Birdwatch Ireland is trying to discover why one of the country’s most spectacular wildlife displays is disappearing.
Starling murmurations occur when tens of thousands of the common birds gather to dance across the sky. The spectacular scenes were once a much more common sight in Irish skies but have become increasing less frequent in recent years.
Birdwatch Ireland says they are being contacted by phone calls and emails at this time of year with requests from the Irish public asking where they can see the autumn and winter spectacle.
Now the organisation is seeking the public’s help in trying to log the murmurations in an effort to build up data on the mystery “sky dances”.
One of the most spectacular starling murmurations has taken place each year for the past five years above Lough Ennell outside Mullingar. Others occasionally take place over Wexford town; Bettystown, Co Meath; and central Belfast.
However, Niall Hatch, spokesman for Birdwatch Ireland, said murmurations are getting more scarce.
“A hundred years ago, starling murmurations would have been common in a lot of towns around Ireland, but they are getting fewer and fewer each year and we don’t know why.
“We know there are less starlings but they are still a common bird and are not in any danger but we don’t know why the frequency of these amazing performances are getting less and less,” he said.
Mr Hatch said ornithologists cannot say for definite why starlings take part in the murmurations, but they are not thought to be a courtship ritual.
“One [theory] is that birds gather in huge numbers to avoid predators because they will not be picked off by the likes of peregrine falcons if they are in a large grouping.
“Another theory is that they can tell if other birds have eaten well by the way they fly and so other birds will follow them to their source of food,” he said.