Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. This is the mesmerising moment a murmuration of starlings took the form of a giant bird while being targeted by a bird of prey. Daniel Biber, 53, captured the breathtaking snap after observing thousands of birds and scouting locations over a four-day period. Like clouds in the sky, the giant flocks often take on weird and wonderful - and sometimes graphic - moving forms and shapes. And the birds made for a startling spectacle when they assembled over the Costa Brava in northeastern Spain in front of Mr Biber's eyes. He managed to take a series of images which show the birds merging into the shape of a giant bird when they were targeted by a predator. And the unique snap has since earned him the top prize in an international photography competition. But Mr Biber said he only realised his luck once he reviewed the photographs on his computer. He said: "I was taking pictures of the murmurations over several days. "Only when I checked the pictures on the computer later, I realised what formation the starlings had created. "I was so concentrated on taking pictures at the time that I hadn't realised that the starlings had created a giant bird in the sky. "It took less than 10 seconds for the birds to create that formation. "I realised that I had captured a unique snapshot, technically, sharp and in high quality." Mr Biber lives in Hilzingen, Germany, and now runs a bicycle business following his career as an aerospace engineer. He has been taking pictures since 1981 when he started off with his first reflex camera and has been taking digital snaps since 2008. Mr Biber has visited the northeast of Spain for a number of years and knew about the fascinating display that starlings put on. But he said it took him four days to capture the unique moment after he had to scout out locations and get the lighting right. Mr Biber added: "I always have at least one camera on me whenever I leave the house. "And I go on regular holidays to northeastern Spain where I have witnessed fantastic murmurations of starlings over the years. "I've tried to photograph the starlings but it never worked out as well as I hoped for. "I eventually drove to the spot every day for four days in a row in order to capture them. "I picked a spot where I thought they would turn up and picked a matching foreground and backdrop in order to put them in scene. "It usually happens that birds of prey turn up and the starlings then create bizarre forms. It can be quite erratic and completely random. "Sometimes it's fantasy formations which are then interpreted by our brain. "A number of people were watching this display but they were observing it from other spots and might not have seen what I captured." The images were submitted to an international photography run by the bird observatory Vogelwarte Sempbach in Switzerland. Organisers received 6,800 images for their 2017 competition which had been submitted by 540 photographers from 15 countries. Mr Biber, a semi-professional photographer, won the competition and has since had requests from experts who use his images to prove the difference between real and doctored images. He has also had requests from museums about a potential exhibition next year. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Daniel Biber is a semi-professional photographer and aerospace engineer He owns a highly specialised bicycle business He says of taking photos: "When I started in the early eighties I was using analog formats such as slide and black-and-white film focussing mainly on landscape and nature photography It was not until my transition to digital in 2008 that I became more interested in wildlife photography and birds in particular Since he started participating in photographic competitions in 2015 his photos have gained recognition in national and international competitions including the 2016 Swiss Ornithological Institute Sempach photo competition (two times finalist) and 2017 (overall winner and a 2nd place in one category) His images have also been part of exhibitions including the Euronatur trust online (international photo competition 2017) and the relating print exhibition (Bavarian Forest/ Germany) Daniel was shortlisted in the Professional Natural World & Wildlife category of the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards tell us a little about you and your background in photography I bought my first SLR camera to make astronomic photos with my Newton telescope but the optical quality was not sufficient and so it was sold I then started with photography in the early eighties but I also did experimental photography like for example nude and laser-based holographic photography All b&w processings were made by myself in a darkroom I was also working with several photographic techniques to visualize complex fluids behaviour I'm a generally curious person interested in multiple photographic domains In the very early years I started with drawings to express my view on interesting things but I found it always exciting to have a technical component to be creative That and the possibility to document certain incidents quick in a realistic and regardless individual way and abstractions became more and more important over the years The development of digital photography enables more creativity and often a better quality Congratulations on the shortlist this year Tell us more about the incredible series of images of starling murmurations Some people are having a hard time believing this is real Please ease their minds and tell us more.. A series of photos showing a swarm of starlings creating the shape of a giant bird have been shortlisted for the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards Nearly 320,000 images were submitted across 10 categories by photographers from over 200 countries and territories — the highest number of entries to date A shortlist — or the top 10 photos across each category — has been decided across the Awards' four competitions: