Decided to go to Gretna Gateway with my son Alex and his girlfriend Vicki to do a bit of after-Christmas shopping. We planned the visit so that we might have a chance of seeing the Gretna starling roost following my previous failed attempt. Except that the main shop we were looking for had closed down, so we decided to abandon the starlings and head instead to Carlisle and finish the shopping trip there.
On the way into Carlisle, Vicki noticed a small flock of starlings by Junction 44 but we thought no more of it. After minor parking hassles we parked the car at Portland Square and hit the shops. If we hadn't stopped for a burger, we would have missed it...
We were making our way back to the car at 4.30 p.m. and, just after duskhad fallen, Alex noticed a congregation of starlings was building up in the sky above. We watched as the birds swept from side to side and the flock grew in size to circle more tightly over Portland Square. That sight alone was spectacular.
Then, just before five they started to swoop down and we could watch as they all landed on the trees in the Square itself with a tremendous amount of twittering and, as we shortly discovered, a considerable amount of bird lime that covered the pavements and the cars on the Brunswick Street side of the square.
Finally having witnessed a large murmuration of starlings, I have to say it was much more exciting than I had ever anticipated. Was this the whole of the Gretna starling roost? We reckoned there were certainly thousands of birds and it certainly seems they vary their roosting location from night to night - possibly to avoid the attentions of birds of prey?
P.s. My car was more fortunate than most, but hopefully picked up enough good luck to last me the whole of 2015!
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