The world around us is filled with amazing coincidences that seem too fantastic to be accurate. These flawless coincidences highlight the magnificence and awe of the natural world.
Murmurations, a collection of birds that form a cloud that changes shape as they fly through the air, were observed over the Costa Brava in northeastern Spain during one such occurrence. These birds move and twist in what appears to be a single coordinated creature that may suddenly morph into some surprising shapes, and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of birds are involved in the spectacle. Daniel Biber, a wildlife photography professional from Hilzingen, Germany, was on the scene as the starlings began to spiral and twist, most likely due to the presence of a predator such as a falcon or a hawk in the immediate proximity. As if to tell their tormentor, “We are bigger than you,” the cloud of starlings ended up twisting and changing themselves into a massive, single bird, almost as if they were supernaturally transformed in response to the predator.
Even though Mr Biber’s photographs had earned him a prize in an international photography competition, he was unaware that he had taken such distinctive images until much later. His discovery of the starling creation came later when he looked at the photos on his computer. “It wasn’t until then that I recognized what the starlings had done,” he told The Daily Mail. At the moment, I was so preoccupied with photographing the stars that I overlooked that the starling murmuration had produced a giant bird in the sky.
Mr Biber’s patience paid out in the end, as he had previously attempted and failed to capture the starlings in full flight. He has tried to picture the starlings in the past, but his efforts have not always turned out the way he had planned. After driving to the location every day for four days to photograph them, I was successful.” I chose a place where I believed they might appear and a complementary foreground and backdrop to incorporate them into a composition.”
See Mr Biber’s outstanding bird-watching photography photographs in the gallery below. If you’re an amateur twitcher yourself, you can share your bird photos in the comments section!
When things happen in nature, they often appear too good to be true.
The German photographer Daniel Biber had been attempting to catch the murmuration of starlings for four days before he finally succeeded.
“I’ve attempted to picture the starlings, but my efforts have never turned out as well as I had wanted.”
“I eventually drove to the location every day for four days straight to photograph them.”
“I was so preoccupied with snapping photographs at the moment that I failed to see that the starlings had conjured up a big bird in the sky.”
“It took the birds fewer than ten seconds to assemble that pattern.”
“I realized that I had captured a one-of-a-kind photo that was technically flawless, crisp, and excellent quality.”
When birds of prey appear, starlings are common to develop odd shapes due to their presence. It can be highly irregular and entirely unpredictable.”
Several people watched this performance, but they viewed it from different vantage points. They may not have noticed what I was photographing.”
The stunning photographs were recognized with a prestigious international photography award!