Professional Taken by semi-professional photographer and aerospace engineer Daniel Biber titled "Fantastic Starling Swarm," and shortlisted for the Professional Natural World & Wildlife category I have been observing huge swarms of starlings in the area," Biber said "This time I had scouted over several days where the starlings gather in the evening to sleep and tried to capture this impressive spectacle "I took thousands of shots and here I had the incredible luck of witnessing the rushing swarm taking on the unique shape of a huge "Then it disintegrated again to form itself into an impressive pecking bird." There's a special name for a large groups of starlings The Professional competition is judged on a series of works while the Open competition is judged on a single image The shortlisted Professional and Open images will go on to compete to become category winners with the chance of being selected as Photographer of the Year winning $25,000 or Open Photographer of the Year winning $5,000 The overall winners will be revealed on April 19 at Somerset House in London, with an exhibition of all shortlisted and winning images to follow. The Campi Flegrei caldera volcano on the outskirts of the Italian metropolis of Naples is currently the most dangerous volcano in Europe the „Phlegraean Fields“ have been on volcano warning level yellow equivalent to: „Increased activity“ both earthquake activity and ground uplift increased continuously A recently published study by (Kilburn et al. being interpreted by numerous media outlets as an announcement of a volcanic eruption About the current situation and legitimate reasons for concern the earthquake was felt by many people inside the caldera Magnitude 3.6 is the strongest earthquake in the volcanic caldera in decades strong enough to cause damage and power outages While investigations into this are ongoing there is growing concern that recent earthquakes which have become more frequent and stronger Around 600 earthquakes are currently recorded per month The cause of the earthquakes is the ever-increasing uplift of the ground Above a magma chamber located at a depth of around four kilometres below Pozzuoli causing the earth’s crust to bulge upwards The ground has risen by about one meter in the last 10 years currently at a rate of 20 centimetres per year This volcanic behaviour is called bradyseismicity or earthquakes that result from volcanic uplift around 1200 earthquakes per month and uplift rates of up to four meters per year were recorded While the current uplift rates are still well below those of that time the earthquake activity at least seems to be getting closer this apparent similarity is also due to the much better monitoring currently Many of the current earthquakes would not have been registered in the 80s so that the real number of earthquakes at that time was significantly higher A new study by Christopher Kilburn (UCL Hazard Centre University College London) has investigated how the stress changes associated with uplift affect the top crust of the Earth above the magma chamber the rock layer that currently lies between the magma and the Earth’s surface Both the deformations in the 20th century and those currently ongoing were considered If a magma chamber presses on the uppermost layers of the earth’s crust from below there are two ways in which deformation can take place: While ductile deformation usually occurs slowly and without earthquakes brittle deformation is what happens as a result of earthquakes The high earthquake activity during the strongest deformation phases in the 20th century indicated that the lower part of the earth’s crust is already fractured Further fractures are also currently taking place there The study shows that this could also change soon This is because the stability of the rock has now been greatly reduced by the ongoing uplift and earthquakes This means that the probability is increasing that fractures will continue to the surface When the critical point is reached and the uppermost crust becomes unstable a fracture of the uppermost crust does not mean that a volcanic eruption will necessarily occur but it does increase the danger posed by the volcano If magma rises (we do not know if and where it is trying to do so at the moment) it can quickly reach the surface through existing cracks But completely without warning this does not happen This is because the fracture itself can also be seen as a warning sign Surface rupture is usually accompanied by strong earthquake activity at known fault zones it is not only the magnitude that is striking but above all the epicenter This lies outside the seismically most active zone which is located between the Solfatara crater and the city centre of Pozzuoli the epicentre was located in the Arco Felice district This earthquake continues the trend of seismic activity becoming more extensive Already before there were single microquakes in Arco Felice There were also noticeable quakes near Bagnoli and north of Pozzuoli at the Astroni crater But an epicentre in the direction of Arco Felice is clearly more exciting Between Arco Felice and Pozzuoli runs the western section of the La Starza fault system recognizable by a cliff prominently overlooking the landscape the ground has shifted by about 40 meters in the last 10,000 years This fault is thus one of the largest surface ruptures in the entire caldera also occurred primarily to the west of this fault system but triggered earthquakes only at depths of about 2 to 3 kilometres The earth’s crust above remained stable but is particularly weakened here Today’s earthquake occurred in the immediate vicinity of the fault system where earthquakes had already occurred 40 years ago and where the probability is greatest that a rupture will reach the surface again the same area where earthquakes occurred in the 1980s propagation of the rupture to the surface did not occur initially the earthquake at this location indicates a possible reactivation of the