Starling
It’s that time of year, the temperature has dropped, the clocks have gone back, our garden feeders are once again being visited by the starling. Noisy, bossy, always squabbling, this iridescent beauty brightens up the gloomiest of winter days. The 8 pictures below were taken on one evening and are only a part of a roost of some 50,000. Murmurations are spectacular but so too is the birds’ agility when coming into land in the roost.
All of the above images were taken on the Somerset Levels in early November 2023, prior to the huge influx of starling expected in December. Apparently, each starling instinctively monitors the trajectories of 7 of the nearest birds so that it can adjust its own trajectory. Looking at these close up pictures, I don’t think they always get it right!
Notice also the black beaks of these birds which indicates that the beak is harder and will penetrate harder winter ground.
Now take a look at the picture below, taken in Orkney earlier this year. The beak is yellow because the ground there is less hard in the spring/summer.
These final 2 images are of juvenile starlings, which have black beaks.
