It’s the Flock Ness Monster! Murmuration of starlings form the distinctive shape of Nessie over the English Channel
- Bill Brooks, from Felpham, captured the remarkable murmuration near the Brighton Palace Pier at sunset
- Flock of starlings formed well-timed image of a ‘monster coming out of the sea to attack the helter skelter’
- Mr Brooks, 65, had a ‘ten or 15 minute slot before sunset’ when starlings would come in to roost at the pier
Advertisement
An amateur photographer captured the remarkable moment thousands of starlings flocked together to form the image of the Loch Ness Monster emerging from the sea in Brighton.
The stunning murmuration was captured by Bill Brooks, who decided to make a detour to Brighton Palace Pier after attending a photography course in East Sussex.
Mr Brooks, 65, said he knew he only had about a ‘ten or 15 minute slot before sunset’ when the starlings would come in to roost under the pier and could murmurate.
But the photograph turned out far more spectacular than the avid bird watcher expected, capturing the starlings as they looked like a ‘monster coming out of the sea’ in front of a beautiful pink sunset.
Bill Brooks, 65, captured the remarkable moment thousands of starlings flocked together to form the image of the Loch Ness Monster emerging from the sea in Brighton
‘They swooped in from all over the area and formed this incredible shape right in front of me,’ he said.
‘The murmuration looked like a monster coming out of the sea to attack the helter skelter at the end of the pier.’
Mr Brooks, a retired environmental consultant, said the conditions had to be perfect for the starlings to form the unusual murmuration.
‘I got very lucky. The conditions have to be just right for them to flock like this,’ he said. ‘It has to be dusk, and with very light winds. The conditions were perfect.’
The photographer, from Felpham, West Sussex, added: ‘I don’t normally take my camera with me when I visit Brighton, but I am glad that I did on this occasion.
‘I’ve only ever photographed one murmuration before and that was in Somerset.’
Another astonishing video has captured a flock of starlings as they formed the image of a heart in the sky during a sunset in Bigbury-on-sea, Devon
Murmurations can contain up to 100,000 starlings from a single roost and are formed when they all flock together – normally at dawn or at sunset.
It is not precisely known why starlings murmurate but experts believe it may be for protection or to sign-post a roost.
Recently, another murmuratuion of starlings took the breathtaking form of a giant bird soaring across the horizon in Spain.
Daniel Biber, 53, captured the astonishing snap after observing thousands of birds and scouting locations across Costa Brava in northeastern Spain over a four-day period.
Recently, another murmuratuion of starlings took the breathtaking form of a giant bird soaring across the horizon in Spain
Daniel Biber, 53, captured the astonishing snap after observing thousands of birds and scouting locations across Costa Brava in northeastern Spain over a four-day period
In his photograph, the starlings merged into the shape of a giant bird moments before they were targetted by a predator and rushed out of the formation.
The unique snap went on to earn Mr Biber the top prize in an international photography competition, but the photographer said he only realised his luck once he reviewed the photographs on his computer.
Another astonishing video has captured a flock of starlings as they formed the image of a heart in the sky during a sunset in Bigbury-on-sea, Devon.
The footage, captured by Annika, 40, and Martin Connolly, 44, shows the birds as they swoop into the romantic shape during an impressive murmuration.
The couple said they paused their trip to watch the spectacle against the dying light.
THE MYSTERY OF MURMURATIONS
Little is known about why murmurations occur, although it has been suggested that the displays help starlings by confusing predators.
Each bird mimics the movement of its neighbour, which ripples out to the whole flock.
In 2014, a research team from Warwick discovered that it is the areas of light and dark in the flocks that allow the starlings to fly so close together.
The pattern of light and dark, formed as the birds attempt to achieve the necessary density, is what provides vital information to individual birds within the flock.
Pictured: An astonishing murmuration of starlings fly close to power lines at sunset near Gretna on the Scottish borders
Starlings are smaller than blackbirds, with a short tail, pointed head and triangular wings.
From a distance they appear black, but close-up they are very glossy with a sheen of purples and greens.
Even though the species remains one of the most common garden birds, its decline elsewhere makes it a red list species as a bird of high conservation concern.
Source: RSPB