A sunset full of starlings

At last I managed to visit Etton-Maxey Pit this evening, to watch the starling murmuration. I struck it lucky with the weather and would have been quite happy to just watch the sunset. But not long after I arrived, small groups of starlings started to come in against a soft pink sky, and gradually merged into swirling masses as the colours in the sky became more intense. At some points the sky was filled with birds - at others the flock formed more discrete shapes - a snail, a porpoise and perhaps a whale. The descent into their reedbed roost was more gradual than on some occasions, and even when most had gone down another group of latecomers arrived. As the half moon rose, and the colours in the sky faded, the starlings chattered companionably as they settled for the night.