The day before yesterday I noticed a very large flock of birds settled in the trees at the end of the garden by the river. They were a mixed flock and by the way they flew I was reminded of mistle thrushes, but knew they would never flock like these. I surmised that some of them were probably fieldfares.
Late yesterday afternoon my attention was drawn to the trees again by the loud sound coming from them, it was a sound I had heard before but was unable to place. I looked across at the trees and again saw many birds in them.
This afternoon I looked out of the end kitchen window and saw the birds amassed in the birch tree and flowering cherry tree. I was able to pick up the binoculars and see them clearly, they were fieldfares, redwings and surprisingly starlings, it was then I remembered the sound I had heard the day before and couldn't place, was of starlings.
Many years ago we were delighted to have a flock of starlings roosting in the garden at night, they charmed us with their nightly aerial display and we were sad when they were spooked one 5th November as a nearby town had a very noisy firework display. They flew away and sadly we have hardly seen a starling since in this area.
Maybe, just maybe, some of these will stay and once more we will be delighted by them, if they remain here.
European starlings (Sturnus Vulgaris) are the type we see in Britain, they are medium sized birds and are approximately 8" long from tip of tail to end of beak. They are black in colour with browny beige edges to their wings, in the winter they have white speckles, come the summer they lose many of the white speckles, their coats appear glossier and in the sunlight shine with startlingly bright irridescent colours. They are then outstandingly beautiful and a real joy to see. Legs are reddish brown and their beaks are yellow in the summer and black in the winter, it is said that males can be told from females by the colour at the base of the beak, girls = pink, boys = blue.
Interestingly, we refer to the aerial displays of the huge flocks of starlings as murmurations however this term used to refer to the noise made by starlings. This noise is the result of the sound emitted from their bills* and also by the wind through their wings.
*Starling noises are many and varied, they include:- warbles, clacks, high pitched squeals, whistles, clicks, squeaks, high trills, clacking and rattling of bills and much mimicry. Aggressively they have a scream like call.
They can appear aggressive because they are noisy birds, pushing and shoving not only each other, but also other birds. They are definitely aggressive when it comes to nesting, they nest in holes which can be quite small as, on finding a nesting hole if it is already occupied the starling will not hesitate to destroy the eggs and/or any young, in order to take over the nest. Their nests are made from twigs, grass, old leaves, feathers, plant pieces and any other debris they can find. Starlings have up to 3 clutches of between 4 and 9 eggs per year, they are pale blue, shiny and smooth. they are incubated for 12- 15 days and fledge after 20-22 days. Most starlings die in their first year, others will live a lot longer, the oldest known wild starling lived for 15 years.
Starlings are omnivores, and will eat amongst other things; seeds, fruit, insects, worms, beetles, slugs and any food put on the ground or bird table.
Immigrants from Poland, Finland and Scandinavia come here in the winter, they join up with our flocks and form huge flocks many thousands strong. In the evening they perform the most amazing aerial demonstrations known as murmurations, which are quite awe inspiring and many people gather to watch them.
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