La Starza fault system A new earthquake sequence as in the 80s thus becomes more likely La Starza also offers the potential for stronger earthquakes the hazard potentially posed by earthquakes If further earthquakes occur at this location the probability of a stronger one and thus a rupture of the fault system up to the surface increases magma that presses to the surface would have a clear path And that La Starza can be a good path for magma is proven by the volcano’s most recent eruption in 1538 which formed what is now Monte Nuovo in the centre of Arco Felice right on the western edge of the La Starza fault zone The situation at the Campi Flegrei Caldera volcano is thus increasingly tense The continued increase in earthquake activity continued uplift and the danger posed by a possible volcanic eruption is worrisome Kilburn’s (2023) study is timely and provides guidance on potential warning signs and hazards that are extremely important for disaster preparedness in the Naples metropolitan region With today’s strongest earthquake in 40 years there is also a growing risk that such a scenario could become a reality Neither the study nor the current earthquake indicate an imminent volcanic eruption But both give important indications of possible short-term and long-term dangers Indications that are urgently needed in an emergency to warn millions of people in the danger zone in good time Startseite » English » France » Strong Earthquake (M5.5) near La Rochelle A 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit La Rochelle It was felt widely throughout Western France According to the Geophysical and Detection Laboratory (LDG) France the earthquake reached magnitude 5.9 with a shallower depth of 10 km The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the west of France near the city of La Rochelle It is one of the strongest earthquake recorded in that region since 1799 It has an intensity of VI to VII and was therefore clearly felt throughout the region including Paris Lyon and Normandy and reaching as far as south of England The region around La Rochelle is one of the most seismically active regions in France A series of larger strike-slip faults run across this region to Brittany earthquakes over magnitude 5 are very rare The use of different scales has resulted in widely varying statements about the magnitude of the earthquake. The University of Strasbourg adjusted the earthquake to magnitude 5.3 It still remains one of the most powerful in recent decades The extent of the damage is uncertain at the moment Des morceaux de pierre venant sans doute d’une cheminée sont tombés en centre-ville de #Niort. Les abords sont bouclés #seisme #DeuxSèvres pic.twitter.com/yNO8uJmLst — France Bleu Poitou (@Bleu_Poitou) June 16, 2023 In Bussière-Poitevine (map) 14 earthquakes larger than 4.2 were detected over the past 30 days. Therefore, the earthquake activity over the past month was much higher than usual (more than 20 % difference). Since 1960 28 earthquakes larger than Magnitude 4.0 were detected in this region. The average number of earthquakes in this part of France (near Bussière-Poitevine) is 0.48 quakes larger than 4.0 per year. Therefore, the seismicity is usually moderate and quakes of magnitude 5.5 have a recurrence period of more than 50 years. Are you sure you want to post this? 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Sometimes in nature things happen that seem too good to be true perfect coincidences that vividly illustrate the beauty and wonder of the world around us One such episode occurred over the Costa Brava when a flock of birds began to gather into a shape-shifting cloud sometimes thousands or more birds moving and twisting in what appears to be a coordinated single organism that can quickly morph into some startling shapes.Wildlife photography professional Daniel Biber from Hilzingen Germany was there when the starlings began to swirl and twist most likely the result of a predator such as a falcon or a hawk being in the vicinity It was almost supernatural that in response to the predator the cloud of starlings ended up twisting and turning themselves into a giant The photos have earned Mr. Biber a prize in an international photography competition, but he didn’t realize that he had captured such unique shots until later on. “Only when I checked the pictures on the computer later, I realized what formation the starlings had created,” he told the Daily Mail “I was so concentrated on taking pictures at the time that I hadn’t realized that the starling murmuration had created a giant bird in the sky.” who had tried and failed to capture the starlings in full flow before “’I’ve tried to photograph the starlings but it never worked out as well as I hoped for,” he said “’I eventually drove to the spot every day for four days in a row in order to capture them I picked a spot where I thought they would turn up and picked a matching foreground and backdrop in order to put them in a scene.” Biber’s incredible bird watching photography shots and if you are a bit of an amateur twitcher yourself you can add your own bird photos in the comments Image credits: Daniel Biber/lensculture Image credits: Daniel Biber/ SWNS Image credits: Daniel Biber/lensculture Anyone can write on Bored Panda. Start writing! Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! The incredible images ended up winning an international photography prize!" -> and deservingly so! These are cool, cute, majestic, elegant, interesting and intriguing at the same time. The bird is saying where's the food? I think that photo of an angry bird is as good as the starlings, only it's funny. What does that silly bird have to be angry about? lol The last two look like a killer whale or penguin. The last two look like a killer whale or penguin 5comments 27 points 0comments 19 points 0comments 21 points 1comment 27 points 5comments 30 points 3comments 18 points 3comments 28 points 3comments 21 points 12comments 36 points 1comment 19 points