Starlings are ones to watch
AREN’T starlings brilliant?
They warm our hearts in winter with their spectacular, flowing, gushing murmurations and in summer they fill our gardens with chatter and banter.
Over the past few weeks my bird table and bird feeder have been like a rowdy pub as the boys and girls swoop in and push and shove each other around.
You can see them squabbling and arguing about something, bossing their brothers and sisters off the table and looking most indignant nearly all of the time.
We have a gang of around 20 which will increase in size with nowty fledglings later in spring. As they flock onto the table in a whirlpool of noise and activity, our terrier Alfie spots them out of the back window and rushes out through the dining room and kitchen to scare them off his patch.
They flutter off but watch the small angry dog with amusement, and are back in seconds to raid the bird table.
Alfie just gets more and more frustrated.
I also love the fact that blackbirds and sparrows put up with the starling hustle and bustle and just wander in and out to grab some food when the chance arises.
I put out bird seed, dried mealworms and raisins and this keeps my garden birds really happy. The fruit vanishes first. Starlings are not noted as one of our most beautiful birds, but look closely and you will see a purple and green sheen in their oily black coats.
In winter they have tiny beige spots but their summer coat is something to behold in the sunshine.
When the youngsters arrive you will notice them because of the commotion they make, initially wanting food and then commanding the bird table. They are brown in colour and again have plenty of spots.
During the early part of their lives they are fed by both parents, who have nested in holes in trees and old buildings.
The females lay five to seven eggs but, like most farmland birds, starling numbers have been hit by habitat loss out in the country.
It is heartening to see so many of them in my back garden and to see them joining with hundreds of others to stay warm in winter.
They really are an all-year round entertainer so make sure you are attracting them back by keeping those bird feeders stocked. »●To support the work of the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside text WILD09 with the amount you want to donate to 70070.