Growing up as a child Starlings were seen as pests – making messy nests beneath the eves and kicking up a racket. Then later in life I would drive home into the city and see over the spires the swooping urban murmuration. Then that disappeared – municipal buildings swathed in anti-roosting netting. Later still daughter exclaims about the exotic multi-coloured bird she has seen in the garden. Then later still we join the spectator throngs visiting the pre-roost displays out beyond Stony Middleton.