They haven’t been visiting in a long time,
but along with the cold and snow, a large group of Starlings has found its way to the yard too. I do find their photos quite entertaining but truth be told, I could live without them pooping all over the place, trashing the bird baths and eating everything in sight… They kind of remind me of the Bumpus Hounds from A Christmas Story 🤪
Despite the snow today,
spring is definitely coming, and there are signs everywhere. One of them is that the Starlings are beginning to change into their summer plumage. They are losing the spots and become glossy and iridiscent, the beaks are turning yellow, and the legs are becoming more red. They are travelling in groups with Grackles, Cowbirds and Redwinged Blackbirds, one of which also visited today. It appears to be an immature male.
It is so easy
to get used to certain things and then feel bummed when they suddenly stop working. I’ve used my Birdsy cams since 2019 now, and when they had a server maintenance yesterday, it was awkward to not see what is going on in the yard. Interruptions happen occasionally but I guess it is extra hard when there is nothing else going on and you are thirsty for excitement 😜 Today, everything is back in order again, and you can watch my (mostly uneventful) streams here and over at birdsy.com. Activity is still low except for some finches, MoDos and a group of Starlings that comes several times a day to check feeders and destroy the bird baths. A hawk has been trying to hunt here too. I am slowly planning spring setups and enjoy spending a little less on bird seed. And the occasional action-packed Starling portrait.
During this time
of the year, and I guess always, there will also be the opportunists. And they can be tiny and adorable like the Titmouse but also overwhelming like a group of European Starlings. Well, and the MoDos…
Since things are
as slow as they are currently, the overwhelming amount of doves, the larger groups of House Sparrows, Starlings and squirrels visiting, and some Finches that I suspect may have the eye disease, I have decided to pull feeders for a couple of weeks. I will wash all the feeders with a 9:1 water/ bleach solution and let them air dry. I will keep the baths out and also the BB feeder and the peanut butter. It is going to be even more boring than in the last few weeks, but it is a perfect time to do this. Taking feeders down helps the birds to disperse and let nature take its course. It may also be a fun time to go through older photos and post some I haven’t back in spring and summer. Here is a Starling from today.
Together with the cold
these guys arrived, and as long as they can find the tiniest speck of a mealworm or fruit, they will stay, upsetting the harmony in the backyard. I know people love Starlings, and they can be fun to watch but they are also quite the handful. I never had to clean the bird bath more often than in the last couple of days. They love to take baths on the coldest days for some reason, making the lens freeze over and soiling the water. I did get some workout done just getting dressed to go outside so often, and some fun photos (that bird has an icicle beard!). Stay warm and enjoy the rest of the holidays!
It was a day
with crazy weather day here in Michigan today. I only went out heavily bundled-up and was nervous to get on the ladder to replenish the peanut butter on the tree because it was so windy. There was good bird activity, and there is a Chickadee roosting in the Bluebird box tonight, but the light was also bad and everybody literally was out there trying to survive. Here are two photos from today though. A MoDo fighting off a Starling, and a Starling with an ice crown. These guys are so nuts they took baths today. It was so cold that the splashes froze on the lens and I had to de-freeze it several times. I hope you are all in a warm spot, good night! Hoping for snow and sun tomorrow!
I see birds up close a lot,
and usually it is from the front. But their back is sometimes even more fascinating. The fold of the feathers, the patterns and textures. Here are a Starling and a Grackle.
At this time of the year,
you might see birds that look a bit scary, rugged, even sick or somewhat familiar and you just cannot put your finger on what species they belong to. This means we are in the middle of molting season. Molting means either an adult bird loses older feathers and grows new ones or a juvenile bird is growing the first adult plumage. I love this time of the year because you get to study bird anatomy a bit and you might see some spectacular patterns, textures and color combos. Here are two examples of juvies changing to adult feathers (Cowbird and Starling) and two for adult molts (Blue Jay and Grackle). They will all look smooth again in a bit.
I had not seen or heard
the Starlings in a bit, but in the last couple of days, they have come back a bit, along with groups of flocking Cowbirds. The adults are starting to get into their winter plumage, and I always like this look because they almost look like the fantasy birds we used to draw as children. The young ones will soon also be back, I assume, with their own unique look when the adult feathers come out through their brown baby plumage.
