Blackpool has a long tourist season that runs from Easter to Christmas each year, but the biggest seaside spectacular takes place throughout the winter months when the attractions are all closed.  It’s awesome, and it’s free.

They arrive in batches of hundreds and thousands like clouds of dust above our heads.  They come from the parks and gardens of nearby towns to congregate in their millions at the North Pier just before sunset.  Here they swoop and dive in coordinated plumes of black against the pinkblueorange of the sky.

As the red sun plinks like an alka seltzer into the shining mercury of the Irish Sea, they fool us into thinking they’ve settled down.  Then they rise again as one to dance above the water for a few minutes more.

It’s freezing cold, we should get going, but we are spellbound until the last of the daylight fades.  At last, the great shape-shifting cloud funnels from the sky to the boards of the pier.  Settled now, they will roost here for the night and return to their urban garden habitats in the morning.

‘Closed for Winter’ reads the sign on the gates to the pier.  This translates as ‘Open for Starlings’ – birds as fascinating individually as they are en masse.

They murmurate, but they don’t murmur.  These are noisy birds.  Intelligent and adept at mimicry.

Legend has it that Mozart kept a pet starling.  He taught it musical phrases which were repeated back to him in variations that he employed in his compositions.

This evening’s display was particularly marvellous.  Sean kicked himself for not bringing his camera.  But there’s something to be said for enjoying the view without a lens in the way.

Sean’s pictures here, from a different day, don’t fully do it justice, so if you’re ever at a loose end in the Northwest of England on a winter afternoon, come and see for yourself.

Photo credits: Sean Breadin