Help starlings?

Great stuff, and I will certainly have a look at building one.

I had no idea they were in such serious decline. In saying that, the huge autumn flocks I used to see here in Kintyre are certainly a thing of the past, though I believe they still exist elsewhere.

Jimmy.

Intresting Ian, but I think all the starlings must be in the North east. We regularly see flocks of 50 or more and

 have 20 - 30 visit the garden. Hate to think what would happen if WE  put nest boxes up 

Ian H said:

For best results locate starling boxes on east or north facing walls or high up on tree trunks,

Thanks Ian, I shall be ordering two.

My starlings chose their own nest sites last spring - in a piece of soffit that had rotted, allowing them to access it. Two nests, successfully fledged. However, they picked a south facing wall !!!!!!!

We are having the soffits replaced with PVC sometime soon, so the boxes will go up to replace the lost holes.

Thanks Ian, I hope to find a spare place to put one up. We don't get starlings and after seeing Sparrows and the ones on Autumnwatch last night, I feel I am missing out. :-)

JudiM said:

Intresting Ian, but I think all the starlings must be in the North east. We regularly see flocks of 50 or more and have 20 - 30 visit the garden. Hate to think what would happen if WE  put nest boxes up 

I remember hearing that the huge flocks of starlings that we see in the autumn and winter are mostly consisting of birds that have migrated in for the winter from colder climes such as Scandinavia. I also understand that the 'red listing' is due to the huge reduction in numbers, not due to the actual number that remain, in much the same way as house sparrows are seen as being in danger becuase their number have dropped by such a large percentage...

Hi Ian

We must be lucky here in surrey as we have loads of Starlings I know they are noisy, eat everything they can but they are lovelt looking birds especially with the light in the right place, and they are real characters.

Shane 

Starlings-

the history of the Starling as a breeding British bird is chequered;

It was here in Ice age times according to fossil evidence, in the 18th Century it was probably as widespread as now but the population dropped in the 19th century and did not breed in Northern England, Scotland ( except the northern isles and Caithness)  or Ireland.

In the mid 1800s it re-colonised most of Britain but was still scarce in west Wales. It appears our breeding population may not emigrate and birds from scandinavia winter in Scotland and Ireland.

S