Linda & Anita ~ the cabin on the creek :: I will look for that video. I have blackbirds in the fall that practically darken the sky when they take off after landing in the woods and on my lawn. I think most murmurations take place in England. Those on my blog were photographed in Spain. Starlings are not native birds in America but were imported from England when someone thought it would be nice if we had all of Shakespeare's birds!
Happy Valentine's Day.
xo, Rosemary
Lisa Loch -- You are so right. These murmurations illustrate how little we know about the intelligence of our feathered friends. I don't know how they keep from colliding, but they do!
xo, Rosemary
Pam -- I was amazed and thrilled by the article and the photos and couldn't wait to share. We can learn about cooperation from these birds.
xo, Rosemary
UPDATE: I found the Video of the girls in a canoe witnessing a murmuration that Linda and Anita commented about and add the link to the blog post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRNqhi2ka9k
Thanks, you two, for mentioning it.
xo, Rosemary
anita . . . I like you had no idea the murmuration patterns are meant to intimidate bird predators.
Rosemary .. . thank you for locating the video. It's just as thrilling as I recalled.
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