Starlings

Starling numbers are declining steeply and British Trust for Ornithology surveys show that numbers in Britain have fallen by about 66% since the 1970s. This is largely due to the changing agricultural landscape with less permanent pasture and mixed farming reducing the supply of earthworms and leatherjackets on which the Starling feeds. Their wonderful arial acrobatics as they gather over towns, woods and reedbeds to roost at night are a joy to watch. However, their sheer numbers (when they are joined by winter flocks from the continent) can cause problems underneath their town roosts where their droppings cause slip hazard and corrosion. Starlings are protected birds, so the only solution is to try to move them on to less sensitive roosts. This is generally done using tape recorded starling alarm calls.

Starlings: Description & Life Cycle

Starlings breed in holes in buildings and trees. They have been in continuous decline in Britain for many years and this may be attributable to a reduction in the number of available nest sites as our buildings have become better maintained. The use of insecticides in farming in order to produce unblemished food for our supermarket habit may have reduced food supply. Certainly the move in farming away from mixed livestock and arable enterprises to pure arable will have had an effect on insect life in the countryside.

Description:

Smaller than blackbirds, with a short tail, pointed head, triangular wings, starlings look black at a distance but when seen closer they are very glossy with a sheen of purples and greens.
Their flight is fast and direct and they walk and run confidently on the ground.
Noisy and gregarious, starlings spend a lot of the year in flocks.

Life cycle:

Starlings lay 4-6 eggs in mid-April.
The chicks hatch in 12 days.
Both parents feed the chicks a diet of insects, larvae,spiders and earthworms.
Young fledge at 3 weeks old and are fed for a further week or two before they become independent.
Normally only one brood is raised a year, but chick success is very high due to the protected environment of the inaccessible nest holes.