Yesterday Sue V & I set off for the Peat Moors Centre near Shapwick to join the WI Nature Walk. It was sunny during the morning, so we were hopeful of a good afternoon.... we drove through the rain which dried up as we arrived!
There were 19 of us altogether, and as we were waiting for everyone to arrive we learned that our guide, Simon, had driven there from Stoke St Michael and the first WI members we met were from Binegar and Kilmersdon!
Thanks to the grey clouds and threat of the light going, we did a pretty fast walk along the south ditch to where Simon had seen the starlings roost the previous evening. He showed us how to spot otter tracks and signs of their activity on the way and pointed out various birds as we went. He said that they can never be sure where the starlings will roost and that no-one really knows exactly why they all gather together in such a spectacular way.
Well, we were very lucky and watched flock after flock flying in and just dropping out of the sky into the reed beds. It was simply fantastic! We watched, almost speechless (well, obviously not actually speechless!) for ages as more and more appeared. Simon suggested that we might like to return to precisely that spot the next morning just before dawn when we would be able to see them all rise up and fly off to feed for the day.
I wonder if anyone else was there! I do plan to go again, one sunny afternoon in the next month or so.
