Starlings making a comeback?

[ey_tony]

I have to admit it's quite a while since I've seen Starlings in substantial numbers.
As a child living further North they were ubiquitous and it was very common to see flocks of many hundreds of them swirling around but in recent years around here in East Yorkshire, the sight of Starlings were few and far between and nearly as rare as hearing a Cuckoo but in the past few weeks I've seen lots of Starling families landing in the gardens around me and only two gardens away a flock of maybe 50-100 ( which seems to be growing daily) have taken up roosting in one of the neighbour's trees which I'm pleased about as I admire the once much maligned Starlings with their striking markings when in full plumage and the way they swoop in and grab the food they want before moving on.

I've also noticed that we have more Song Thrushes coming to our garden these day too. This is evident by the number of empty and broken snail shells which litter my front and rear gardens...they're a very welcome visitor indeed.

It's good to see at least some sections of our bird populations making a comeback and long may it continue.

 

[Mrtrout]

Lots up here int North, often see a murmuring of them as a large amount is called, but they become a real nuisance on the bird feed.
S.

 

[GEK79]

I have to admit it's quite a while since I've seen Starlings in substantial numbers.
As a child living further North they were ubiquitous and it was very common to see flocks of many hundreds of them swirling around but in recent years around here in East Yorkshire, the sight of Starlings were few and far between and nearly as rare as hearing a Cuckoo but in the past few weeks I've seen lots of Starling families landing in the gardens around me and only two gardens away a flock of maybe 50-100 ( which seems to be growing daily) have taken up roosting in one of the neighbour's trees which I'm pleased about as I admire the once much maligned Starlings with their striking markings when in full plumage and the way they swoop in and grab the food they want before moving on.

I've also noticed that we have more Song Thrushes coming to our garden these day too. This is evident by the number of empty and broken snail shells which litter my front and rear gardens...they're a very welcome visitor indeed.

It's good to see at least some sections of our bird populations making a comeback and long may it continue.

The walk to my Lough is possibly miles and I will hear 4 cuckoo's calling the buzzard crying because he is wet.. Its glorious.. I can't remember the last time I saw a flock of starlings I remember the house Martins as a boy.. Enjoy..
Gary

 

[4wings]

They used to dance over the old railway stations before settling under the canopies for the night and smaller number over where I live now.
But the trees have gone, the rush beds have gone and they are banned from public buildings, We still get them in our eaves and they crap all over the car but it washes off.
It is a sad, lockdown showed people just how much nature helps our mental health, then we flood into the countryside to be close to nature and our mere presence causes more wildlife flora and fauna to decline.

 

[craigluscar]

I have to admit it's quite a while since I've seen Starlings in substantial numbers.
As a child living further North they were ubiquitous and it was very common to see flocks of many hundreds of them swirling around but in recent years around here in East Yorkshire, the sight of Starlings were few and far between and nearly as rare as hearing a Cuckoo but in the past few weeks I've seen lots of Starling families landing in the gardens around me and only two gardens away a flock of maybe 50-100 ( which seems to be growing daily) have taken up roosting in one of the neighbour's trees which I'm pleased about as I admire the once much maligned Starlings with their striking markings when in full plumage and the way they swoop in and grab the food they want before moving on.

I've also noticed that we have more Song Thrushes coming to our garden these day too. This is evident by the number of empty and broken snail shells which litter my front and rear gardens...they're a very welcome visitor indeed.

It's good to see at least some sections of our bird populations making a comeback and long may it continue.

15 years ago we had a lot of starlings when we moved to the outskirts of town with open fields they disappeared .This is the first time we have seen them in numbers ,with a lot of youngsters ,it must be a good year for them

 

[morayflyfisher]

My garden is full of starlings,in fact just been chasing them as they destroy the bird feeders and all te goldfinches and other smaller birds cant get a look in.I dont mind one or two,but they come in squadrons.Certainly been a good year for them round here.
The markings on them are great.

 

[4wings]

I had two separate bird tables at one time one for the small birds and one for the corvids, wood pigeon and starlings. One had good big wing span access the other close to a tree and shrubs to make Sparrow Hawk strikes less likely but not impossible. As I like to remind people, When you feed the birds you create a killing ground that you are responsible for.

 

[glueman]

Blackpool North Pier millions of them fly round in Murmerings in the early evening flying in from the countryside to roost under the pier .

 

[hooferinsane]

We have hoards of them here in the South East. Regular visitors to the garden feeders. As @4wings stated two posts above, we had a hawk in the garden a few days ago that ‘missed’. All the birds that visit normally seek refuge in the safety of a very thorny tree in our garden, before checking the coast is clear.

 

[ey_tony]

I think we take nature too much for granted and it's only when it's in short supply or disappears that we notice.

Going back to when I was a kid once more, Song Thrushes were two a penny where I lived in the North East, in fact they were on par with the numbers of Blackbirds one would see when out and about. The sight of a Thrush was unremarkable back then and if you looked in a hedge, the only way you could tell the difference between their nests is if you put you r hand in and felt if one was clay lined and then you knew which bird's nest it was but these days Thrush nests are few and far between though Thrushes have made a bit of a comeback around here which is good news for gardeners.

I suppose it's the use of chemical slug repellents responsible for their demise in numbers.
Thankfully most of my neighbours don't use slug pellets or similar which is good news for the Thrushes and each neighbour is bird friendly, each having a feeding station for a variety of birds so the birds are pretty much spoiled for choice where food is concerned so we get quite a few visitors on a daily basis and we always have them nesting in our garden hedges .

Another groups of common birds not seen in numbers (at least in my area) which were once commonplace are sparrows. For the past three or four years we've had a small group of maybe a dozen Tree sparrows visiting our garden daily but we never see many more than that.
I remember that there were always sparrows nesting under the edges of older house tile and slate roofs but today's building practices in changing building styles and sealing them have resulted in fewer apertures for then them to get under and build their nest.

I've noticed we are getting more predators like Sparrow Hawks doing the rounds though unfortunately we haven't got the pair of Crows we've had living locally over the past three seasons which used to see off hawks and buzzards if they came into the area which in turn resulted in more small bird visits just by the Crow's local presence.


On Saturday I spotted a Common Gull squawking loudly while harassing a Buzzard overhead which then gave up and left. It was common for to see the pair of Crows chasing off the buzzards when they lived in the area.

 

[glueman]

Tony I will send you some of my sparrows, they chirp all night due to a nearby street light that is on all night. I must have 3o plus of them in my garden

 

[redietz]

If you're missing starlings, we have a few hundred million here in North America we'd like to get rid of...

 

[ohanzee]

I still have the barn owls hissing and gurgling about 40' away, when they are not hissing or killing something they are appearing silently out of nowhere to scare the shiz out you.