I like getting Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in my garden even though they are a bit greedy. At the moment there are still a few juveniles.
The adults are rather nice to look at because I think the speckles look stunning (however they definitely wouldn't win X factor with their voices).
The Starling is slowly declining in this country along with other someother birds as well. Starlings normally form dense flocks however with wide spread declines these flocks have reduced. They normally lay 4-7 eggs; and 1or2 broods between April and July.
I think we'll need to stock up on lots of supplies to keep them fed this winter.
Starlings are always nice to see in the garden. I expect numbers to increase here as we get towards winter.
ReplyDeleteWe stopped putting suitable food out for the Starlings to give the smaller birds like Goldfinch, Blue/Great/Coal Tits, Robin, Dunnock a better chance. the Starlings are aggressive and bully them away.
ReplyDeleteKeep on enjoying your birds and wildlife Findlay, they need you.
They sure know how to get into everything, don't they?:) Starlings are beginning to populate our Tucson deserts.
ReplyDeleteThey're an introduced species here in the US. I read once that many years ago someone wanted to have every bird that is mentioned in Shakespeare's plays here in the US -- and so they imported a couple of pairs of starlings from England; now they are all over and, as you have noticed, they are very noisy and aggressive (and harmful to native birds!). But they belong in your garden! So if I were there, I'd probably love them better. I
ReplyDeleteIt's always interesting to watch when a 'raiding party' of Starlings decends into the garden Findlay, some of the antics they get up to, while they squable with each other over the food, can be quite entertaining...then all of a sudden, they're gone!...[;o)
ReplyDeleteHello Findlay, thank you so much for visiting my blog. You have a very interesting blog here and I think it is wonderful that you are so interested in Nature. I think your mum and dad have done a great job in encouraging you, it is a subject which will bring you much pleasure for the rest of your life and you never know you may be the new Chris Packham one day!
ReplyDeleteStarlings are fun to watch, I call them the bully boys of the bird world because they are always squabbling :-) They certainly are greedy! A juvenile once got stuck inside a tubular fat feeder in my garden and had to be carefully cut out with wire cutters!!! I don't see them in my garden as much as I used to, as you said their numbers are sadly declining, just like the House Sparrow which I also don't see so much as I used to.
Well done Findlay, keep up the excellent work. I will pop in now and again when I can :-)
Thank you for your comments Findlay,and keep enjoying wildlife.
ReplyDeleteHi Findlay, do you know starlings are great mimics and will copy other birds, especially gulls which they share rubbish tips with. We had a Starling years ago that used to make a ring ring call like our old telephone :)
ReplyDeleteHello, I didnt know that they do that, so I will be listening to ours more carefully now.
DeleteHi there! Great article. Thank you for sharing excellent information.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wildliferescuemagazine.com/speckles-the-magpie.html