Day 2 - The Starling - 30 Days Wild 2017

Day 2: Star Species

Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

Love them or loathe them there is no denying the starling is an amazing bird and regulars in my garden. For many years they have been coming everyday and around about this time every year the kids join them! Today I spent almost all day trying to catch a pair of blue tits with 3 fledglings on camera, but they were proving difficult - so instead I want to concentrate on the starling and the first starling fledgling that showed up today.

More about them - A lot of people think starlings are just dark, dull birds but if you really look at a starling (especially in sunlight) you will be surprised how beautifully colourful it is: glossy with a sheen of purples and greens (see for yourself with the below video...)

Juveniles however are dull brown in colour, some with a pale throat. They moult completely in the autumn to reveal the spotty adult plumage. The chicks are fed an all-invertebrate diet by both parents before and after they fly the nest in around May. 

Adult & juvenile together

Unfortunately Starlings have had something of a bad press. Some people see these birds are bullies and noisy, plus when they visit gardens in groups means they can empty bird tables in minutes, making them appear greedy. I on the other hand welcome them and love to see them. 

Starling singing it's creative song "whistle, click, whistle..."

They are an extremely intelligent and adaptable bird that has the ability to mimic other bird calls and machines (such as car alarms and telephones) - they haven't really got a 'song' just a medley of squeaks, clicks and whistles.

"Safety in numbers..."

Murmurations - Have you ever seen a starling murmuration? If you have, you know how spectacular it is. If you haven't I can't recommend it enough - it's nature at it's best. Starlings are highly sociable and flocks of 1000s gather in the evening and perform fantastic aerobatic displays before dropping into their roost sites. They gather in these huge numbers for safety as predators (such as sparrowhawks) find it hard to pick out an individual bird - they also benefit by keeping warm amongst the other birds and exchange information.

Below is a video I filmed at The Wildlife Centre in Cilgerran a few years ago (a fabulous place to see the spectacle in the winter.)

"they need help..."

Unfortunately the number of starlings have dropped dramatically in the last 30 years - in the UK this result is almost an 80% population decrease. They are now on the red list and even though they still seem a garden regular they have decreased in other areas - they need help. There are several causes of the decline: including loss of invertebrates through the use of pesticides, fewer nesting sites in urban areas and changes in farming practices.

What can we do to help?

• Starlings eat lots of insects, so it's important you keep your lawn: they love leatherjackets (the larve of crane flies) and dig in the grass looking for them. 
• Plant a berry tree (such as an elder) - they love to eat the berries 
• Erect a large nest box with a 45mm diameter hole high up on a shady wall of your house. 

Some of my regulars on a neighbour's aerial

Interesting Facts:

• The word 'murmuration' is used to describe their aerial display, but originally referred to the sound of wings rippling through the flock.
• Do you know how starlings got their name? In winter starlings have lots of pale spots all over their dark bodies. The white spots on dark plumage were thought to look like the night sky - so they were named 'Star'ling (sweet!).