Starling acrobatics

This morning I led the walking group for a walk in the Llanymynech area. It stayed mostly dry for a change too! The sky threatened rain - the photo colour is exactly as it was though it looks as if it's taken in mono.

I saw this flock of starlings whirling around the sky - a mini murmuration. There were at least as many in the large tree in the picture making a lot of noise.

It's sad that the number of starlings has dropped so much - over 80% in recent years and is now on the Critical List of endangered birds.