Israeli photographer captures unique bird spoon image

An Israeli wildlife photographer has captured a remarkable momentary image of a flock of birds forming the shape of a spoon with a heap of sugar.

The illusion happened during what is known as a murmuration, where thousands of starlings fly and swoop in clusters.

Albert Keshet also snapped what appeared to be the spoon bending, posting it on social media.

The images caught the attention of famed Israeli spoon bender Uri Geller, who has framed them in his museum.

Mr Keshet took the images when he went on an early morning excursion to a spot in the northern Jordan Valley to photograph wild plants and birds.

"When I was in the valley looking for birds, I met the flocks of starlings. I stayed there for about five or six hours, watching and following them in order to capture some beautiful pictures," he told the BBC.

"At one point they began to ascend to the sky and began the dance of starlings. To my huge surprise, in the space of only about five seconds the starlings formed the shape of the spoon. They held it for a few seconds then the shape changed to a bent spoon - just like the one Uri Geller is famous for!

"In the 10 years that I have been travelling and taking photos, this is one of the most amazing pictures of starlings I have ever taken!"

After posting the images on social media, Mr Keshet was flooded with messages from people expressing amazement.

Among them was Uri Geller, who is renowned for bending spoons apparently with the power of his mind. He called it a "phenomenal unique never again moment", and a "natural gift" for his 75th birthday just days earlier.

The self-described "mystifier" and psychic has placed the blown-up images in his recently opened museum in Jaffa, in southern Tel Aviv.