If you get to the murmuration site early – around 3pm in mid-winter – you will catch the starlings as they start to arrive at the roosting spot, before they coalesce into one huge shape-shifting mass of birds. It’s also a good excuse to get out and witness spectacular sunsets and dramatic clouds at this time of year, like this one at Middleton Moor, Derbyshire

Photograph: Mick Ryan/Fotovue.com