Reader Rick Longworth sent me a lovely murmuration video of starlings avoiding a harrier attack. His notes:
A friend at our birding group, Jan Boles, shot footage last fall of a murmuration of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) encountering a northern harrier (Circus hudsonius). He asked me to edit it for him, so I added some titles and music. The harrier’s tactic is to fly above the flock and suddenly dive straight down to snag a meal. Note that at 50 seconds in, the harrier swoops down and appears to get his talons on a starling. But the starling flies clear and the harrier looks empty handed. I reiterated that event at a slower speed for a closer look.
This video is posted with Jan’s permission.
It reminds me of a border collie herding sheep!
This is so beautiful and interesting.
Glad you like it.
Fascinating! There are several moments when it looks like the raptor is chasing an individual starling that has separated from the crowd. Surprisingly the starling seems to be able to escape by flying faster than the raptor.
…or the starling can fly perpendicular to the harrier’s vector, thus, sidestepping like a bull fighter.
Yes, we need the 3-d holographic version of this video.
😊
Wow!! That was mesmerizing. Well done!
Thanks Mark. Jan did a great job framing the action over the vineyard.
Great little film.
✔️
Who needs magic when Nature turns on a show like this?