European Starlings are considered invasive
in the US, meaning that they are not a native bird over here. They were supposedly brought to America through a man named Eugene Schieffelin who released a bunch of them in Central Park in 1890 as part of a personal project to bring all birds that have been mentioned in Shakespeare to the New World. Starlings have experienced a success story in the US, much to the detriment of some native species that were not prepared for them. As an invasive species, they are not protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty, so people are allowed to take active measures to control them. Many American bird enthusiasts are not a huge fan of them. However, they are part of the bird world here, they are fascinating in their own right, and I find it important to show them every so often too so people can recognize them and maybe become a bit more aware of their impact. (Plus, they can be entertaining and I also have followers from their native region.) There are lots of ressources about Starlings and the other main invasive bird in the US, the House Sparrow, to be found online. Here is one link with some background in regards to Schieffelin link. For an alternative view, here is another link, it is a complex topic. Without further ado, here is a young European Starling.
A little addendum
to the Starling video. Yes, they can be a handful, yes, they are messy and invasive (in the US), but they are also quite entertaining and expressive. And their feathers are fascinating in their richness and variety amongst individual birds. In some of these, you can already see a change from the males’ winter look - they lose the dots, get that jewellish glossy look, the legs become more vibrantly red, and the beaks turn from grey to yellow.
Video: Starlings cannot read.
And apparently they feel dirty constantly. I have been out cleaning and refilling several times, and while I generally don’t have issues with that, it is rather frosty outside and maintaining the bath is a bit harder in the winter. My little sign was to vent my frustration a bit, and they took it as a challenge - it only lasted seven minutes 🤣 Anyways, here is a little clip. The music is a copyright free piece by DISMENTOPIA Taiwan. Enjoy!
So when I saw the Carolina Wren
the other day, I started putting out mealers in the open again to try and get photos of it. Well, I did, but the mealworms also lured in these guys - European Starlings. They are invasive in the US, and they have made it far because they can be voracious and aggressive. Especially when there are mealworms… But they also look very cool. That tongue!
Fall migration
is still going on, which also means that all of a sudden, large flocks of birds can descend onto yards and feeders and make quick process with the goodies. It’s often groups of Redwinged Blackbirds, Grackles and Starlings that travel together. I have not had large flocks so far, but there was the occasional single Redwinged Blackbird still this week, and some Starlings. Their winter plumage has the tiny heart shapes, their beaks turn dark again from yellow, and the legs are not as vibrant as in the summer. When the sun hits them right, they reveal their pretty colors, the “evil rainbow” as I call it.
If you get overwhelmed by Starlings and their big appetite for mealworms or suet, you can try feeders that restrict access for them. I use a caged feeder for the mealworms and the suet sandwich feeder. The upside down feeder for suet is not effective in my experience, they will figure it out.
Over the course of the year,
I move my cameras around the yard to make use of more foliage and avoid direct sunshine into the lens. Sometimes the shadows can create magical little moments, like when this Starling sat there, waiting for the bowl to be refilled.
European Starlings
change their appearance quite a bit throughout the year and their life. The juveniles are starting to lose their brown baby feathers and growing into the speckled look that is their typical winter coat. The adults are losing their glossy breeding plumage, the yellow beaks of the males are turning dark again and their legs and feet become less vibrantly red. I always like this patchwork stage on them.
You may have heard them
and seen them on my livestream - the Starlings have started to bring their young to the yard. I won’t let them nest on my property but I guess they are finding spots nearby. While they can be annoying with their noise and the mess they leave behind, I still find their babies adorable and it is funny to see the interactions with the seemingly bothered parents. The camera captures their spirit perfectly 😆
Yesterday,
we finally got a good amount of rain. It cooled the premature summer heat down and made the garden happy. The birds looked a bit pitiful and drenched but you know I love a good wet birb because the textures are so interesting. And interesting things are welcome right now because this is a very boring season so far. And I don’t seem to be alone in my observations, the local birdwatching groups are full of people stating that they don’t see as much activity as in previous years. This is concerning, and one can only hope that populations will bounce back. If you are inclined, this article from the Smithsonian Magazine is shedding some light on things. It is from last December but seems to be appropriate now.
Wet birbs* pictured: my current favorite House Finch with the orange patch, a Blue Jay, an American Robin, Dr. Clara the Bluebird, a Starling and a MoDo.
(*I use this spelling on purpose and as a term of endearment, it is not a typo. Audubon is in agreement 🤓)
The Starlings
know that there are mealworms fed here and occationally in the open, so they stick around. It is interesting to see that some of them are starting to change into their mating looks - the beaks are turning yellow, they lose the “stars” and the legs and feet are getting more red. The sun loves them and reveals why I also call them “evil rainbows”.
