Observation post opens in Brighton dedicated to starling murmurations

Video report by ITV News Meridian's Andy Dickenson

An observation post has opened in Brighton dedicated to capturing the murmurations of starlings.

The #StarlingsRoost is now in place along the Palace Pier, which includes a camera to observe the birds underneath the boardwalk.

It has been put there to educate people about the birds' decline.

Anne Ackord from Brighton Palace Pier said: "It was only during the lockdown, when there were no humans around, that we began to really watch them.

"It is a lesson for us all about how we are affecting, we humans, are affecting the natural world."

Watch: The murmurations of starlings captured in Brighton

At the height of 2020, around 5,000 starlings were recorded in each murmuration.

Twenty years ago, that number was around 50,000.

The #StarlingsRoost was officially opened by Brighton's Green MP Caroline Lucas.

She said: "I think the murmuration is nothing short of a miracle really.

"No one really quite understands how the birds don't bump into each other, how they know when they're going to turn.

"Over my lifetime we're losing around 80% of the starlings. You don't notice it from one day to the next, but for the next generation and the generation after that, unless we take some urgent action, then their lives will be a lot less full of the riches of nature."

People out along the seafront between November and March are most likely to see huge flocks of starlings dancing in the sky.

The #StarlingsRoost is thought to be the first of its kind and hoping to preserve their stay for far longer.

You can find the live stream of the starlings roosting under the Palace Pier here.