Rise of 'murmuration tourism' brings boost to Westmeath

Bird Watch Ireland has said it has seen an increased public interest in the phenomenon of starling murmurations.

Lough Ennell in Co Westmeath remains a prime location to witness the wildlife display during winter and early Spring.

In recent months, 'murmuration tourism' has seen increasing numbers of people visiting the area to see the spectacle.

"Interest in murmurations has definitely been growing and I'm not surprised, because it's one of the most spectacular sites that you can see in nature," Niall Hatch of Bird Watch Ireland said.

He added: "The murmuration at Lough Ennell is one of the most spectacular in the whole country and also one of the most reliable, which is important when people are traveling distances to go and see it.

"It's certainly something that I think that everyone should see at least at least once in their lifetime."

It is believed murmurations form for several reasons.

Flocking together offers safety in numbers - predators such as peregrine falcons find it hard to target one bird in the middle of a hypnotising flock of thousands.

Birds also gather to keep warm at night and to exchange information, such as good feeding areas.

When a predator targets the birds, it can produce amazing displays and shapes.

"They would have been a very familiar sight, both in urban and rural areas, and that's because we had a much higher population of starlings back then," Mr Hatch said.

"You have to witness to really appreciate it, it's life-affirming, it's good for the soul."

Decades ago, murmurations were commonplace in Ireland and while starlings remain common in Ireland, the overall population has declined massively, according to Bird Watch Ireland.

"These murmurations are now few and far between.

"Certainly, most of the murmurations we see around the country, even though they may still be very beautiful to watch, they're much smaller than they would have been historically.

"I think the real beauty of the one at Lough Ennell is that it's a proper, massive, old-style murmuration, like what would have been common in almost every parish across the country a century or more ago," Mr Hatch said.

'Nature at its best'

For Philomena Brady from Co Offaly, murmuration watching around Lough Ennell has become part of her life and every evening since late November, she has been following the starling display.

She said her interest began after seeing James Crombie's now world-famous photograph over Lough Ennell in March 2021.

"I started coming here after I saw James Crombie's beautiful photograph and I got hooked on it really and truly," she said.

Ms Brady added: "I've done over 140 days this season, even over Christmas. Rain, hail, frost and snow, I've been here every day, I love it.

"When you see the birds and you see the moves and shapes they make, it's nature at its best. It's magical.

"When they come, I forget everything and just concentrate on what they're doing."

Ms Brady is one of the main contributors to an online murmuration forum where those interested in the spectacle often look for advice and guidance on when and where to go.

"I put up a video on that every night of the murmuration and people are always asking me questions about where to go the next night.

"There's no guarantee where they are going to be, that's the beauty of it. Every evening is different," Ms Brady said.

Bloomfield Hotel, which overlooks Lough Ennell, said it has seen an increase in visitors, so much so that it has designed a hotel package around the spectacle.

"Over the last few years, we've seen a large increase in footfall to the lake to see the murmurations so we decided to put on a murmuration experience package," said Oliver Gaffey, sales and marketing manager at Bloomfield Hotel.

He added: "It's a package that includes a two-night stay as well as a photograph and book by James Crombie, the photographer who captured that amazing photograph of the murmuration.

"Young and old, people are coming from all over Ireland and abroad to experience it.

"For us, it's our shoulder period so it's great to get guests coming to stay and it's also having an impact locally.

"Belvedere House next door has experienced more visitors during the week too.

"We're very lucky to have this on the grounds of our hotel and if the birds move from here, there are enthusiasts locally who will direct visitors where to go but they're never too far away."

'Hard to put into words'

Emily Cooper is a student from the United States who travelled to Westmeath to study the starling murmuration.

She had been researching the spectacle online for the last year and was left speechless after witnessing it for the first time in Ireland.

"It's hard to put into words. I hadn't known about this until in 2021 and when I found out, I applied to do a PhD and my adviser allowed me to come here to see it," Ms Cooper said.

She added: "One thing we don't really know as a community is why they do this murmuration.

"People will tell you different things but mostly they think it's predator evasion.

"So, what I'm doing here is coming out every day to try and see if we can put together that piece and find out exactly why they are doing this murmuration."

Most evenings one of the country's best sports photographers, James Crombie, is perched on the shores of Lough Ennell.

It is five years since he captured what will probably the most famous photo he will ever take.

The photograph of a bird-shaped murmuration taken over Lough Ennell appeared first on the front page of the Irish Times on 4 March 2021 and from there, it went around the world.

"It was during Covid and I'm a sports photographer and there was no sports, so I had to find something to spend my evenings at," he said.

Mr Crombie added: "So I started coming down here to Lough Ennell and little did I know what would what happen.

"It was a magical night, and I've never seen it like it again. I've seen lots of brilliant displays, but that night was just phenomenal."

The spectacular image captured that night sparked a real public interest, which has only grown over the last few years.

"There's a Facebook group now with about 8,000 or 9,000 people in it and every night you'll see people lined up along the shore.

"People are constantly asking where the murmurations are and I hope a little bit of me was responsible for that.

"It's great to see people having an awareness of wildlife, it really is a phenomenal thing to experience, it can be breathtaking," Mr Crombie said.

The photographer admits that it took him a year or so to realise what was happening.

"The more I got into it and the more I spoke to people, the more I understood what actually was going on," he said.

The murmuration season runs from around November to early Spring with many locals believing it peaked in recent weeks.

"The locals around here say St Patrick's Day is generally when it starts to peter off.

"And it's quite amazing. The numbers will go from maybe half a million, to 200,000, to 100,000, to 50,000 really quickly, in the space of a week, they'll just drop off".

"When it starts to drop off, all us murmuration watchers get our lives back for a few months," Mr Crosbie laughed.

'We'll do seven trips' next year

London-based wildlife photographer Jules Cox is writing a book about bringing up his son and sharing with him the most spectacular wildlife events.

"Lough Ennell is without doubt the best place to come for starling murmurations," he said.

Mr Cox, who visited twice in February with his son and again in March, said the season is now coming to an end.

"A lot of the population of starlings here are non-native. They come from the far north, from Russia and Scandinavia.

"When they get the signals, that it starts to warm up, they head back to where they summer," he explained.

And so, he is already planning for next year.

"You have to witness to really appreciate it, it's life-affirming, it's good for the soul.

"I think next year it will take more dedication, and we've calculated we'll do seven trips between February and March," Mr Cox said.

Bird Watch Ireland said it has seen more people engaging with its starling murmuration survey which it runs every winter and aims to track where murmurations are.

"We ask people to try and estimate the number of birds, although that’s easier said than done as sometimes it can be in the hundreds of thousands.

"There are also spectacular murmurations in places like Belfast and Wexford town, and the Cabragh wetlands in Tipperary are also very good.

"At Lough Ennell, it's consistent and they tend to perform in the same general area over the course of the winter, so I think that’s why that site is particularly attractive to people."

For the murmuration watchers at Lough Ennell, the focus is on next winter when all eyes will be on the skies again.

"I always say I'm not going to go back in November, but I always go back," Mr Crombie said.

"It gets me away from the phone and the problems of the world, it's cold, it's fresh and you never know what you're going to see," he added.