THE mesmerising sight of a murmuration of starlings has been captured on camera.

John Spinney, a professional photographer from Parkstone, witnessed the “amazing” spectacle from the Ferry Road car park at Shell Bay on Wednesday. 

While thousands of birds swooped en masse through the dusky sky, he took advantage of the moment to produce some breath-taking shots. 

“My youngest daughter is really into birdwatching and said I must go to see the murmuration. We got the chain ferry from Poole at around 4pm, and I could see them start to assemble,” he said.

“It was a cold and windy evening, but it was worth it to watch the starlings. The patterns they make are absolutely amazing. They move so fast, and as the light started to drop they got into tighter groups.”

John, 58, was a press photographer for 16 years before switching career and working as a crime scene investigator. He retired from the force three years ago and now works part-time at Livability Holton Lee, where he and his colleague Paul run a photography club. 

He said since working at the centre, his interest in wildlife photography had developed, but taking pictures of the starlings had proved one of his biggest challenges.

“The light was dropping quite quickly, and the other problem was getting a sense of the scale of the murmuration. I managed to get some trees into the shot, but I was hoping the birds would move closer to the sunset – needless to say, they never do what you want them to.

“As soon as it got dark, they all dropped lower and lower and by quarter to five they had gone.

“It was amazing to see them, they’re wonderful to watch. The last time I took photographs like this was several years ago when I saw a starling murmuration over Asda in Poole.”

Rob Farrington, of Arne RSPB reserve, said the starling roost at Studland was an “historical” one.

“It’s been there for a very long time and is made up of around 10,000 starlings. The reason they’re here right now is because it’s so cold in central and eastern Europe where they’re from.” 

Rob said starlings murmurate for many reasons, namely for protection against predators - such as sparrowhawks and merlins - and to keep warm at night and share information, such as good feeding areas.

He added: “Murmurations are a common sight but are becoming less so. Starlings are in trouble - they’re struggling to find food and nesting sites to breed.”

Where and when to see the murmuration

The close formation manoeuvres, known as a murmuration, take place as the birds prepare to roost for the night in reed beds at Shell Bay, close to the Sandbanks chain ferry.

Starling murmurations have taken place at Studland in previous years but the flock is particularly large this winter – possibly swollen by birds escaping the cold snap in continental Europe.

The show starts between 4pm and 4.30pm as the sun goes down, and the boardwalk leading from Shell Bay car park to the beach is a popular vantage point.

Shell Bay is looked after by the National Trust, along with the rest of the Studland peninsula comprising four miles of sandy beaches, a national nature reserve home to rare birds and reptiles and Old Harry rocks, one of the most famous landmarks on the South Coast.