From SVBC member Jo Davidson.

As those who know me are aware, every morning – whether it’s hot, cold, sunny, rainy or snowy – I sit on the front porch to sip my coffee and see what Mother Nature might have in store to catch my eye. A couple of days ago, she wasn’t kidding around! I have been lucky in my rather lengthy life to have seen a good number of European Starling murmurations, usually off in the distance over an open field as I drove down a rural stretch of road. (On the off chance someone hasn’t had the same good fortune, there is a link to a video below.) On this particular morning, however, the murmuration came to me! Quite literally! I had scarcely settled into my chair when I looked toward the little cherry tree in the front yard to see if the resident Northern Mockingbird was there to sing me awake. Just at that moment, about 600 Starlings swooped in over that very tree and headed toward me. I had little time to react as they came within a few feet, rose upward, swooped down again, made a quick turn and then another, and as suddenly as they had arrived, flew out of sight! I’m not sure whether their wings or my heart were fluttering faster! By murmuration standards, it was a small one, but by Tiny Moment standards, it will loom large for a long time.