Pesky Starlings

At certain times of the year, starlings seem to arrive in vast numbers with an insatiable appetite eating everything in sight to the exclusion of all other birds.

Despite the apparent health of local populations, on a national level starling numbers have been in steep decline and for this reason alone we should try to accommodate their somewhat excessive behaviour. In truth, starlings should always be welcome in our gardens for their stunningly beautiful iridescent coats and their amazing ability to mimic sounds, just like parrots, often copying the loudest sounds around such as drills, mowers and phones.

The trouble that some bird feeders have with marauding starlings is also, usually only transient. Starlings are extremely gregarious birds, preferring to nest in colonies in house eaves, bringing large numbers of them into our gardens. They also synchronise egg laying to ensure the whole colony fledge almost simultaneously creating sudden dense flocks of very hungry juveniles and agitated parents. However by the end of July and into early August, most will have moved on back into the countryside doing a great job of devouring millions of grubs and bugs, returning our gardens to the familiar faces of tits, finches and robins.

If you have problems with starlings during the breeding season, we have an excellent range of starling proof bird feeders, specially designed to stop the long necks and beaks of starlings from reaching the food. These are not always particularly attractive but can be used during late spring to give your smaller and more timid birds a safe feeding area away from the noise and chaos of the delightful, plundering, belligerent starling hordes!

The national starling population has fallen dramatically over recent decades declining by over 50% since the 1970’s. For this reason we should all support and help this beautiful species of bird especially when they appear in our gardens, typically during the breeding season.

We acknowledge that on a local level they can become overwhelmingly dominant excluding all other birds from the feeding stations and for this reason we offer a range of starling proof bird feeders so that you can provide a safe bird feeding haven for the smaller birds, while the starlings can squabble over food elsewhere in the garden.

Starlings are gregarious birds and due to their habit of nesting in or close to houses, regularly appear in our gardens during the breeding season from mid-April onwards. Starlings are compactly built with a short tail and long, pointed bill and pointed wings. Adults have a green and purplish metallic sheen on the back and the breast is speckled with small, pale spots. The beak is bright lemon yellow during summer months. The young are a dull grey-brown colour with an unkempt look that gives the appearance they are larger than the adults. The breeding season usually ends by August and starlings typically leave the garden as suddenly as they appeared, preferring the open countryside to forage for their natural diet of ground dwelling grubs and bugs.

Related Internet Links:
British Trust for Ornithology
BTO National Nest Box Week
BTO Garden BirdWatch

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