Thursday, December 31, 2015

A Murmur..what?

Some days it is deafening around here.  I have never seen so many starlings hanging around.  Twice one day I walked into the garage and heard what sounded like a hissing noise and wondered if the old fridge had finally given up the ghost and some vital pipe was loosing fluid under pressure.  Nope, it was the starlings chortling away outside.


The European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are an invasive species that now numbers in the millions.  Also in the millions are the numbers of dollars lost by the agricultural industry due to grape, cherry and berry crop damage.  Around here they are the bane of the blueberry growers, so during blueberry season we are plagued with the sounds of propane cannons going off to scare the birds, or recorded distress calls.  It's a huge issue.  Already in the Okanagan they have trapped and destroyed many starlings, and now in this area they are talking about trying the same thing.  The starlings push out the native birds, using their nests or nesting sites for their own.  How did they arrive in North America?  Well it seems that a certain group at the end of the 19th century released 60 starlings in Central Park in an attempt to bring all of the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works, to North America.  Never was fond of that Shakespeare guy.... 


Large flocks of starlings are called murmurations.  I wonder who came up with that name.  While the starlings are basically rats with wings, when they are flying (mumurating?), they make some amazing shapes. 

 Here are some examples.

This video below was taken at our place.  The starlings are in the field next door. Not as impressive as the videos above, but fascinating all the same.  The starlings practice what is called 'roller feeding'.  The birds at the back of the flock are constantly moving to the front to new ground.  They poke their beaks into the ground in hopes of grabbing something edible. It's like a massive organism slowly moving along.  The birds you hear in the video are ones behind me up in the trees, the ones on the ground are too busy trying to eat.




This is one of the things I love about blogging.  I start to post about something, and then I end up Googling it, and learn all sorts of fascinating information that I didn't know before.  How long I retain that info is another story.  Did you know that starlings can imitate voices and sounds? Saw videos of that too:)

Here's what a cow pie looks like after the starlings have been by.  Hard to see, but the ground is riddled with the same kind of holes.  Aeration by starlings.


And to give another bird a moment in the spotlight, we've had some visits from redwing blackbirds.  I love their song when they are perched atop the marsh grasses.  It was interesting, when the bird on top of the feeder tried to fly down and join in, the other three all expanded the red patches on their wings to about four times the size.  Warning it off and staking a claim to 'their' territory I guess.


8 comments:

  1. Those Starlings are something else, so many of them. We have a few from time to time but nothing like that. Happy New Year!! You blogged alot lately!!! :)

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  2. Your video of the Starlings is amazing. The only Starling we have ever seen here is one I rescued while working in Raleigh. A nest fell from the top of the loading dock door. Actually I rescued two babies and raised them but a snake caught one on our back porch. The other stayed around for a long time. It was a real pet. I can't imagine having that many in my back yard!!

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  3. This is what my "Animal Speak" book has to say about your starlings. "If starlings have shown up in your life; ask yourself some important questions. Are you feeling if life is ganging up on you? Are you applying undo pressure on others? It may be a warning to watch out for misbehavior. If you have been feeling mobbed, you may want to study and meditate upon the screech owl to help you deter this in your life. You may want to watch what you say as people will have a tendency to take it incorrectly or blow it up out of proportion. It usually is an indication that you may want to watch your sensitivity to other people's words as well."
    That's what the book says......Keep on logging LOL

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    1. Hmm, well the part of that that may apply is about watching what I say. I can be blunt, and I don't suffer fools gladly, so yes, I should probably be careful how I word things to people.

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  4. I like that word.... murmuration. A murmuration of Starlings. They do amazing flying in formation but I still do not like that bird at all although the past few years we've had far fewer in town. Probably because they're out in the countryside causing farmers endless trouble.
    Are you having a quiet NYE at home or are you going out to party?

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    1. I like the word too, although the starlings certainly don't murmur. Quiet evening for us, big day for me tomorrow. Coming soon to a blog near you:) Happy New Year!

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  5. I was just saying today that I havent seen this many since the 1970s - the skies back then were black with them, not that many now but for years and years we havent had any!

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  6. They are a sight to watch and listen to, shame they are so destructive.
    Wishing you and your family a Happy and Healthy New Year Karen!

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