Sky Ballet: Starling murmuration dazzles near Salem (video)

On Nov. 12, 2024, Salem photographer Brian Stone was dazzled by thousands of starlings performing a magical murmuration over a vineyard ten miles east of Salem, near the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge.

According to National Geographic, a murmuration is an aerial display where starlings move in synchronized, fluid patterns, creating shifting shapes in the sky. The aerial choreography is guided by each bird reacting to the movements of its nearest neighbors in flight, creating a domino effect of split-second decisions. The coordinated flight patterns are a phenomenon that protects birds from raptors and also helps them discover roosting locations. It often happens during sunset, about 20 minutes before the birds settle in for the night.

On Nov. 16th, 2024, just before sunset, Sharon Davis-Robinson, of Astoria, also captured a starling murmuration near the Astoria-Megler Bridge. Davis-Robison said "Those birds do that every evening, every day."

Video courtesy of Brian Stone,