Common Starling

Also from today's outing.

Mike

For such nasty little guys, they can be real pretty. Nicely done.

Oldjackssparrows wrote in post #17523698
For such nasty little guys, they can be real pretty. Nicely done.

Thank you, and yes, they are a pain to have around but in the right light can be very pretty.

Mike

Great shots Mike.

Lester Wareham wrote in post #17525112
Great shots Mike.

Thanks Lester, appreciate the kind words.

Mike

Yeah...they look good. But they don't belong in the US.

Thanks for the comments Paul. Unfortunately we have a lot of them now.

Mike

Pike40 wrote in post #17525698
Thanks for the comments Paul. Unfortunately we have a lot of them now.

Mike

Your photos of them are beautiful. I was reading just today that the US Govt. killed about 1.1 million Starlings this year since they are wreaking havoc on farms and livestock.

Sorry to derail your photo thread.

No worries Paul, thanks for taking the time to comment.

Mike

Pike40 wrote in post #17525698
Thanks for the comments Paul. Unfortunately we have a lot of them now.

Mike

The Acclimatization Society released some hundred starlings in New York City’s Central Park in 1890 and 1891. By 1950 starlings could be found coast to coast, north past Hudson Bay and south into Mexico. Their North American numbers today top 200 million. As bird-watcher Jeffrey Rosen put it in a 2007 New York Times article, “It isn’t their fault that they treated an open continent much as we ourselves did.”

I say, Blame Shakespeare. But this won't change, even with the intelligence and history. Invasive species can come in many ways. Starlings are just one that humans introduced.

For me the odd part is they tried to nest in my gas grill last Spring. Now I block the holes on the side and I don't really see that many. I'm rural and the natural birds seem to do fine. As usual, we try to attract some wildlife and discourage others, nature seems to have ideas of it's own.