The Breathtaking Wader Spectacle: Witnessing the Mesmerising Murmurations at RSPB Snettisham

We were so excited to witness for the first time the incredible spectacle of thousands of wading birds coming together to create these absolutely amazing murmurations!

Our alarm was set for 4.45am, cameras and phones fully charged, rucksacks packed and we were excited to be going to watch out first Wader Spectacle!

What is a murmuration, exactly?

It's when all the wading birds that are roosting or feeding on the vast mudflats of the Wash are pushed by the sea into the sky in their thousands, creating vast flocks of birds that appear to be dancing in the sky.

Wading birds Murmuration

Why does it happen? Let's dive into the reasons behind this phenomenon!

It's the greatest spectacle at a spring tide, this is when a high tide occurs at the same time as the sun, moon and Earth are aligned, causing the oceans to bulge more than usual, normally around a full moon, which it would be this morning.

The Off

It was dark and foggy as we left the house at 5.30am for our rendezvous at 6am, we were not expecting the large numbers of people already milling around the carpark, most a lot better equipped for the dark than us with head torches, some getting cameras and tripods organised and all going to make their way to the viewing areas.

We set off from the carpark down a dark path, playing follow my leader, and hoping the person in front had a better idea of where we were going because we definitely didn't have a clue! Finally, after a couple of kilometres, our only light being from the full moon, we arrived and people started getting their camera/monoculars set up, some just got comfy on the ground, just here to witness one of the natural wonders.

Now we waited and waited not sure what would happen and where from, as more and more people joined us at the coast edge. We could just make out small birds in the distance through the fog, some small flocks flew overhead or resettled on the mudflats.

And then, it finally happened!

With the fog still clinging on to the sea and the watery sun just rising, it started! A loud wave sound somewhere in the distance, the now hundreds of people fell completely silent as the flocks of mainly Red Knot waders came into view and quite simply took our breath away, as they moved in synchronisation in the sky to either fly over our heads into one of the lagoons behind us or resettled on the mud flats to continue foraging - click on the link to see it

All was calm for a while, then the fog lifted, the sun came out and the tide rushed in sending the remaining birds into the air once again to shimmer and dance in the sun creating the most amazing murmurations - here's another video

Once it was over an excited chatter started among the people who had just witnessed something quite incredible with the favourite word being WOW and comparing with others which bit of clothing or camera equipment had not escaped the overhead flying poop!

Would we do it again? Absolutely!

YES! Nothing can quite prepare you for this incredible spectacle, watching it on TV somehow doesn't capture the full sound of the spectacle and if you ever get the chance to witness it, grab it with both hands, it's certainly something we'll never forget and are already looking forward to going again.

Oh and by the way, you might want to wear protective clothing for the inevitable fallout from the fly over, haha!

If you want more information on upcoming dates, they can be found on the RSPB website.

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