Magical Murmurations
Dr Katherine Cooper gave a fascinating talk around the subject of Starling Murmurations to 38 members of Nottinghamshire Environmental Association at the beginning of February. With a background of Mathematical Sciences and an interest in biology, she worked on medical imaging and treatment for a number of years. She also had a leisure interest in photography, which led her to combining her interests to become a wildlife photographer, with a specific interest in mathematical patterns – eg Fibonacci Patterns, which is the science of spirals in nature. However, she was fascinated by the patterns formed by Starlings when they gather in large numbers – from 1,000 to over 100,000 – which are called Murmurations.
Showing still photographs of Murmurations, she posed the questions – why do they do this and how do such large numbers of birds, not just fly together, but fly in constantly changing directions, without multiple collisions occurring? This generated much conversation and explanations were presented.
One warning Katherine gave, was to try to keep away from the flight path. It is extremely noisy and the birds produce a lot of droppings in flight! She finished with a brief history of the photography of moving animals from the first of those by Eadweard Muybridge of a horse in motion in 1878.
The Association’s indoor meetings start from 7.30pm at Hallcroft Community Centre, Randall Way, Retford. Doors open at 7.10pm and there is plenty of parking. Entry to each talk costs £3.50 for non-members, including light refreshments.
Upcoming talks
- Thursday 6th March: ‘Waterways and Railways of Derbyshire’
- Thursday 3rd April: ‘The Importance of Soil Science’
- There is no talk in May as the Association is on a four-day visit to Suffolk.
Find out more about the full programme of talks and visits for 2025 by contacting Paul Willcock (Chairman and Secretary) – paul@paulwillcock.com or call / text on 07581 531595 or Adrian Blackburn (Vice-Chairman and Treasurer) – adrian.blackburn@sky.com or call / text on 07718 766873.
New members are always very welcome to join.