Well something completely different for today’s blog! Over the last fortnight we have had Starlings in the garden (must have a nest nearby because we don’t see them at any other time!) They have voracious appetites and bully our Blackbirds, and are all action. This past Winter we had some superb murmurations around the village. So the poem below I’ve tried capture their charismatic behaviour.
Murmuration
Gregarious and bold, strutting with real attitude
A threatening group of thugs invading tranquil territory
Greedily gobbling up any offerings for themselves
Murmuration.…..
Dull and unassuming at a distance
Up close their feathers are bejewelled with colour
Sheens of purples and greens Illuminated in sunlight
Murmuration……..
Short tailed with stubby pointed wings
Prominent beak, slender pink legs
The head jerks, thrusts forward purposefully
Murmuration………
As the day ebbs, they meet in small rowdy groups
Exchanging gossip, news, adventures and dangers
Numbers build steadily – tens, hundreds and soon thousands
Murmuration………..
Transforming into aerial, acrobatic, artists , the sky their canvas
Painting complex black shapes in the gathering gloom
Swooping and diving in perfect synchronized unison
Murmuration……….
Thousands of wing beats, a pulsating collective,
Swish, Whoosh !
Murmuration……..
Part of their mesmerising hypnotic performance
Bewildering any potential predators
Murmuration…….. a real wildlife spectacular
