A Year of Days: Day 8 - Rainy in the morning - sunny in the afternoon...
This morning was rather miserable, very dull and heavy rain. At around midday the weather broke and we were treated to an unseasonably warm and sunny afternoon. Around mid-afternoon I took my camera for a walk to the end of the lane with the intention of photographing the farm across the fields. I got more than I bargained for because the sky was full of lapwings. Apart from the central flock in this image, there is another high up in the clouds and a third farther away towards the horizon. I spent a pleasant half-hour watching them circle and wheel, group and ungroup, never once landing or settling.
I've never seen a lapwing and the are pretty birds. I was at a big box store yesterday and the cold was moving in. I watched ( no camera in hand) as the birds were swooping and moving together. Was fascinating.
@catwoman2 You're right but I believe that murmuration is the term for these display groups rather than the usual collective noun. The collective noun (or term of venery) for lapwings is a deceit or a desert. These large groupings seem to me to be a relatively new phenomenon for lapwings. I've seen a couple of hundred before, but in total today there must have been several thousand.
We had the same weather yesterday, and I regret NOT going out during that brief spell of blue skies! Lovely shot - we are usually rewarded for getting out with the camera. Super capture.
