To get you in the mood for booking on one of our Soup and Starling events, I thought I’d give you all just a hint of how interesting Starlings are:
In the breeding season Starlings eat leatherjackets (cranefly or daddy long legs larvae). They have modified skull muscles, which allows them to push their bills into the soil and then open it to create a hole, grabbing lunch in the process. This is the opposite of our normal biting process, and that of other birds. In autumn they eat plant material and the intestine grows longer in an attempt to cope with vegetable matter. I’m sure this is why they make such a runny mess.
Starlings may fly up to 20 miles from a roost to find a good feeding spot.
Just like a Cuckoo, female starlings often deposit one of their eggs in another females nest, after removing one of the original eggs, so that the numbers still add up. It is these chucked out eggs that we often find on the ground.
Many species roost in large numbers for safety. It’s difficult for predators such as Peregrine Falcons to pick out an individual in all that cloud of food. But why the murmurations ?
There are several theories but I have my own based on observations here at Saltholme:
As the Starlings arrive they gather on the nearby pylons from where they overlook the roost site which is wet reedbed. Wet reedbed is a safe roost site as mammalian predators cannot get to them without swimming. It’s also a nice shelter in harsh weather.
But, predators such as Sparrowhawks know the birds are going to descend into the reedbed and hang around between the Starlings and their roost waiting for dinner to arrive. This naturally makes the Starlings wanting to descend very anxious. It is this wanting to get into the reedbed but being terrified of the predator between them and the roost which causes the birds to make such what are to us, fabulous displays, but to them, life saving evasive actions.
Nervous Starlings over Haverton by Brian Clasper
Once the Starlings have descended, the noise from the chattering birds is incredibly loud. But it’s not all over. Sparrowhawks are adept at scaring birds into flight so they can catch them, and they quarter very low over the reedbed, hoping to do just that. This is a strategy which doesn’t often work, and I remember last year telling a group of visitors that I had never seen this result in a catch. As soon as the words left my mouth, one terrified Starling got up and was immediately grabbed. Things get even more dramatic when a Marsh Harrier turns up.
Interestingly, in dull weather, the Starlings tend to fly straight into the reeds without gathering first. Do they feel safer in conditions which make it more difficult for a Sparrowhawk to see ?
Now you are all experts in Starling roosting behaviour, come along and experience the daily struggle to find a safe bed for the night.