A RECURRING DEPARTURE

From August to December 2025, I documented the daily rhythm of starlings at the Hooge Boezem near Haastrecht, the Netherlands. Each morning, flocks departed from the reed beds at sunrise and returned at sunset to roost.

What fascinated me was the consistency of this cycle. Spending long hours in the area, I became familiar with their behavior, allowing me to anticipate movements and explore the phenomenon from different perspectives.

Rather than depicting murmurations as abstract shapes, this series places their behavior within the landscape. Reed beds, trees, and a historic windmill mark the places where the flock gathers, pauses, and moves on.

By varying distance, viewpoint, time of day, and shutter speed, I created a colorful series that is both graphic and narrative, revealing the daily cycle of departure and return.


For five months, from August through December 2025, more than 55,000 starlings roosted every night in the reeds of the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht. Even before sunrise, the area was quiet, until the soft murmur of starlings gradually became audibl

For five months, from August through December 2025, more than 55,000 starlings roosted every night in the reeds of the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht. Even before sunrise, the area was quiet, until the soft murmur of starlings gradually became audible. The chirping intensified and revealed where they were located in the reeds. Shortly afterward, the beating of thousands of wings could be heard as the starlings took off and then departed.

Before sunset, the starlings returned from different directions to the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht. As a hot air balloon hovered above the landscape, the starlings passed by it. From this viewpoint, it seemed as though the flock was flying around

Before sunset, the starlings returned from different directions to the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht. As a hot air balloon hovered above the landscape, the starlings passed by it. From this viewpoint, it seemed as though the flock was flying around the balloon, and one starling flew directly beneath the basket. Though in reality, this was simply a matter of perspective.

Above the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht, birds of prey are regularly active, including sparrowhawks, harriers, and occasionally a peregrine falcon. When a raptor appeared, unrest immediately arose within the flock, and the starlings remained in cons

Above the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht, birds of prey are regularly active, including sparrowhawks, harriers, and occasionally a peregrine falcon. When a raptor appeared, unrest immediately arose within the flock, and the starlings remained in constant, alert motion. This made it clear how the flock responded to the presence of a hunter.

As the flock flew above the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht, its formation constantly shifted under the influence of a nearby hunting raptor. It became clear how the starlings pulled together into a compact group and then spread out again, creating ev

As the flock flew above the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht, its formation constantly shifted under the influence of a nearby hunting raptor. It became clear how the starlings pulled together into a compact group and then spread out again, creating ever-changing patterns in the sky.

The starlings regularly settled on the blades of Windmill No. 6, the last of the seven mills that once drained the Hooge Boezem. By framing the image around a single blade, a graphic composition emerged in which the starlings were scattered across th

The starlings regularly settled on the blades of Windmill No. 6, the last of the seven mills that once drained the Hooge Boezem. By framing the image around a single blade, a graphic composition emerged in which the starlings were scattered across the windmill blade. Here, they rested briefly before continuing on toward the reeds.

At the edge of the reeds in the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht, I sat with my camera low to the ground to capture the starlings from the perspective of their roosting site. Reed stems formed a natural frame, with an opening in the center of the image

At the edge of the reeds in the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht, I sat with my camera low to the ground to capture the starlings from the perspective of their roosting site. Reed stems formed a natural frame, with an opening in the center of the image. Because the flock moved differently above the reeds each evening, several attempts were needed. In the end, the flock flew precisely through the opening.

Against the evening sky above the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht, the starlings appeared as silhouettes against the warm glow of the setting sun. By using a slower shutter speed and not fully freezing the motion, an image emerged in which form and mo

Against the evening sky above the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht, the starlings appeared as silhouettes against the warm glow of the setting sun. By using a slower shutter speed and not fully freezing the motion, an image emerged in which form and movement came together. This revealed how the flock moved through the evening sky.

In the trees along the reeds of the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht, starlings often rested before diving into the reeds. By using a slower shutter speed, I captured both the stationary birds and the movement of incoming starlings. This revealed still

In the trees along the reeds of the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht, starlings often rested before diving into the reeds. By using a slower shutter speed, I captured both the stationary birds and the movement of incoming starlings. This revealed stillness and motion within a single image, as the last birds joined the group before they entered the reeds together.

In the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht, I discovered that starlings sometimes departed in the morning from a different part of the reeds than where they had settled the evening before, suggesting that the flock had moved later on. For this reason, I o

In the Hooge Boezem behind Haastrecht, I discovered that starlings sometimes departed in the morning from a different part of the reeds than where they had settled the evening before, suggesting that the flock had moved later on. For this reason, I often remained after sunset, usually in vain. Until this clear evening, when the flock shifted position and flew low over the reeds past my camera. A final movement before the recurring departure at sunrise begins again.

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