With our two previous outings falling foul of the recent floods, the pressure was mounting for the next one! Again, it was outdoors, by a lake and with no indoor option as back up, what could possibly go wrong!!
The plan was to visit Lough Ennell, Co Westmeath on Saturday 7th Feb ruary to try and capture the amazing winter spectacle of starlings as they gather in their hundreds and thousands at dusk to find their resting place for the night!
Lough Ennell has become synonymous with murmurations since 2020 after that amazing ‘Bird’ photo by James Crombie! But of course, there were no guarantees of success!
So with one eye on the Weather App and the other on the Facebook group (Starling Murmurations Ireland) we followed the regular postings from locals who were very generous with their information!
The starling’s current location on the lake was very important ,as it varies from time to time, and with only a short window to witness the spectacle, our positioning was very important! No Pressure!!
We arranged to meet at 3pm in the carpark of Bloomfield hotel to discuss the various possible locations for people. Approximately 20 people made it and the weather was looking good! Most people decided to stay at the lakeshore on the hotel grounds as it had been a good spot in recent days, so with much enthusiasm, the group staked their claim, well in advance of sunset!
While we waited, we enjoyed a wonderful, calm, peaceful view over the lake and watched the colours develop into a beautiful evening sky! As it got darker there were a few anxious moments but right on cue, as the dusk settled in, they arrived overhead and joined forces across the lake. After lots of weaving and swooping like synchronised dancers, they finally settled on their resting place for the night!
It was just spectacular, an amazing phenomenon that’s difficult to imagine until you see it!
And just like that it was all over! It was so hard to pack up and go, like a great concert you wait, hoping for a surprise encore, but alas it wasn’t to be!
We left, savouring that wonderful, but short experience and hopefully can relive it again when we review those brief video clips and with a bit of luck, some memorable images.
Some images (click on an image to open in full-screen mode) from the outing can be seen below:
