Hundreds of starlings have been photographed wheeling through the skies above Ellon in a spectacular sunset show.
The aerial acrobatics only lasted around 20 minutes, and were captured with incredible videos and photographs by the Press and Journal’s Wullie Marr.
Every year, starlings gather in their thousands in huge flocks all across the country and put on these stunning displays, called murmurations,
They typically do so just around sunset, which make for fantastically colourful backgrounds for photographers like Wullie.
He took these images on Monday, January 24, in the fields just south of Ellon.
Wullie said the display started at around 4.05pm, and lasted until around 4.25pm.
However, displays are never guaranteed, and can last much longer, or be much shorter.
Wullie said he missed his first attempt at capturing the show in Ellon last week, as the display started much earlier at 3.50pm.
How Wullie captured these photographs near Ellon, in his own words
If you’re a photographer, amateur or professional, here are Wullie’s tips for photographing a murmuration in winter.
- Be early to the chosen site as the birds don’t have regular hours.
- If your murmuration site is in a dip, try and get yourself down to the level of the top of roosting site, in this case a small tree plantation. This was a mistake I made by staying to high, and as the flock swooped and dipped, I often lost them a bit against the dark foreground.
- Where possible, face south east (ish) With the winter sun being in a Southerly area for us in the north-east, keeping the murmuration area between you and the setting sun, will give you that extra bit of light for viewing, and or photographing the spectacle.
- Taking pictures on a mobile phone may be a bit of a struggle given how quickly the shapes form then disappear, but mobile users could still set up their phone on a suitable tripod or suitable support and hopefully grab a lovely bit of video.
- As for DSLR users, the choices are stand back with a longer lens and watch the whole show through your viewfinder or else you WILL miss some amazing shapes. I know I did. Or get in close where possible with a medium tele zoom and a wide lens for some frame filling shots and exaggerated wide perspectives with the murmuration above you.
Time is running out to see starling murmurations
If you’re wanting to see a starling murmuration for yourself, time is running out this season.
The best time of year to see the displays is between December and January, and the behaviour peters out in February.
If you want the best chance to see a starling murmuration, click here to read our explainer on where and when is best.
You may also like to read:
- What makes sunsets and sunrises so spectacular in winter?
- The bird-rescuing Countess of the Highlands
