Now considered one of the worst nuisance birds in this country, Old World starlings were purposely introduced to Central Park, New York City in 1890 by a well-meaning but misguided man named Eugene Schiefflin. Only the heartiest of colder climate wild birds, which have evolved for winter weather, have stayed behind. Sociable at most seasons, Starlings may gather in immense flocks in fall and winter. Starling roosts are found in locations where large numbers of birds can gather in safety. The UK Starling breeding population has declined by around 65 per cent in the last 30 years. These account for the huge increase in the starling population which occurs when birds, from northern Europe, arrive to spend the winter in the UK because the weather is relatively mild here and they will be able to find food and shelter before returning to their breeding territories. If you can’t get outside, why not bring the outside in by downloading our bird song radio app? Starlings might get shot in masses in large agricultural areas. As far as I know, we do not have them anywhere else. See our toolkit for ways to campaign with us to protect nature and save wildlife. Hi John, Starlings do migrate, so maybe they’ve moved to a warmer climate for the winter, but a lot of their local movements are based on food, and since they eat a lot of fruit they can be very common in one place as long as the local trees and shrubs hold fruit, and then disappear as soon as the fruit supply is depleted. Thanks for the tips! We are swift as shallow"s flight. We got 'em here in the ag areas. We spend 90% of net income on conservation, public education and advocacy, The RSPB is a member of BirdLife International. West end of the Treasure Valley, you can see the murmurations flying at times in late summer and fall. There are lists of the best places in the UK to see them, but what about in the US? In the end dear only love remains.”. See our ideas to keep you connected to nature during coronavirus, From our regular emails to your favourite social media, there’s more than one way to keep in touch with nature. So here is what I heard from JD. 2 Starling murmurations . schooling perhaps the gathered thought, However, if the roost must be moved on, a tape of a starling distress call played underneath a roost after dark can effectively move the birds to another location. West end of the Treasure Valley, you can see the murmurations flying at times in late summer and fall. That would be an exercise in futlity. Probably later in the year but it was decades ago. Because of their intermediate size, it is not possible to exclude starlings only from feeders in gardens. We do appreciate that in some situations it is advisable to exclude the birds, and the following methods may be useful if one has to resort to these measures. The San Luis Valley might be a good place, though. I did get to witness a much smaller group recently that were roosting in corn stalks- watch them make a ‘rabbit’ at about 21-23 seconds in. I have seen others but this one was really impressive and when I first saw it way up ahead had no idea how big it was until getting closer. During the winter you may be lucky enough to see a starling murmuration. Starlings are all over the US, though maybe not in such big flocks as in Europe. This went on for two seasons in the mid-1990s, wish it was now where I have HD video capabilities! Pikabike - while we mostly consider starlings to be winged rats here, I have never seen or heard any evidence of them being shot in masses. There is an area of agriculture that borders river and game reserve, if that matters - and that’s where we usually see the flights. The reserve has seen more than thirty species of wading birds. Find out how to identify a bird just from the sound of its singing with our bird song identifier playlist. “Large open areas outside of big cities” also makes sense. We do appreciate that in some situations it is advisable to exclude starlings, and the following methods may be useful if one has to resort to these measures And they don’t require a cross-country trip from home. When the flocks break up for the breeding season, males reveal a skill for mimicry, interrupting their wheezing and sputtering songs with perfect imitations of other birds. This fantastic wetland site is located north of Southport town centre and has some of the best wildlife in the region.