Wrong Place Right Time

Having received a tip off from trevorearthy about the location of the starling murmuration at Gretna, I tried to time our journey from Corbridge to Glasgow to coincide with this wonderful spectacle.

First problem was we were at bit later than planned in getting to the outlet village where the murmuration was to be seen. Second problem was I went looking for the starlings and ended up missing them gathering right over the top of the outlet centre. By the time I got there I found myself right under the aeronautical display, which was not the best place to see the wonderful patterns they create in the sky. However, it was the perfect spot to be crapped on from on high by tens of thousands of excited starlings. It almost felt like it was raining when they passed overhead and the smell on a still cold night was not pleasant!

I did scurry off to a different position, but couldn't get the shot I was after of the rounded patterns of the murmuration against the sunset, which in any case had fizzled out by now. I should really have headed to the other side of the motorway and used my bigger camera to get the best shot in the circumstances. However, as I only had the wee compact with me this wasn't really an option.

Never mind, lessons learned for next year and, in any case, it was worth being thee just for the spectacle