Black Sun in Denmark:
During spring in Denmark, at approximately one half an hour before sunset, flocks of more than a million European starlings (sturnus vulgaris) gather from all corners to join in the incredible formations shown above. This phenomenon is called Black Sun (in Denmark), and can be witnessed in early spring throughout the marshlands of western Denmark, from March through to the middle of April. The starlings migrate from the south and spend the day in the meadows gathering food, sleeping in the reeds during the night. The best place to view this amazing aerial dance is in the place called "Tøndermarsken," where these pictures were taken (on April 5 from 19.30 to 20.30 local time).
I saw this in Rome and it completely blew my mind. (Yeah, okay, it doesn't take much, but still...)
"Nay, I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but 'Mortimer' ...." -- Henry IV
The story goes that some guy released in Central Park all the birds mentioned by Shakespeare. The European
starling , released in 1890, now occurs throughout much of North America. The English house sparrow, like the house fly, house mouse, and Norwegian rat, followed Europeans throughout the world, currently occupying a greater range of habitat than any other bird on earth. Some claim exotic species should be welcomed due to their ability to occupy habitat so disturbed that native species are struggling, but the most successfull invaders are known to outcompete and displace native species. One year i cleared out some starlings nesting in cavities in an old box elder tree in the front yard, and some northern flickers nested there instead, succesfully hatching out two chicks. I felt pretty proud watching over them with an air rifle. The monk parakeet though .....