Predator and prey
Wow! That is what I was saying last night! I was watching the starlings coming into roost in the reedbed. What a fantastic spectacle and no matter how many times you watch them, there are always surprises. It was around 3.45pm and about two thousand starlings were circling overhead. Suddenly a sparrowhawk appeared from nowhere and tested the murmuration. They shrank to form a dense mass of feather, the noise of rushing wings adding to the excitement. Ten minutes passed and more starlings were gathering. This time the sparrowhawk flew fast and strong, eventually seperating a single bird. They disappeared into the willow carr, not to appear again. We watched the massed starlings spiral down into the reedbed, just like water down a plug hole. Walking back through the carr, longtailed tits were scolding the hidden sparrowhawk with its starling supper. This morning the whole roost took off from the reedbed at 8am with a rough count of around 4000 individuals. Nature at its best!
During the weekend a sparrowhawk had secured a Jack snipe in front of the Ramsar hide, only to be quickly mobbed by a crow. The snipe escaped to live another day, but the sparrowhawk would go hungry until its next kill. Starlings for supper!
