The Flock

Set against the failing light of an evening sky I have often enjoyed watching the starlings searching for their safe roost. Once a woodland bird they seem to have adapted to the farmlands and urban spaces, but it on the edge of the wood watching the shifting mass of hundreds of birds set against the sunset where they are most special for me.

In many ways these birds remind me of people. They find their security in numbers and the shifting movements of the flock remind me of the ebbs and flows of both the physical movements of people and of the changes of opinions and viewpoints with regard to the whole. It is an incredible sight when the direction of the flock is changed by the actions of a single bird, one observation or shift in movement can turn a neighbouring bird and the effect ripples through the whole flock and the effect is truly spectacular.

It is thanks to the actions and initiations of a few people that it appears our woodlands are safe for now. They have helped move half a million of us to raise our objections to the sell off of the forests by a gentle steer. In particular I would like to pass my thanks on to Hen, Karen & Nick, I will wish you well whenever I see the starlings in flight.