Welcome to Ping and Echo, a daily newsletter that shares one amazing podcast episode guaranteed to be a great listen for kids and their families. Each newsletter includes links to articles, videos, and activities related to the podcast so you can turn every episode into an adventure.
Today’s episode is from The Field Guides podcast and it is about a natural phenomenon that we’ve been excited to include in this newsletter for some time. If you have never witnessed a murmuration - a enormous flock of starlings flying together in tight coordination doing what seems like tricks - it is a remarkable sight to see. We will include some videos down below so you can see it for yourself (the picture above doesn’t capture the magic of it). It has been described as dancing on the wind, or as an aerial avalanche. And while the videos below are stunning, there is something even more awe inspiring to see one in person. The hosts of this show describe murmurations, and go into some of the science behind them.
Podcast: The Field Guides
Episode: What the Flock is a Murmuration of Starlings?
Length: 20 minutes
🧐 You Should Know
We’ll always give you a heads up if there is anything in the podcast that might surprise or worry kids. Nothing to worry about here.
💡 Try This
After you listen to the episode you can create your own murmuration with the links and activities below:
Try drawing your own murmuration or using easy to find printable bird stencils to paint a murmuration
Cut out bird shapes and put them on sticks in your yard as a murmuration sculpture
Check out these murmuration art projects for inspiration
🔎 Explore More
Read up on starlings and murmurations with these links:
Video: Wonders in the Sky: A murmuration of starlings in slow motion
Video: A Bird Ballet: A murmuration of starlings over Marseille, France
Video: Starling murmuration, a stunning clip from Jan van Ijken's 'The Art of Flying'
The name Ping and Echo comes from sonar technology which relies on sending out “pings” and receiving back “echos” to discover the world around you. You can send us pictures of the art and activities created by your kids. Email them to pingandecho@gmail.com and we’ll post all your echos on our Instagram and our Twitter page.
Thanks for lending us your ears and your inbox.
Josh, Ruby, and Toby
* Photo by Rhys Kentish on Unsplash