Murmuration leaves passing motorist starling struck

A stunning display by thousands of starlings over a rural road was made even better by the enthralled commentary of a passing motorist and his passenger who captured the footage..

The murmuration was recorded near Woodtown between Kells and Ardee a couple of weeks ago leaving Blackrock, Co Louth man Ronan Greene and Drogheda man David Phillips in stunned awe at the sight. Similar spectacles have also been spotted in Nobber in recent years and other rural parts of the county.

"Oh my God, look at that, there's thousands of them, crikey," whispers a starling struck Ronan as thousands of birds danced in the dusk.

It's believed starlings gather in these amazing formations for many reasons. Grouping together offers safety in numbers – predators such as peregrine falcons and sparrowhawks find it hard to target one bird in the middle of a hypnotising flock of thousands. They also gather to keep warm at night and to exchange information, such as good feeding areas.